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Romeo And Juliet And West Side Story Analysis

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William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Arthur Laurent’s West Side Story were both tragic, romantic, works. West Side Story was a close variation of the play Romeo and Juliet, but the author of West Side Story changed characteristics of Tony to differ from his Romeo and Juliet equivalent, Romeo. Tony became more of an introverted, optimistic, and innocent character. On the other hand, Romeo was outgoing, seemingly bipolar, and violent. These changes in character between Tony and Romeo altered the themes from societal expectations, fate over free will, and complicated families to societal expectations in the 1950’s, inevitability of fate, and gang rivalry due to racism. First of all, Shakespeare depicted Romeo as a bit of a lover, whereas Tony was more of a loner. This change affected a theme of West Side Story because societal expectations vary based on time period, which allowed for Tony to act differently than Romeo. Shakespeare set Romeo …show more content…

Tony became more level-headed than Romeo and usually thought his decisions through better. This shift in character portrayal changed the way the theme of fate vs. free will showed and affected each character. Romeo could be one minute happy and in love, the next he could be miserable with life. His ever-changing emotions clouded his actions and he made a lot of bad choices at his own free will that led to consequences. An example of this from the play is when Romeo found out he was banished and he acted ungrateful, despite the fact he could have avoided the fight had it not been for his hate induced revenge, “There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture, hell itself. Hence banished is banished from the world, And world’s exile is death. Then banished Is death mis-termed. Calling death banished, Thou cut’st my head off with a golden axe, And smilest upon the stroke that murders me” (3.3.17-23). In West Side Story Tony was shown as optimistic

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Oh woe to these two lovers who lost their lovers to an ancient hate. The two stories are called Romeo and Juliet, and West Side Story. Both stories show how love and hate can lead to death in the most tragic sense. Romeo and Juliet were written by William Shakespeare while West Side Story was written by Tony Kushner. Shakespeare’s play takes place in Verona, Paris showing a feud between two wealthy families whose heirs, Romeo and Juliet, have fallen madly in love with each other causing the death of Romeo and Juliet.

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Tony is still more emotionally stable than Romeo due to the fact that he is still hopeful about his future with Maria, even if he knows that he can be arrested. He dreams of escaping to the country with Maria and having kids. Romeo feels that his life is over due to some failed, infatuation-driven love, where as Tony knows what he has done is wrong, yet continues to live his life with Maria as long as he can. Many events within the film and drama demonstrate the similar and contrasting characteristics Tony and Romeo possess. Romeo is younger and more naïve than Tony.

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These changes in character between Tony and Romeo altered the themes from societal expectations, fate over free will, and complicated families to societal expectations in the 1950’s, inevitability of fate, and gang rivalry due to racism. First of all, Shakespeare depicted Romeo as a bit of a lover, whereas Tony was more of a loner. This change affected a theme of West Side Story because societal expectations vary based on time period, which allowed for Tony to act differently than Romeo. Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet in the 1300’s or the Elizabethan era, during this time period it was typical of young men to find women, which explains Romeo’s romantic behavior. This conversation in the play, between Friar Laurence and Romeo shows how easily Romeo switched his love interests: FRIAR: God pardon sin, wast thou with Rosaline?

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Countless similarities are displayed between plays and their modern-day adaptations ranging from major influences such as setting to finer details like character traits. Being that they are adaptations, stark differences from the original can be discovered, too. The star-crossed lovers of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a drama by William Shakespeare, and West Side Story are equally affected by their friends but are influenced in dissimilar ways. Despite playing the same role, the Nurse and Anita provide very distinct influences to Juliet and Maria through the course of the stories.

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Nya Bilke Mrs. Whitehead Advanced Comm. Arts, 5th Hour 3/24/23 West Side Story Comparison Essay Between West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet we can all say we’ve been sufficiently subjected to the forbidden love story arc. Both Juliet and Maria are classically deluded, head-over-heels in love with impulsive (dare I say, stupid) delinquents. With the basis of the story line still intact, West Side Story shares a few essential similarities to its predecessor Romeo and Juliet.

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West Side Story is a tale of corrupt youth and a forbidden love. West Side Story was written by Arthur Laurents (Librettist), the music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, the lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim, and its choreographer was Jerome Robbins. Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare was the source material for West Side Story. This story is ultimately about two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, and their battle over the neighborhood. Tony and Riff are the main individuals in the Jets Gang.

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