This book offers a richly illustrated analysis and interpretation of the major concepts of love, fortune and death in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's earliest love tragedy. Taking into consideration social, political and economic developments as well as philosophical, aesthetic and religious discourses around 1600, the contextual approach does not only grant insights into the play's topics and characters but also sheds a light on the reciprocal influences of society and theatre in early modern England. The study is concluded by a discussion of Romantic love and its application to the dramatic text.