What Are The Similarities Between 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.

The film and play Romeo and Juliet has a similar story line to West Side Story. However this story is based in Verona, Italy and the rivals are not gangs but families, the Capilates

In both of these plays the main male character kills a relative of their lover. In Romeo And Juliet, Romeo kills Tybalta, Juliet's cousin. In West Side Story, Toni kills Bernardo, Maria's brother. There was a person in both play's that tried to make peace. These people were the Prince and the Lieutenant. The Prince, from Romeo And Juliet, had told Romeo and Juliet's families that if there was another riot that the heads of each family will be killed. The Lieutenant, from West Side Story, had told the Puerto Rican's and the American's that if they get into another fight they all will have to go to jail. The difference between the two peace-makers is that the Prince has more power than the Lieutenant. In the story of Romeo and Juliet, Paris wants to marry Juliet against her wishes. Her father wants Paris West Side Story to marry Juliet. Juliet goes off and marries Romeo without telling anyone. In Chino wants to marry Maria against her wishes, just like Paris in Romeo and Juliet. Maria and Toni do not get married, which is in contrast to Romeo and Juliet. Marcucio in Romeo and Juliet, is killed while battling Tybalta.

The meshing of characters between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story formulate significant similarities between the two. In Romeo and Juliet the story of “Two households both alike in dignity,” (Montagues and Capulets) who have been feuding is parallel to the two gangs in West Side Story (Jets and Sharks). This grouping of loyalties keeps the segregation of the two groups at a dead lock, thus producing the tension that keeps the two lovers in each play (Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria) in the unattainable, intangible realm of their idealistic love. It is these two groupings that cause the star-crossed

     What would Romeo and Juliet be like if Juliet hadn't died? What if Paris killed Romeo, instead of vice versa? What if instead of occurring several centuries ago, it took place on the streets of New York City during the 1950s, with a bunch of fresh-faced youths posing as street toughs and dancing and singing their hearts out? Well, just take a look at West Side Story, and you will have your answers. It is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not note the obvious major similarities between the two plays. 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).

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 and West Side Story are indistinguishable from various perspectives, they were both extremely effective in their day. West Side Story is basically a similar play that was restored in 1961. Like Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria are of inverse "families", They begin to look all starry eyed at and their affection is taboo. Maria is Puerto Rican and Tony is Irish. In West Side Story they don't get hitched however they do have a torrid love illicit relationship. The loathe between the two gatherings was modernized to bigotry and not the same number of the primary characters bite the dust in West Side

As the famous philosopher Lao Tzu once said, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” This quote represents the truth about the classic tragedy play of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare and the movie “West Side Story” directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, in which the two set of couples go against their own families and fall in love with their own enemies. In the play, Romeo falls in love with Juliet, who was on the opposing family, and Tony, who belonged to the Jets, falls in love with Maria, who was part of his rival gang, the Sharks. Even though both versions have a similar plot of events and portrayal of characters, they contrast with each other in many ways.

The themes in West Side Story manage to be very similar, if not the same in Romeo and Juliet. One theme in both stories is that love defies all. It is love that causes both Romeo, Juliet, Maria and Tony to forget the differences in each of their families because of the love they have for each other. During the balcony scene Romeo says, “And what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me,” (II.II.69-70). Romeo is talking about how his love for Juliet is stronger than the Capulets killing him if they were to find him with Juliet. In West Side Story, when Bernando sees Tony and Maria talking he interferes by saying, “‘Couldn't you see he’s one of them?’ ‘No, I saw only him,’” (Robbins). The scene where Tony and Maria first meet shows how although they are from different sides, they couldn't tell because of their love for eachother. Violence is another theme in both stories. When the Capulets and Montagues find Romeo and Juliet dead the prince says, “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love,” (V.III.302-3). The quote explains that it was the two feuding families and their problems that eventually led to the death of the star-crossed lovers. In Maria's case it the same thing, when Tony is dead she yells at the others saying, “You all killed him!... Not with bullets and guns - with hate. Well, I can kill too because now I have hate!” (Robbins). The feud between the Jets and the Sharks is what causes not only Tony's death but also Bernardo's death, leaving Maria sad and alone, similar to Montague and Capulet without their children. Violence is what keeps the two similar couples from being together and violence is what kills them in the end. The similar themes show that there are still lessons and morals to be learned from Romeo and Juliet and proves that Romeo and

Romeo and Juliet is regarded as the love story of the ages, its tale of lust and tragedy a classic in the literature world. The Shakespearian writing has been changed and shaped over many centuries in to multiple different ways over its 500 years of creation. Two examples of adaptions of this iconic play are Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Wise and Robbins ‘West Side Story’. All three of these directors created a modernised version to suit their individual time zones of eras in order to appeal to their target audience at the time. There are many aspects that help Baz Luhrmann and Wise/Robbins modernise the legendary tale of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

On the contrary of both texts, they both fall under the same storyline even though their settings are centuries apart. Likewise, Romeo and Tony had similar character traits by them both being blinded by love and in the characters of Juliet and Maria, they believed in nothing but lust over any thing else. With both young lovers in the two texts, there was a tragedy that had happened. Just as how Juliet is forced to marry prince Paris but she angrily disagrees, she has no idea what to do next but turns to Friar Lawrence to fake her own death. Romeo receives the wrong message just like how Tony with Maria being dead but was a lie. Correspondingly both couples in both texts lead to death but on the other hand Romeo and Juliet had died, in West Side Story Tony only died. At the same time the deaths of the two pairs were both caused by the risk of love they had for each other.

On April 20, 2017 a freshman from Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky committed suicide, her boyfriend leaving along with her 2 days later and similar to Romeo and Juliet, they did it for love. In the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet were young teens from different houses or families who fell madly in love just after knowing each other for less than a day and couldn't love the way they wanted to because of a ancient feud between their families. Just like Romeo and Juliet, in the movie West Side Story the main characters, Tony and Maria,have a similar love story to Romeo and Juliets. In this paper I will be comparing Shakespeare's play, the 1996 movie, and West Side Story. Shakespeare play and the 1996 movie have numerous similarities but also plenty of differences.

The classic “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare in 1597 and “West Side Story” based on the story of Romeo and Juliet and it is a movie directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins in 1961 have many similarities. These two classics may have the same story but they have their differences.

West side story is American musical loosely based on the story of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It takes place in New York City in the 1950’s and is a love story between Maria and Tony who come from rival street gangs in the upper west side. Tony is an ex-gang member of the Jets, and is best friends with the Jet’s leader Riff. The Jets is a caucasian gang that has a rivalry with a Puerto Rican gang called the Sharks. Mira, is the sister of Bernardo, who is the leader of the Sharks.