Many plot lines in today’s entertainment mediums (TV shows, movies, etc.) follow, or closely resemble the plots of Shakespearean plays. For example, Disney’s 1994 movie The Lion King obtains its story from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. However, the 1961 musical West Side Story also derives its plot from one of Shakespeare’s most notable and recognizable plays, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In the adaptation as well as the original, the tragic heroes are heavily influenced by their advisors and confidants. In both Romeo and Juliet as well as West Side Story, the main characters confidants have similar, if not the same, influences that affect the course of the plot. The first peer influence comes from the male leads’ …show more content…
In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse advises Juliet to marry Paris instead of attempting to reunite with Romeo in Mantua, as he is banished. The Nurse advises Juliet to wed Paris using the argument that, “Romeo is banished, and all the world to nothing / That he dares ne’er come back to challenge you, / Or, if he do, it needs must be by stealth. / Then, since the case so stands as now it doth, / I think it best you married with the County. / O, he’s a lovely gentleman!” (III.v.215-220). This is replicated in West Side Story in the song “A Boy Like That”; a duet between Anita and Maria. In the song, Anita tells Maria to “stick to her own kind”; referring to Maria having a safe relationship with Chino instead of a risky but passionate relationship with Tony. Though communicated in different methods, Anita and the Nurse are both trying to persuade the female leads of each tragedy to avoid a riskier path and prioritize safety over true love. Although they give this advice with good intentions, the confidants only create a greater desire to in the heroines to maintain their relationship with their love interest from the opposing family. However, this cautious advice is also being given to the male leads of both