Love is one of the greatest dramas of human existence writes Pope John Paul II. In this illuminating three-act play--here in the only English translation authorized by the Vatican--he explores relationships between men and women the joys--and the pain--of love and marriage. The action unfolds in two settings at once: a street in a small town outside the local jeweler s shop (people go to buy their wedding rings there) and the mysterious inner landscape of personal hopes and fears loves and longings. Each act focuses on a different couple: the first happily planning their wedding the second long-married and unhappy the third about to marry but full of doubts. Writing with power and understanding about a love that survives the grave a love that has withered and died a love budding out of complexes and insecurities the Pope addresses such fundamental human concerns as: What does it mean to fall in love? When do we know that a love is real--and can it last? If it dies how do we go on living--and loving again? There are no easy answers and there is no happy ending--such is the nature of men and women and such is the nature of love--but there is hope if we only acknowledge our need and accept the risks of a deep and lasting commitment. This is a play full of wisdom on a subject of great relevance to all and it provides a special insight into the thoughts of the man who like no other has captured the imagination of people of all faiths throughout the world. The Jeweler s Shop has been made into a full-length movie now available on video. Karol Wojtyla--Pope John Paul II--has long been involved with the theater. As a student of literature then priest bishop and archbishop he acted directed wrote dramatic criticism made a Polish translation of Sophocles Oedipus Rex and has authored six plays.