Romeo and Juliet

In Verona, two noble houses, the Montagues and the Capulets, have hated each other so long that nobody remembers why. Then Romeo Montague slips into a Capulet party in disguise and meets Juliet, and within days the two are secretly married, gambling that love can outrun a feud. The play tells you in its opening lines how it ends. The astonishment is how fast and how humanly it gets there.

Shakespeare's most famous tragedy is also one of his most listenable. It's short and quick, and it's full of language people still quote without knowing it, like the balcony scene, Mercutio's Queen Mab speech, and "a plague o' both your houses." Plays were made to be heard aloud rather than read in silence, and at roughly three hours this one fits in a single unforgettable sitting.

At roughly 28,300 words, Romeo and Juliet runs about 3 hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

Romeo and Juliet is in the public domain, so the complete text is free on Project Gutenberg and LoudReader has the entire Project Gutenberg catalog built in. To listen:

1. Download LoudReader for Mac or iPhone (free, no account).
2. Search for “Romeo and Juliet” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

LoudReader reads with natural offline voices, so the whole book works on a plane or underground. It is fully on-device and private, your library never leaves your device. Listening is unlimited on the free tier.