Short answers, pulled from the story.
William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet between 1591 and 1595. This period coincided with his rise as London's dominant playwright and the work became one of his most popular plays during his lifetime.
The earliest known version of the Romeo and Juliet tale is the story of Mariotto and Ganozza by Masuccio Salernitano, published in 1476 in his collection Il Novellino. Luigi da Porto later adapted the story as Giulietta e Romeo in 1524, and Arthur Brooke published a narrative poem titled The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet in 1562 which Shakespeare dramatized.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet spans a period of four to six days. This short timeframe contrasts with Arthur Brooke's poem which spans nine months and highlights the theme of haste in the play.
Mary Saunderson was probably the first woman to play the role of Juliet professionally in 1662. She performed the role in Sir William Davenant's adaptation of the play at the Duke's Company.
The first professional performances of Romeo and Juliet in North America were by the Hallam Company. An amateur production occurred earlier on the 23rd of March 1730 in New York, but professional performances followed later.
Light and dark imagery in Romeo and Juliet symbolize the natural beauty of young love against the surrounding darkness of hate and family feud. The play uses these contrasts to represent the passage of time and the moral dilemma facing the lovers between loyalty to family and loyalty to love.