Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story

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     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.

Comparing Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story In this piece of coursework I will be analysing the technical aspects of the opening scenes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. I will be talking about the body language, costumes, colour schemes, the sounds, music and camera angles used in each of the films. Both these films are about two lovers who fall in love despite being in rival gangs or families, which eventually leads to both lovers from both the films to being killed or committing suicide.

Romeo and Juliet is a story based on conflict. The conflict in the story is Capulet against Montague. From ancient times, the two families have held grudges against each other. As the book states. “Two households, alike in dignity...from ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean (1.Prologue.1-4).” The grudge between the two families has led to fighting and even death.

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.

Love is a universal truth that is portrayed similarly in both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. Two members of warring groups fall in love. Love is something that we can all relate to in one way or another and it will never change over time. In Romeo and Juliet both Romeo and Juliet have such a strong love for each other that they both commit suicide when the other dies. In West Side Story, Tony and Maria talk of running away and they have such a strong love that they believe that they can end the hatred with their love.

Romeo was a Montague and Juliet was a Capulet and the families’ feud meant that the two could never be together. This is shown in this quote, “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late!’ (5.3.295-299). In this scene, Juliet complains about Romeo being a Montague. She wishes that he wasn’t so that they could freely be together. Also, both families and their servants would always pick fights on the streets of Verona. One of these fights would result in Romeo being banished from Verona. In a scene of the play, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin decides to pick a fight with Romeo and his friend Mercutio in the middle of the street. Romeo tries to stop the fight because he is now related to Tybalt through his marriage to Juliet. This is shown in the following quote where Romeo tries to keep the peace, “Draw Benvolio, beat down their weapons. / Gentlemen, for shame! / ... / Forbid this bandying in Verona’s streets” (3.1.381-384), but no one listens to him and Tybalt ends up killing Mercutio. Romeo has no choice but to kill Tybalt for revenge which leads to the Prince banishing Romeo. Without the feud, Romeo and Juliet would not have had to keep their love a secret and, the fight that resulted in Romeo’s banishment would never have happened. This is why the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is responsible for Romeo

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.

Hate is one very important idea examined in Romeo and Juliet and is explored by Juliet when she states ‘Here's much to do with hate, but more with love’ (1.1.166). William Shakespeare conveys the consequences of hate in his play through the ancient feud between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s, the irrational decisions made and the deaths that resulted. It is the ancient feud between the two families that lead to the irrational decisions made by Romeo and Juliet as well as their demise. It is questionable as to whether Romeo and Juliet’s lives would be spared if their families were not feuding.

R-The story of Romeo and Juliet is one o the most famous love stories in the world. The play was written by William Shakespeare in 1595.

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.

Author Shannon L. Adler once said, “Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in” (“A Quote by Shannon L. Alder”). Adler examines one of the universal characteristics of human nature, implying that people’s dispositions are shaped by how they were brought up and the experiences they have been through. Artists strive to convey similar ideas through the medium of art. Created in 1884, Frank Bernard Dicksee’s oil painting titled Romeo and Juliet pictures the iconic balcony scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. A photograph of a scene from West Side Story, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, also captures a moment between two lovers. Both pieces of art support Adler’s claim about perspective through