West Side Story And Romeo And Juliet example essay topic

There are minor differences between Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet to Rogers and Hammerstein's West Side Story. However, very similar. The movie's central story line between love and violence intertwine, varying only by form and detail. Both stories start off by introducing two rival groups. In Romeo and Juliet there are two households both alike in dignity but with an ancient grudge between them. The houses are ancient, prominent families in the city of Verona, Italy and their names are Montague and Capulet.

These two families desire to dominate as the most wealthy and influential house in Verona. In West Side Story, two opposing street gangs, consisting of family who all roughly have the same age represent the opposite groups. Consisting of a home grown New York gang, the Jets, a gang of Puerto Rican immigrants and the Sharks. The two become bitter rivals, battling for superiority and domination of New York's street territory around the middle of the twentieth century. There is very little difference in the desire that these rivals have in the two stories. The families desired control and strength of the territory in the city.

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story find happiness together only to meet with tragedy. Among the two plays consist similarities of costume design, staging, setting, and vocabulary. In Romeo and Juliet, the clothing appeared like what they would have been in Shakepeares time. The Montagues wore black and blue and the Capulets wore orange and red. This provides a sharp contrast to distinguish the difference between the two families and also helps the audience to quickly ascertain the identity.

Women wore decorated petticoats with beads and were worn over a farthingale and bumroll. Their clothing seemed heavy and had a tight seam to increase the bust. Hair was kept long and straight or in a simple braid. Men wore baggy long sleeve shirts and tights. The clothing was very ligh and not quite decorative.

Men's hair kept flat and very short. In contrast, the women in West Side Story wore cropped pants and V-necked shirts. At dances the women wore mid length skirts and panty hose. Women's hair kept shoulder length and also in a simple braid. Men dressed modern, similar to today. The Jets and Sharks dressed with slacks or jeans along with long sleeve collar shirts or tight t-shirts.

At the ball the men wore vivid suites and ties, well dressed for the occasion. Men's hair was also kept short but was full at the top. The setting and staging of the two plays represent opposite periods of time. Romeo and Juliet for example, the work of Shakespeare, written over 400 years ago and West Side Story filmed in the middle of the twentieth century. Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet, a classical interpretation of Shakespeare's original version took place in Verona, Italy whereas West Side Story took place in the streets of Manhattan, New York.

The famed balcony scene was shot at the palace built by Cardinal Bourges in the sixteenth century. Pope Pius II built the Capulet's home in the 1460's. Friar Lawrence's church in fact the church of San Pietro, a nationwide memorial. Altogether the scenes were shot in Italy, including the cities of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. The garden and balcony scene at Juliet's home filmed in Pienza, Tuscany became prominent. The scenes of riots and duels settled in Gubbio, the fairest medieval city of Italy.

The fight sequences kept to sword fights and the scene depicted to the left the fighters, Romeo and Tibalt. This may be the intention of the director that it becomes difficult to tell who to cheer for, the Montague or the Capulet. In West Side Story the balcony scene took place on a fire escape ladder where Maria is waiting on a platform between two flights of stairs. All of the fighting sequences were series of dance steps. Instead of using swords, the Jets and Sharks use knives. Shakespeare uses dialect to instill his plays with power and passion and West Side Story paints a story with dance, song, and music.

In West Side Story, dance conveys much of the action between the dialogue, music, and lyrics. Through the gritty nature of choreography, rage, desire, and desperation adopt the street gang's expression to the audience. For example, the begging of the movie has almost no words and dancing becomes a figure of assertion used. The audience witnesses a fight between the Jets and the Sharks.

Names sound much more Hispanic and American compared to the choice of names used by Shakespeare. In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story differentiate. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo assumes Juliet died as Romeo sees Juliet lying, in truth sleeping. Juliet drinks a potion and looks dead, hoping to not marry Paris.

Romeo hearing about Juliet's death assumes that Juliet is dead. Romeo takes a poison and commits suicide in a tomb next to a sleeping wife. Moments later, Juliet awakens to see Romeo's dead body. Juliet learns what happened from Friar Lawrence who arrived and assessed the scene. With no reason left to live, Juliet kills herself with Romeo's dagger.

West Side Story makes one major departure from Romeo and Juliet. In West Side Story, Maria asks Anita to tell Tony that Maria will see him soon. Before Anita can deliver the message, the Jets interfere by roughing Anita up. In anger, Anita tells the Jets to relay to Tony that Chino, a Puerto Rican gang member, found out about the relationship between Maria and Tony, and that Chino killed Maria. Hearing this, Tony goes out into the streets and calls for Chino to come and kill Tony too. Avenging Bernardo's death, Chino shoots and kills Tony on sight jus at the moment Tony and Maria are reunited.

The audience knows Maria must live the rest of life without Tony. The closing creates a social message that West Side Story delivers to the audience. Maria is left alive to accuse society and voice the responsibility that everyone shared in the tragedy that harmonized Maria's life. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria were not star-crossed lovers whose destiny was determined by fate, but rather victims of the intolerance, misunderstanding, and mistrust that seem to ever present in human society. In Romeo and Juliet their love led but to the grave. Is love worth killing for when hatred exists among two families The morale here is that love can overcome a great deal, even bitter rivalries.

Main characters like Romeo and Juliet and Tony and Maria are clearly parallels and other characters are parallels. Romeo and Tony are typical leader types and both have experience in leading others. Romeo was born in wealth and assumed given responsibilities. Tony also takes responsibility as a leader. Together Tony and Riff created the Jets and led the gang for awhile. Romeo and Tony have looks that women would find attractive.

Tony and Romeo are able to take up arms and prefer to resolve conflicts without violence. Juliet and Maria have attractiveness that any man would like to see. Juliet and Maria seem gullible and ready to believe everything they hear from others. There is strong will power displayed among Juliet and Maria. In Romeo and Juliet, the characters Mercutio and Tybalt can be compared to those of West Sides Riff and Bernardo. The characters seem eager to fight.

In Romeo and Juliet, it is Mercutio and Tybalt who start a fight after Mercutio is killed that Romeo enters the fight. The same thing happens in West Side Story. Riff and Bernardo agree to have a rumble between the two gangs to determine who would get control of the turf. Only after Bernardo kills Riff, Tony steps in to kill Bernardo.

Friar Lawrence and Doc have the same role as a confidant respectively for Romeo and Tony. Maria's friend Anita and Juliet's nurse also play a very similar role as a mentor for Maria and Juliet. After Romeo is banished and Tony killing Bernardo, the mentors advised the heroins in each case to go and pursue a relationship with the right people of their own kind, being Paris in Romeo and Juliet and Chino in West Side Story. Concluding, In both movie's or screen plays, hate is a universal truth that has a strong influence in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story's plots. West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet are all so victorious since they utilized the universal truths of love and hate which easily one can relate and captivate yet timeless to all audiences both young and old and then and now. However, very similar.

The clothing was very light and not quite decorative. However, very similar.