Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love. In both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, prejudices are so strong between two distinct groups of people that the hatred is passed from generation to generation, always against the same rival group. The prejudice is so influential, that the act of hating them becomes as common as their mere existence. In Romeo and Juliet, there are two distinct groups of people, the Montagues and the Capulets- Romeo a Montague and Juliet a Capulet. The Montagues and Capulets have hated each other for as long as anyone can remember- the two families are in a constant feud. The children of one family hate the children of the other, the servants spit upon their rival servants. The prejudice runs so deep, in fact, that the simple thought of cross-socialization is absurd. In West Side Story, the premise is quite similar. The two rival gangs are the Jets- the Americans, and the Sharks- the Puerto Ricans. The Jets hate the sharks because they feel as if they are encroaching on their territory when they walk the streets of New York as easily as the Jets. The Jets and the Sharks have been in a constant state of uproar since the Puerto Ricans first started moving to America a... ... middle of paper ... ...easurable and choices you never thought that you would make are made. Romeo and Juliet decided that they would marry- until death do them part- they loved one another so much that even then they did not part. They committed suicide to be together- together in a place, hopefully, where they could be free from prejudice and hate. Tony and Maria never got the chance to run away and live together in this place, either. While both stories chronicle how hatred, prejudice, forbidden love and stereotypes change a person, neither mention what really made their lives impossible- revenge. A revenge that ran so deep, it ended lives. This was a revenge that didn’t solve any problems, but simply led to more, bigger problems. So, maybe while love can do miraculous things, like help you forget how to hate your enemies, even it is not fully capable of eliminating revenge.
The play West Side Story, by Arthur Laurents, is based upon the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Despite a few differences, both works, in essence, have the same plot. The source of violence in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story is the ever-present hatred between families and between gangs, although, because of the "star-cross’d lovers" motif in Romeo and Juliet, the hatred plays a larger role in producing the ending of West Side Story than it does the ending of Romeo and Juliet.
A Comparison of Scenes From West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet Cinematography The scene before the meeting scene in West Side Story Maria spins. around in her dress the camera then carries on spinning which creates a colourful blur effect on the screen. The effect makes her look like she is almost spinning into the next scene. When Tony and Maria met, all the other characters that were dancing.
Shakespeare’s play is about two families that hate each other for no obvious reason. This fight has dragged on for a long time in Verona, Italy where the play is set. In Verona there are public disturbances between the two families, Capulets and Montagues. It became such a problem that the prince announces “I have an interest in your hate’s proceeding, / My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a bleeding;” (Romeo and Juliet 3:1: 186-87). The families’ feud creates a creepy and dismal atmosphere in Verona, and this leads the Prince to promulgate the rule with both families. Public disturbances will not happen again and if it does then they will take any fighter’s lives in front of those both families. As the reader may notice, the Capulets and the Montagues’ hatred and indignation grew as the feuds escalated. At the Capulet’s party, Tybalt does not accept Romeo being a part of the party saying “I will not endure him” (Romeo and Juliet, 1: 5: 76) and convinces Capulet to drive Romeo out of the room. Although, Capulet accepts Romeo to enjoy the party, “He shall be endured./ What, goodman boy! I say he shall. Go to!”(Romeo and Juliet, 1: 5: 77-78). However, at the end of the play both families finally realize that they have done something wr...
Shakespeare is a name recognized by all to be that of one of the greatest playwrights of all time. His play Romeo and Juliet is one of his most frequently performed and most popular plays. Its story is very well known today despite the fact it was written over 400 years ago. The tragic romance has been adapted and reproduced many times for stage, opera, musical and film. Two very successful film adaptations of the play are Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968) and Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). Though the two films are quite different in the way they have been adapted, they both apply the unique qualities that the original play has that make people want to see it. These qualities stem from Shakespeare’s brilliance as a writer and his ability to incorporate so many strong emotions in the one text.
In approximately 1594, William Shakespeare began to write one of the most well known tragedies in history, Romeo and Juliet. Arguably, no author to date has matched Shakespeare's skill and beauty in the creation of this work. However, authors have regurgitated and will continue to regurgitate the theme, "star-crossed lovers", for centuries. Martha Duffy remarks in "West Side Glory", "Slang may change and violence escalate, but the theme of star-crossed city kids has never dated, nor has its appeal diminished" (p. 1). The only viable attempt is the work of modern dramatist Arthur Laurents. However, Laurents' West Side Story originally written as an attempt to modernize Romeo and Juliet, actually became a work of skill and beauty in its own right. The emphasis is now removed from simply "modernizing" Romeo and Juliet; the emphasis is the creation of art through a similar theme, yet very differing styles and influences. The similarities abound within Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story; consequently, there are many deviations found in the plots, characters, and authors' influences.
