Can fate really be defied? The tragedies of both West Side Story written by Arthur Laurents and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet have major differences and similarities that are caused by one thing, fate. Parallel structures can easily be identified between two classic plays. The playwrights both contain main characters who lead the story to a devastating tragedy of conclusion, which further engages the theme of fate shown in both classic plays. In West Side Story, Maria and Tony fall in love at a party knowing they are from opposing gangs but are blinded by “love at first sight”. For example, in West Side Story, “they drift into steps of the dance, always looking at each other, completely lost in each other; unaware of anything, any place, any time, anything but each other” (I.iv.24). In this …show more content…
For example, in Romeo and Juliet, “If I profane with unworthiest hand, This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this” (i.v.92-93). In this quote, it foreshadows how Romeo sees that Juliet is in the other gang and knows he might not have a chance with her. In West Side Story, after Maria and Tony dance together, they kiss. As they kiss, Bernardo comes in, breaks them apart and yells “Stay away from my sister!” (i.iv.25). This quote shows that Bernardo does not want Tony to be with his sister since he’s part of the Jets, and she’s part of the Sharks, but Maria didn’t care, neither did Tony. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo continues to talk to Juliet and, as the masquerade goes on he eventually kisses her. Nurse immediately sees and runs over and gets Juliet away and states “His name is Romeo, and a Montague, [the] only son of your great enemy” (i.v.135-136). This shows how Nurse doesn’t think that Juliet should be with him since she is a cavalier and Romeo is an enemy, but Juliet most likely does not care since she does not want to marry