I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED IT.
So I started this book because I needed to read certain parts of it for English class, ages ago. My original intent was to read the entire play, but that got pushed out the window when my teachers actually told me not to bother.
However, I was going to take it back to the library when I felt so guilty, I suddenly couldn't take it back without having finished it.
I'm currently reading Pride and Prejudice, and the storyline was getting pretty slow and I was beginning to find it hard to focus. So my plan was, if I read Romeo and Juliet now, since it's a whole 200 years or so older than Pride and Prejudice, once I'm finished Pride and Prejudice will look like easy reading (it worked, by the way).
I think one of the hardest things about reading this play is that there is hardly anything besides dialogue. Without a narration, it's hard to get any sense of time passing, characters thoughts and feelings, etc.
Another thing is that : we all know how the play ends. In fact, Shakespeare even tells us himself in the prologue. So, we know what's going to happen, and it can get a bit depressing. I started to feel like, "what's the point?"
However, there were good points - it was interesting how everyone kept referring to ancient mythology in imagery and metaphors, and it was interesting the way that people spoke. It's also nice to be able to say that I've read one of Shakespeare's plays.