Compare And Contrast Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story

Two Tales of Star-Crossed Lovers

Romeo and Juliet is a classic, well known tale, and has been remade in almost every form of media. Two star-crossed lovers, torn apart by fate-- an iconic, tragic love story. One of the most popular remakes is West Side Story, a musical turned movie. With catchy tunes, an amazing cast, and dances like works of art, it quickly picked up a large following, and is now almost just as popular as the original itself. What isn’t well known is that the movie is extremely close to the original play, and is probably the most accurate retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Most of the characters, themes, and even scenes are almost identical, mostly keeping Shakespeare’s original meaning. West Side Story has a new element the original didn’t have-- racism, which affects the story in little ways. One of the main characters, Maria, who is meant to be Juliet, is exactly like her counterpart. Tony, who is meant to be Romeo, is different in many ways. The iconic balcony scene is kept the same, of course. No Romeo and Juliet retelling is complete without it.

As aforementioned, Maria and Juliet have many similarities. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is a young, naive 13 year old girl, who has little knowledge of life’s experiences. She places her trust in the Nurse, who is more of a mother to her than her own. She fell in love quickly, and didn’t look back. In West Side Story, Maria is still young and naive, but a bit older. She’s lacking in experience, due to moving to America, creating a fresh start. Anita, the Nurse’s counterpart, takes on a strong, female figure in Maria’s life, much like in the original. Not unlike Juliet, Maria fell in love at first sight, and ignored everything else. They both have an older, more viole...

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...im, and repeatedly calls him back, again and again, for no real reasons. It’s important that this stays the same because it’s truly not Romeo and Juliet without it.

West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet, two classic tragedies about young love. Both have many similarities and differences, but none are dealbreakers. Things that need to be kept the same are left alone, leaving Shakespeare’s original meanings unaltered. New aspects and changes needed to modernize the story are written in well, still leaving a mostly accurate retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The differences are what makes it unique from others-- the racism, the take on Tony-- all important. The similarities are what keep it true to the original-- Juliet and Maria, and the famous balcony scene. Everything the writers put in is what makes West Side Story a classic, just like Shakespeare would want it to be.