Hidden Track 2 – 「Juliet and William」

William Shakespeare (1564~1616)

Subsection 「Juliet and William」

The greatest playwright born in Vernerk. With over 30 published plays, he is famous not only for his skill but also for his prolific output. Recently, his unpublished work was discovered by a related scholar, creating a major sensation. The discovered play is a long piece that spans 30 volumes of play notes and is estimated to be the longest-written script among William Shakespeare’s works.

The first note is titled ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but traces of the title being changed to 「Juliet and William」 can be found in all subsequent notes. It is presumed that this change was prompted by his marriage to Juliet Capulet (1570~1615), who served as the model for ‘Juliet’ in the play.

Supporting this hypothesis, the early content of the script takes the form of a fictional play, but as the volumes progress, it increasingly adopts an essay-like format. In fact, the conclusion of the play depicts the death of Juliet Capulet in 1615, and no content is written beyond this point.

Literary scholars are hopeful that the discovery of 「Juliet and William」 will allow for more detailed conjectures about William Shakespeare’s life. However, there is some regret that the content of the script mostly involves daily life with his wife, making it difficult to speculate about his life as a playwright.

「Juliet and William」 intentionally excludes societal aspects of the time and details about William Shakespeare as a writer. Instead, it contains overly detailed accounts of his love for his wife, their first quarrel, the birth of their children, and other trivial daily events. As the title suggests, it is the story of 「Juliet and William.」

「Juliet and William」 is currently being prepared with the goal of being staged. However, given its extensive length of 30 volumes, the script is undergoing a condensation process. If the work proceeds smoothly, it is expected that 「Juliet and William,」 which was never revealed even in 16th-century Vernerk, will be available next year.