Romeo and Juliet the play's "twin themes of love and the total breakdown of understanding between two generations" had contemporary relevance. Recent performances often set the play in the contemporary world. For example, in 1986, the Royal Shakespeare Company set the play in modern Verona. Switchblades replaced swords, feasts and balls became drug-laden rock parties, and Romeo committed suicide by hypodermic needle. In 1997, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre produced a version set in a typical suburban world. Romeo sneaks into the Capulet barbecue to meet Juliet, and Juliet discovers Tybalt's death while in class at school. The play is sometimes given a historical
Characters in Romeo and Juliet of the Shrew". Rosaline is an unseen character and niece of Capulet. Although silent, her role is important: her lover, Romeo, first spots her cousin Juliet while trying to catch a glimpse of Rosaline at a Capulet gathering. Before Juliet, Romeo was deeply intrigued with another woman that didn't return his feelings. Scholars generally compare Romeo's short-lived love of Rosaline with his later love of Juliet. Rosaline means "fair rose". The poetry he writes for Rosaline is much weaker than that for Juliet. Scholars believe his early experience with Rosaline prepares him for his relationship with Juliet. Later performances of