West Side Story & Romeo + Juliet Comparison
Full title - The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Author - William Shakespeare
Type of work - Play
Genre - Tragic drama
Language - English
Time and place written - London, mid-1590s
Setting (in play) - Cities of Verona and Mantua, Italy
Time (in play) – 14th or 15th century
Characters – Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence (friend of both Romeo & Juliet), Mercutio (Kinsman to the Prince, Romeo’s close friend), The Nurse (Juliet’s nurse, cared for Juliet all her life), Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin), Capulet + Lady Capulet (Juliet’s Mother + Father), Montague + Lady Montague (Romeo’s Mother + Father), The Apothecary (refused to sell poison to Romeo), Abram (Montague’s servant, fought with Sampson & Gregory) , Sampson & Gregory Two servants of the house of Capulet and like their master- Romeo’s Father, hate the Montague’s), Balthazar (Romeo’s dedicated servant, brings news to Romeo that Juliet has died, unaware to him, is actually a ruse), Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend)
About – The play is a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. The Montague’s and Capulet’s do not get on at all.
Comparison:
In both Romeo and Juliet & West Side Story there are two ‘rival’ gangs/families which both hate each other. The main male characters have many things in common. In fact, Toni (WWS) and Romeo (R+J) both miss the beginning fight at the beginning of the plays; they both fall in love and end up getting killed. However, it’s not just the male characters: Juliet (R+J) and Maria (WWS) both come from families that hate each other's boyfriend's (Romeo & Toni) families.
Author - William Shakespeare
Type of work - Play
Genre - Tragic drama
Language - English
Time and place written - London, mid-1590s
Setting (in play) - Cities of Verona and Mantua, Italy
Time (in play) – 14th or 15th century
Characters – Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence (friend of both Romeo & Juliet), Mercutio (Kinsman to the Prince, Romeo’s close friend), The Nurse (Juliet’s nurse, cared for Juliet all her life), Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin), Capulet + Lady Capulet (Juliet’s Mother + Father), Montague + Lady Montague (Romeo’s Mother + Father), The Apothecary (refused to sell poison to Romeo), Abram (Montague’s servant, fought with Sampson & Gregory) , Sampson & Gregory Two servants of the house of Capulet and like their master- Romeo’s Father, hate the Montague’s), Balthazar (Romeo’s dedicated servant, brings news to Romeo that Juliet has died, unaware to him, is actually a ruse), Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend)
About – The play is a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. The Montague’s and Capulet’s do not get on at all.
Comparison:
In both Romeo and Juliet & West Side Story there are two ‘rival’ gangs/families which both hate each other. The main male characters have many things in common. In fact, Toni (WWS) and Romeo (R+J) both miss the beginning fight at the beginning of the plays; they both fall in love and end up getting killed. However, it’s not just the male characters: Juliet (R+J) and Maria (WWS) both come from families that hate each other's boyfriend's (Romeo & Toni) families.