Meshing Together of Characters in Arthur Laurents' West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
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 lovers to forfeit their lives in Romeo and Juliet’s instance and costs Tony his life in his and Maria’s love. Why do these groups feud and keep love bound by hatred? How are these groups alike in their intent? What are the similarities between the leaders of the groups or gangs in both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story? The hatred of diversity is what created these groupings, binding them to love their hate.
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet the conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets is kept heated by the servants.
Montague: Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach?
Speak, nephew: were you by when it began?
Benvolio: Here were the servants of your adversary
And yours, close fighting ere I did approach.
I drew to part them. In the instant came
The fiery Tybalt with his sword prepared (Shakespeare 875).
The servants uphold the ancient grudge that has plagued the houses of Montague and Capulet.
The older men of the two househol...
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... segregation limits on different cultures and households keeps us away from death. West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet cover up this message of segregation by bleeding the characters together and putting the idea of idealistic love in the forbears of the main characters. This cover up causes us to analyze their love and relationship and separate relationships with the other characters rather than see the picture for what it is. Never was there a story of more woe than that of Racism and what we Know!
Works Cited
Laurents, Arthur. West Side Story. (A musical, based on a conception of Jerome Robbins; music by Leonard Bernstein; lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.) NY: Random House, 1966.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Volume I. Ed. W. G. Clark and W. Aldis Wright. NY: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., 247-277.
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a story of two young lovers. These two hearts, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet belong to feuding families. The family feud causes them to keep their love a secret and therefore only Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, the Nurse and Friar Lawrence know of their love. Romeo and Juliet are able to look past the feud and let themselves fall in mad love with the other. They let themselves do almost anything for the other and at times it seems like too much to do, even for the one they love. Although fate and character traits play a key role in the play, ultimately Rome and Juliet’s personal choices lead to their downfall.Fate originates all of the conflicts in Romeo and Juliet, from when they met until they die.
Both the Capulet and Montague’s families are wealthy, noble and even founding families of Verona. Evidence of the family’s wealth is displayed when the Capulet’s have a classy party and Romeo meets Juliet for the first time. Proof of the two rival families superiority is even shown in the opening Prologue where the families are described by the line “Two households, both alike in dignity.” In the Elizabethan Era the word “dignity” can be interpreted to “Elevated rank, office,” or “station”. Hence both families are of high social status and in a position of power. Additionally in the prologue the families are described as ancient with this line “From ancient grudge break to new munity”. We can then determine that the Montague and Capulet families were Ancient and influential and the upper class in the social hierarchy of Verona. The Montages and The Capulet’s reputation and high values were the only thing the families and the people working for the houses cared about and their servants would never consider betraying their masters, the house they worked in was like their family. Servants working in the houses were considered normal when Shakespeare wrote Romeo And Juliet, in the Elizabethan Era most powerful or rich people had people of a lesser class working for them. An example of hierarchy in Romeo and Juliet is the Nurse and Balthazar the servant
In comparison, Romeo and Juliet story can be compared to West Side Story. For instance, the dance held in both stories is where the lovers met. The common trait between the love of Romeo & Juliet and Tony & Maria was it was forbidden. Both Romeo and Tony angered their friends because they neglected them for their lovers. Also, both Maria and Juliet completely disagree with their arranged marriages. However, the difference between these stories is only one lead to the death of both
The play West Side Story, by Arthur Laurents, is based upon the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Despite a few differences, both works, in essence, have the same plot. The source of violence in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story is the ever-present hatred between families and between gangs, although, because of the "star-cross’d lovers" motif in Romeo and Juliet, the hatred plays a larger role in producing the ending of West Side Story than it does the ending of Romeo and Juliet.
West Side Story, a film directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, is a relatively modern adaptation of William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet. As both, the film and text, explore the perceptions of deep-rooted feud between two parties, it also includes the influence and pressure it has on young love. Although numerous similarities are encountered throughout the play and movie, there are distinguished concepts obtaining great difference. However, the two mediums of this tragic love story have three prominent issues of story, themes and characters instilling both similar and dissimilar concepts.
The romantic tension between Romeo and Juliet and Tony and Maria in Shakespears original play and its modern day remake, Westside Story, is what makes them have such passionate and entrancing scenes. The main reason for romantic tension in these two plays is because the two couples can’t be together like they want to be. There are many different aspects that create different quality of romantic tension in these two scenes. Although the two plays have similar plots, the romantic tension between the two lovers is very different because of the setting, the language and the circumstances in which the lovers face.
civilians but the pride within each family has led them to violence. and evil. The play then goes straight from the prologue into a brawl in the first scene between both houses. It begins with servants from the two. houses, but later Tybalt, the son of the Capulets, and Benvolio arrived.
Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story share many similar themes. Romeo and Juliet both chronicle a story of overcoming prejudice and hatred, forbidden love, and defying stereotypes that nobody thought could be broken. The two stories are similar in a multitude of ways, even though their settings are centuries apart- Romeo and Juliet set in the 1500’s, and West Side Story set in the 1950’s. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story both teach a lesson of how prejudice can teach you how to hate, and how one of your rivals may be the one who helps you remember how to love. In both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, prejudices are so strong between two distinct groups of people that the hatred is passed from generation to generation, always against the same rival group.
Friday, Krister. ""A Generation of Men Without History": Fight Club, Masculinity, and the Historical Symptom." Project MUSE. 2003.
Additionally to the facts about Alzheimer’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease is not only one process; there are three stages of Alzheimer’s disease: mild, moderate and severe. In the mild stage, sufferers usually experience: short term memory loss, have small moods changes, get lost and slowly lose the ability to do tasks. Also, changes in the brain may begin almost 2...
< http://callisto.gsu.edu:4000/CGI:html> (5 May 1997). Rozen, Leah. "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, terminal, degenerative brain disease. It is the fourth leading cause of death in adults and currently affects over four million people in the United States. This number is expected to increase over the next several years as the baby boomers age, until it reaches fourteen million by the year 2025.
Gillick, Muriel R. (1998). Tangled minds: understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. New York: Penguin Group.
William Shakespeare has provided some of the most brilliant plays to ever be performed on the stage. He is also the author of numerous sonnets and poems, but he is best known for his plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I would like to discuss the play and movie, "Romeo and Juliet", and also the movie, Shakespeare in Love. The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is set in the fictional city of Verona. Within the city lives two families, the Capulets and the Montegues, who have been feuding for generations.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, shows how two opposite lovers come together even though their identity can get them in trouble. Different types of identity are used. Social class, family affiliation, and gender are all of the identities that are used to effect all of the actions done in this play.