FIrst and foremost, there is a difference between the musical West SIde Story directed by Jerome Robbins and the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare seen in the first scene of each. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, two houses are feuding. The two royal houses are the Capulets and the Montagues. Juliet is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague. And then in West Side Story, there are two gangs in New York that each lover’s family is a part of. Maria’s brother is a part of the Puerto Rican gang called ‘The Sharks’ and her lover, Tony, was a part of the caucasian gang ‘The Jets’. Secondly, after their parties there is a balcony scene in each. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo comes into Juliet’s courtyard and speaks up to her as she stands on her balcony. But this differs from the scene in West Side Story. In the musical, Tony comes up to join Maria on her balcony. Next, both couples want to get married. Romeo and Juliet are secretly wed and it is no big deal because there were less rules set in this time period. In West Side Story however, Tony and Maria cannot necessarily be married due to the ac...
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Created in 1595, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers from opposing families who hold an ancient grudge. The theme is about love and hate throughout the play.
The archetypal tragedy of two star-crossed lovers, separated by familial hate, is a recurring theme, which never fails to capture the minds of the audience. It is only at great cost, through the death of the central characters that these feuding families finally find peace. This is an intriguing idea, one antithetical. I have chosen to analyze both Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet and Laurent 's West Side Story. The purpose of this essay is showing how the spoken language is utilized in these different plays to meet differing objectives. The chosen scenes to further aid comparison and contrast are the balcony scenes.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both tell a story of two lovers who can not be together because of a feud. The characters in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are similar in their actions but are different in family background and their attitudes. Two characters that are similar, but different are Tybalt and Bernardo. The two characters had different attitudes and family backgrounds.Tybalt’s attitude was more daring, while Bernardo’s waited for the trouble to come to him first. Even though, Tybalt and Bernardo both come from different backgrounds, they have hatred toward the other side and the actions toward their enemies were the similar, which cost the lives of others and themselves.
In comparison, Romeo and Juliet story can be compared to West Side Story. For instance, the dance held in both stories is where the lovers met. The common trait between the love of Romeo & Juliet and Tony & Maria was it was forbidden. Both Romeo and Tony angered their friends because they neglected them for their lovers. Also, both Maria and Juliet completely disagree with their arranged marriages. However, the difference between these stories is only one lead to the death of both
The language used in these two scenes is quite different. In Romeo and Juliet the majority of the scene is of the two lovers confessing their undying love for each other using beautiful language and many metaphors. They also discuss marriage and serious commitments to each other. In Westside Story, this scene is spent singing to each other, which I find, makes it more romantic but has less tension. They also don’t seem as serious about commitment towards each other.
Love is a beautiful thing, it always works out in the end. Everyone is always happy and no problems occur. West Side Story, a musical by Leonard Bornstein based on Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet parallels a love story of two star-crossed lovers. The play takes place in 1961 in New York City. This musical displays importance because it shows that nothing can overcome the power of love. This play is based on a love story between the main characters of Maria and Tony. Theses two are from different gangs that trouble to get along. They are from different gangs that do not get along at all. Roughly two hundred blocks make up Manhattan’s West Side, which stretches from Central Park West to the Hudson River. For the most part, the street youths
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a story that many people are familiar with, even to the point that many mindlessly quote the balcony scene without really even knowing what it means. It is a classic story that students have learned about in school for years now, and still do to this day. Since it has been published in the 1500s, it has become one of the most famous love stories in history, and as the years have progressed, people have created several stories that portray many similar ideas. One of those stories is West Side Story; with the rivalries, the love story, and even the lesson, it follows the concept of Romeo and Juliet more closely than one would think.
Romeo and Juliet, a story of a tragic romance between two young lovers. And within the story you find that it is different from the book to the movie. While reading the book you notice some differences between it and the movie. While watching the movie you see one difference and it is that instead of swords like the book they have guns and they called them swords. They did this as a result of the movie is in a more modern time than the book. Another difference is when Mercutio is making Romeo go to the party. In the book he talks him into going to the party. In the movie Mercutio made him take a tablet or pill of some kind to make him go. Still the same as the other difference, still in a more modern era.