Compare And Contrast Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story

     Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both have a lot in common as well as major differences that set them apart. Although West Side Story is a direct rendition of Shakespeare's original play, many of the themes and symbols are altered to fit the modern perspective. The characters have a direct correlation to each other, yet racial issues give them a new light. Many of the events also reflect each other, yet small differences give them uniqueness. West Side Story differs from Romeo and Juliet in characterizations, plot sequences, and themes.

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 blurred effect on the screen. The effect makes her look like she is almost spinning into the next scene. When Tony and Maria meet, all the other characters that were dancing, slow down and fade behind Tony and Maria. The room becomes dark and there is a spotlight on Maria and Tony.

Nevertheless Shakespeare uses the same two different coloured costumes scheme in his play on both the rival families but uses it to tell the audience which is the member of which family. The colour schemes in both films are similar because the background the characters are in are colourful similar in both films, in West Side Story it is colourful because of the graffiti however in Romeo and Juliet the background is colourful naturally. The body language in both the films is similar. The viewers instantly recognises that there is hostility between the Jets and the Sharks and the Montigues and the Capilates by watching how the body language changes as the either the rivals families clash or rivals gangs.

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.

Romeo and Juliet first met each other at a party at the Capulets house. They fall in love with each other at the first sight without knowing that they are from families who hate each other, and when they do learn about it, it is too late. Juliet realizes that it was a mistake to fall in love with Romeo, because he is one of the people she should watch out for. He is her first and only love, but he is an enemy of her family. Lucky for Romeo, Juliet is smart, and such dumb thing as hate between their parents wouldn't stop her from loving Romeo and getting married with him. She is sorry that their families are enemies, though, because everything would be much easier if they weren't. So this is the first time when the hate between Capulets and Montagues becomes problem to Romeo and Juliets happiness. Only after their children die, the Montagues and Capulets come to their senses. The Prince accuses them of killing Romeo and Juliet. The Prince makes them see how wrong they were all the time, that all because of their hate, because they couldn't let their children love each other, Romeo and Juliet died. After that, Capulets and Montagues decide to call it quits. No more fighting, and Montague even says that he will make a gold statue of Juliet, but what is that going to do? It is too late, nothing will bring them back. It is totally Capulets' and Montagues' fault that Romeo and Juliet died. If they didn't hate each other so much,

One of the major differences is that Maria doesn't die, she is left alone. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet kills herself after she finds that Romeo has perished. Another major difference is that in Romeo and Juliet Romeo kills Paris who is supposed to marry Juliet then himself when he thinks that Juliet is dead. In West Side Story, Tony is killed by Chino (the equivalent of Paris) . Romeo and Juliet has a stronger sense of love and irony.

‘Clink’,’Clink’ It sounds like swords,It’s a duel let’s go and check it out.Oh no! It is the Capulets and Montagues again.We must get Prince Escalus.This is a play and movie about two lovers.The male is Romeo he is 16 years old.The female is Juliet she is only 13 but she turned 14.Their feud between their families ended their lives so Romeo and Juliet cannot be together.I’m comparing and contrasting the movie and play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.The topics that I chose to compare and contrast was the setting,character,and the plot.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are both iconic, enjoyable stories that most people have heard of. Romeo and Juliet was written much earlier than West Side Story was, however it was still based on older Italian stories. These stories can teach us a lot about our daily lives and how we live them. In order to do this though, we have to make other comparisons throughout the story first. So, let’s dive in and analyze the differences between the stories, their origins, and their authors.

The play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is about a tragedy of two star crossed lovers who want nothing more than to be together forever. “…Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” (2.2.35-36) Romeo, a Montague, who is young and passionate, meets Juliet at a Capulet party. When they meet, it’s love at first sight. Juliet, a Capulet, is a beautiful young lady tired of being controlled by her father, Lord Capulet. The two families are in a never ending feud that comes between Romeo and Juliet’s love. In the course of four and a half days, Romeo and Juliet plan their marriage with the help of Priest Friar Laurence and Juliet’s Nurse. After the couple is married,

Since the beginning of time people have been intrigued by the story of “two star-crossed lovers”, those who long to be together but never can. Such is the case of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and the collaboration work, West Side Story. The purpose of this paper is to show the similarities and differences between these two tragic love stories.

Three Hundred Fifty Years of Blind Love: A Contraposition of Shakespeare and Robbins’ Romeo and Juliet Andy Warhol once said, "They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself." Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the story, simply the creators’ unique visions evolved. Shakespeare’s delivery of the timeless tale of desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only intensify through retelling and modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet as one of the most beloved plays of all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present.

Although the discrepancies between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are too frequent to categorize in such limited space, it is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not notice the obvious similarities between the two works ("Theme").  From the opening scenes in both, up through the rumble in West Side Story/death of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the plays mirror each other (Poelstra).  It isn't until the last part of West Side Story, where Tony (our modern-day Romeo) dies and Maria (Tony's Juliet) doesn't (unlike the two star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare's work, both of whom perish), that the major difference between the two works becomes apparent.

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, with a more older version and West Side story taking place in New York city makes it more modern, but old fashioned. In west side story, Maria, lives with the nurse in a sort of apartment like building, while Romeo and Juliet lives in a old-fashioned place. They both meet and fall in love at-first-sight. Romeo and Juliet as well as Tony and Maria both have huge feelings for eachother. They both have a scene where they first meet.

For our project, we decided to show how Romeo and Juliet is a timeless play by connecting it to several modern movies, all of which share the theme of star-crossed or forbidden love. The three movies that we chose were Warm Bodies, The Fault in our Stars, and West Side Story. Warm Bodies features an unprecedented relationship between a human and a zombie, in which both sides refuse to accept and move past their differences. In The Fault in our Stars,

Shakespeare In Love is a film about what is going on in William Shakespeare’s life while he is writing one of his many famous plays, Romeo and Juliet. In the film, there are numerous references and connections to what occurs in Romeo and Juliet. One of several connections between the film and the play include the fact that they are both tragedies. At the end of the play, both Romeo and Juliet end up committing suicide, whereas the happy ending would be having them live happily together for the rest of their lives. At the end of the film, Viola, who is Shakespeare’s love interest, is forced to marry another man and leave the city with him, therefore never being able to see Shakespeare again.