Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet And W-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.

The play, Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, is a story of two star-

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.

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.

Romeo and Juliet is a play created by a famous playwright called William Shakespeare. Baz Luhrmann adapted the play to create a modern version of Romeo and Juliet in 1996. There are many similarities and differences in how Baz Lurhmann and Shakespeare portray the relationship between Juliet and her parents. There are many times in the scene how Shakespeare uses language, structure and form to present the relationship between Juliet and her parents, while Baz Luhrmann reveals this relationship using different camera angles and diegetic and non diegetic sounds and shot types.

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 need for vengeance runs amuck throughout these two pieces of work. In West Side Story the two gangs come together when encountered by the police in order to be able to continue the fighting outside of the presence of the law. In his essay on Puerto Rican Identity Frances Negron-Muntaner’s says, “The hostility between young and older men is also saturated with immigrant insecurities and resentments concerning the “fatherland(s)” (old and new). Following this, it is important to note that the Jets and the Sharks always band together when in the presence of police: the cops are the common enemy” (Negron-Muntaner 1). The cops are what bring the gangs together in order to continue their ‘rumbling.’

The text Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and the text west side story by Arthur Laurent’s deals with the main themes of love and conflict. The two stories are similar in multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart. The author explore (other themes) family, friendship, and hate. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love.

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet between 1594­ 1595, a play about love, courtship and marriage that ended in tragedy.

Romeo and Juliet is a timeless literary work written by William Shakespeare in 1596. Many people have heard of this famous play, but what many do not know is it was based on another literary work. Shakespeare used Arthur Brooke’s The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, published just a few decades earlier, as his inspiration; and yes, that is really how the title is spelled (Gottlieb, 2001).

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.

and Mercutio fought and Tybalt killed Mercutio.At first Romeo didn’t want to fight Tybalt because they are now related, but now that he saw Mercutio has been killed, he accidentally killed Tybalt.Than Romeo remembered what the prince said to his family and Juliet’s family;that if he sees fighting on the street than the prince is going to kill them.When the prince noticed what happen, instead of putting Romeo to death;he will have to leave the city and never come back.If anyone sees Romeo in Verrona;he will be put to death.Whe Juliet heard that she just want to kill herself.In the mean time; Lady Capulet came to Juliet’s room and talked to her about that she have to get married to Paris.Juliet refuse to marry Paris because she is already married Romeo.Paris comes in her room and hold her arms tight and angry yelled at her thaat he will marry her tomorrow if she like it or not.After that she don’t know what to do, so she went to Friar’s cell and told him the whole story.After Friar heard the whole story he had an idea what Juliet should do.He gave her hurbs that look like that she is died and tells her to drink it before the wedding to fake her death.Than, after putting her in a tum;she will be awake and she can go and meat Romeo in the next city and live happily ever after.After Juliet did what Friar told her,Romeo thought that Juliet really died because the letter didn’t got to him so he didn’t know the plan.He went to the drug store and bought some poison and went to