Comparing Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story

“The only man I love is the son of the only man I hate….” The play, Romeo and Juliet, as well as the musical, West Side Story, are two inspiring and tragic love stories with many similarities, however unique differences in time, plot, characters, and themes are present. Time is the progress of existence and the events of the past, present, and future. Plot is a term used to describe the events of a story. Examples of stories include books, movies, musicals, etc. Characters are the personalities of human beings, animals, objects, etc. that participate in a story. A theme is a central message or insight of life, that the author or director wants to get across to the audience. Stories usually have main themes and supporting themes. Themes

This is most likely true because West Side Story is a spin-off of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet has a few major plot points which include the exposition, the first meeting of the lovers, the secret wedding, the killing of Tybalt, the parting of the young couple, Friar Lawrence’s solution, Juliet’s supposed death, Romeo’s plan to commit suicide, and the tragic end. In the exposition, a fight takes place between the houses of Capulet and Montague. The Prince of Verona stops the fight and threatens dire punishment if another such fight takes place. Later at a masked party, Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and instantly fall in love. Romeo has relations to the House of Montague, while Juliet has relations to the House of Capulet. They soon learn their love is forbidden because of their relation to the two differing houses. The two would not let their love disperse, so they arranged a secret marriage. After the marriage, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, kills Romeo’s friend Mercutio, which sends Romeo into an angry rage. In the end, Tybalt is killed at the hands of Romeo. Once the Prince discovers Romeo murdered Tybalt, he forces Romeo to leave the city of Verona for the city of Mantua. When Juliet hears of Romeo’s misfortune she seeks the help of Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence’s help becomes especially important when Juliet’s father arranges her marriage to

One of the play’s major characters is Romeo, son of Montague. Romeo is a young man who is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive, all while being impulsive and passionate. These features get Romeo into much trouble over the course of the play. Another character is Romeo’s father, Montague, who seems to be old, wise, and set in his ways. Other than this not much is known about Montague because of his lack of presence throughout a majority of the play. Romeo’s friend, Mercutio, is a imaginative, witty, and sarcastic character that tries to get Romeo over his infatuation with another woman. On the other hand, some new characters are introduced from the House of Capulet. Juliet is a young girl between the stages of immaturity and maturity. She is a determined, strong, and compassionate character that wants to be wed to the son of the Capulet’s enemy. Juliet’s father, Capulet, has many similarities to Romeo’s father, Montague, which gives reason to their fighting. One character that is very important to Juliet is her nurse. The Nurse, as she is referred to, is a loving mother figure that helps Juliet on her path to womanhood. She also helps Juliet with the tough decision of her love for Romeo. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, is overprotective of Juliet, aggressive, full of pride, and is a force to be reckoned with. He defends Juliet from the Capulet’s enemy until he is