Today I learned that it is possible to go to the town of Verona in Italy and visit the tomb of Juliet Capulet, the iconic and tragic character from “Romeo & Juliet.” Since at least the 1700s, tourists have flocked to the site to see an empty sarcophagus and marvel at the tragedy of star-crossed love.
To be clear: Juliet Capulet is a fictional character. So whoever occupied that sarcophagus was not her. Oh, and also: the story that inspired Shakespeare’s play was not set in Verona. So if you visit, just be aware that you’re visiting the resting place of a person who never existed in a location where their story was not originally set.
But love, and our obsession with it, has little to do with historical accuracy or logic. To quote Shakespeare himself: “reason and love keep little company together nowadays.”
Perhaps this is why, since at least the 1930s, people have not only been visiting Juliet’s supposed resting place, but writing letters to her and sending them to the tomb. Letters asking for advice, letters musing on missed connections, letters venting on the difficulties and pain that love can bring.
The best part of this story is that those letters – every one of them – is read and responded to by a group of volunteers known as the “Club di Giulietta.”
This bizarre yet quaint situation is what inspired Elvis Costello and The Brodsky Quartet to write their song cycle, “The Juliet Letters.” Costello’s lyrics are imaginary letters written to Juliet, and they’re equal parts touching, whimsical, and humorous.
Except track 5: “Dead Letter,” an instrumental interlude that is strikingly beautiful and much darker than most of the other songs on the album.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The funerial mood. The melancholy melody reminds me of “Es Ist Vollbracht” from Bach’s St. John Passion.
2. The unexpected chord changes. Despite mimicking a baroque sound, there is some modern crunchiness around the 1-minute mark.
3. The title. In the world of communication, nothing is more romantic than a letter; nothing is more tragic than a piece of undeliverable mail.
Recommended listening activity:
Brooding over a relationship that didn’t go the way it should have.