As you already know, Romeo and Juliet was composed somewhere between 1951-1595. The motives of the play were however long before that from antiquity. The place of the play is in Verona and it seems to me, that the play could be taking place both in antiquity as well as in the 16th century when Shakespeare wrote it. I think that the time period is important in the story because in that time (the 16th century) this could have actually happened. In that time, family´s chose the husband´s of their daughters for them based on society, wealth and other factors. Love did not play any role in this. If I compare it to today´s world, I believe that the story couldn´t take place. Nowadays, every girl has the right to chose her own husband based on love and attraction. Money does not play its role anymore so much. However, I am talking about developed countries including many countries of Europe and America. As we know, in some developing countries it is still possible that the family chooses the husband for their daughter based on the previously listed criteria, not love! In countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and others, this is still common even in the 21st century, which is sad. So yes, the play is relevant to some parts of today´s world. We all know how this play ends-with a tragedy. Two lovers had to take their life just because they were from fighting families. Isn´t that sad? I believe that every girl should have the right to chose her mate and if this opportunity is not given to her, than it may unfortunately end somelike this play.