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.
‘’For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo’’ – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet are star crossed lovers and their lives are cut short by death. Are family wishes hazardous, or is it deadly to have flaws? Is the victim at fault here? In the play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare provides several of actions and influences that caused Juliet’s tragedy. The death of Juliet can be blamed on multiple factors. It is clear that she is partially to blame because of her personality flaw but also external forces such as family expectations played a role in her death.
Throughout history, classic literature has appealed to modern audiences due to the relevance of themes in the piece. Playwright William Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet (1599) is a classic piece that explores the themes; love and impetuousness of youth. These themes are portrayed through the star-crossed lovers’ story and still reflect the universal themes that people experience today.
Wizard of Oz and Wicked. Two very different stories both sharing the same characters and setting. The two plots are so masterfully intertwined, but showing two very different points of view. Although they share so many similarities, relationships and conflicts between the two are very different. Glinda maybe isn’t so good after all, Elphaba was just trying to do what was right, and the Wizard was the real villain all along. To truly see things as they really are, both sides of a story must be acknowledged and understood, or else someone else’s story will be lost.
For most time a tragedy is more appealing than a comedy. Because it can cause great suffering, and destruction so that readers will not forget it for a long time. Probably because of tragic elements, both Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee are well known works. At the same time, there are sort of similarities between them. By examining, conflicts, weaknesses of humanity and deaths, common elements of tragedy are demonstrated.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet is the most common love story written by Shakespeare. It was played in Renaissance Theatre and we can see a lot of violent actions, we can see young boys were playing female act without masks, many scenes, and time changes throughout the play. However, the Renaissance is very different theatre style from Greek Theatre. If the Romeo and Juliet were played in Greek theater, then we would have no violent actions and the narrator would tell the story about the fight instead of showing violent actions. Also, in Greek Theatre we would have men characters to play women parts by pretending that they are women and covering their faces through masks. At Greek Theatre we wouldn’t have time change, instead it would play continuously and the setting would be shown in one
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story about two ill-fated lovers. Originally written by, Shakespeare, this story has been adapted by different directors who all commonly try to add their own unique twist to it. Two of the most prevalent adaptations of Romeo and Juliet have been done by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann, who have taken this love story to the big screen. Franco Zeffirelli’s movie, which was produced in 1968, is extremely authentic and stays true to Shakespeare's vision, whereas, Baz Luhrmann’s version produced in 1996, is contemporary and appeals more to younger audiences. There are various differences and a couple of similarities between Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s movie versions such as the costumes, their interpretations of
Romeo and Juliet is a very well known book that is loved by many. There numerous movies done on Romeo and Juliet like Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version and Gnomeo and Juliet. There are many apparent differences like using guns instead of swords and using gnomes instead of people. Although there are many similarities, the differences between Luhrmann’s movie and Gnomeo and Juliet compared to the play Romeo and Juliet are evident. The similarities between the movie and the play only go down to the plot and language.
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, classic love story written by the incomparable William Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare’s works are considered literary classics, but none are more loved than Romeo and Juliet. This play masterfully tells the love story of two teenagers in Elizabethan England. The title characters Romeo and Juliet are members of two feuding families, Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. There are different stylistic ways of portraying Romeo and Juliet, and the two most popular film versions portray two very different styles of this one play. Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet was made in the 1970s, and is the film version most commonly shown in high school classrooms. The newest film version of this play is Baz Luhrmanns
Lastly, the plot of the two stories are greatly different. This again is also in order for the target audiences to better understand. The plot of the West Side Story is much more complex than that of the Gnomeo and Juliet, In the plot of the West Side Story we see death, Violence and loveloss. These are all components that make a a novel appealing to a more mature audience. These are ideas that are advanced beyond what most children can comprehend but this is also the same thing that makes the novel so effective to carrying a message to a older audience.
In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations in Romeo and Juliet through various language techniques and structure. Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers. Both Romeo and Juliet were from feuding families that would not approve of their marriage. In the play they are presented with many difficult circumstances. The play was set in the Elizabethan era; there was a significant change in religion, family and politics. Attitudes and key scenes highlight the theme of love in difficult circumstances and prepare the audience for Romeo and Juliet’s suicides at the end of the play. In this essay I will be exploring the ways Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations.
The clearest similarity is the feud between the two families. The classic story of Romeo and Juliet revolves around the two young lovers who struggle to stay together, because of the feud between their families. The two’s families have been in a feud for years, Romeo belongs to the Montague family and Juliet belongs to the Capulet family, and both families despise each other. Since the families hate each other so much Romeo and Juliet, or Gnomeo and Juliet, are forced to hide their love. In both the movie Gnomeo and Juliet and Romeo and Juliet the main characters are forced to hide their love due to the two families’ feud. In the movie
Does love really conquer all or is it destiny who determines the lover’s fate? Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, Play, is a story about two “star-crossed lovers” (Shakespeare Prologue.6) whose love is fatal because of their opposing families and misfortunate events lead the couple to their death. In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare uses the motif of destiny to suggest that destiny is inevitable because everyone has their own fate for a reason which cannot be altered no matter the great lengths taken.
In the play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, we learn of the many hardships and highs Romeo and Juliet go through over the course of the story. The play Romeo and Juliet is based off two star-crossed lovers who are separated from each other due to a feud between their two families. Their love is so strong that at the end of the story Romeo and Juliet both end up committing suicide because they can’t live without each other. Whether it is problems with love, or them complimenting each other on how they feel about the other person, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to make the reader dig deeper into the context to find the meaning behind the sentence. Some of the literary devices are; similes, metaphors, and personification.
The literature genius William Shakespeare concocted two great stories which are very much different stories, but have intertwined themes and personalities. These two stories are the romantic play of Romeo and Juliet and the story about the descent to madness, Macbeth. Both of these fantastic plays have overlying arches about loyalty, love, and power. Furthermore, both of these plays have glaring differences such as the wildly different character dynamics.