Preview

Comparing Westside Story And Romeo And Juliet

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
538 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Westside Story And Romeo And Juliet
Tracy Hoang
Per 3
May 31, 2012
Westside Story and Romeo and Juliet Essay
There are some plays that remind the audience about the past movie they have seen that related in the same general ideas. After learning about “Romeo and Juliet” and watch “Westside Story” play. Both plays show the audience their point of view of how the plays create in their own unique way but share the same themes and moral lessons. So, they bring up a lot of differences and similarities that can compare together throughout the whole stories.
There are several commons between the two movies “Romeo and Juliet” and “Westside Story” that make both of them are alike. The first one are the two rival households of Romeo and Juliet which are Montague and Capulet just like

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann reenactments of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are wonderful and was and still is very famous for its use of words and the plot of the play itself. All though there are many differences between these two films there are many similarities to the reenactments. The characters from the films had many things in common the character were very funny with their acting and put emotions into their part. The plot line between the two films was very different but had many similarities, the plot was the same by the Montague and Capulet running into each other and then starting an argument leading to a conflict many moments later. The family feud is a strong and very hostile emotion between these two…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Like the first scenes, in the last scenes of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Westside Story” both differ and resemble each other. They are similar because both sides were starting to show less hate because the death of more and more peers triggered emotional feedback to both groups, as it would to anyone. Another deeply similarity in the last scenes of both movies is when the patrolling authority (police man/prince) brought shame upon the two groups and notified them that their hate for each other was responsible for the deaths which occurred. The ending scenes of “Romeo and Juliet”…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No one goes through all of life without the knowledge of these two timeless classics: West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. These films are each a great literary work that defines the true meaning of life, sorrows and love. We all have knowledge of Shakespeare’s original Romeo and Juliet. In 1957 Leonard Bernstein created a Broadway Musical with a plot similar to Romeo and Juliet. As well as this film, Baz Luhrmann created a film in 1996 using the exact play write from the original Romeo and Juliet set in modern times. Luhrmann entitled his film simple, Romeo and Juliet. These two timeless tales can be compared in many ways, such as: the differences and similarities Romeo and tony, the differences and similarities of each of the fighting scenes, and the differences and similarities of the wedding scene.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ‘Romeo and Juliet' and ‘The West Side Story' are both movies based on William Shakespeare's play. They are very similar in many ways, but different in others. It is about two teens that fall in love and see each other without their families knowing, because their families have a feud against each other. I will be discussing the differences and similarities between, Romeo and Tony, Juliet and Maria and finally, the families and the Gangs, which are in the movies, ‘Romeo & Juliet' and ‘West Side Story'. Event thought they seem different they have the same plot line.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What would Romeo and Juliet be like if Juliet hadn't died? What if Paris killed Romeo, instead of vice versa? What if instead of occurring several centuries ago, it took place on the streets of New York City during the 1950s, with a bunch of fresh-faced youths posing as street toughs and dancing and singing their hearts out? Well, just take a look at West Side Story, and you will have your answers. It is impossible for anyone familiar with both texts to not note the obvious major similarities between the two plays. From the opening scenes in both, up through the rumble in West Side Story/death of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, the plays mirror each other (Poelstra). It isn't until the last part of West Side Story, where Tony, our modern-day Romeo, dies and Maria, Tony's Juliet, doesn't (unlike the two star-crossed lovers of Shakespeare's work), that the major difference between the two works becomes apparent.…

    • 1931 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a timeless play that concentrates on many different human emotions and reactions. Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are alike in many ways, they were both very successful in their day. West Side Story is essentially the same play that was revived in 1961. Like Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria are of opposite "families", They fall in love and their love is forbidden. Maria is Puerto Rican and Tony is Irish. In West Side Story they don't get married but they do have a torrid love affair. The hate between the two groups was modernized to racism and not as many of the main characters die in West Side Story.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the stories, there was a balcony scene where the two young lovers had there first real talk and fell even more in love. In the story of Romeo and Juliet, the scene took place in an older setting on her house outside her window. In the movie West Side Story, the scene was outside her room in an ally way kind of thing, but there was the same moment shared between the two. That was a major similarity between the two stories.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When two people are meant to be together, no time is too long” (Anonymous). Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and West Side Story by Arthur Laurents show the pure evils of acting extremely hastily and how it can change the outlook on the future. Romeo and Juliet are two young lovers who were taught to hate one another and who suffer deeply because of the consequences of fate. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths were sure to be tragic as was hinted at early on throughout the play. Both families suffer with the loss of their children as well as other family members. Maria and Tony are split from one another because of extreme violence, hatred, and the differences between their New York City gangs. Each of them uses their knowledge of the power of love in hopes of them being together forever. Choices both Maria and Tony made resulted in severe heartbreak, the death of three teenage peers in the gangs. Romeo and Juliet is controlled by fate, while West Side Story is driven by free will.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word panic comes from the greek word “panikos” which means “pertaining to Pan”. Pan is the greek god of shepherds, flocks, and forests.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Benvolio is more civilized than Tybalt. To begin, Benvolio is respectful towards his kin. In a conversation with Montague, Benvolio wishes that “[his] noble uncle…so please [himself], step aside” (Shakespeare 1.1.140-153). Benvolio addresses his uncle with the utmost respect and politeness, depicting his civilized nature. Next, Benvolio tries to avoid violence. Upon seeing a fight, Benvolio intervenes to try and “put up [their] swords” (1.1.63). Benvolio’s trying to avoid a conflict demonstrates his civil actions. Unlike Benvolio, Tybalt is uncivilized. First, Tybalt does not respect the wishes of his uncle. Instead of doing as Capulet bids, Tybalt expresses to his “uncle, ’tis a shame” (1.5.82). Rather than politely doing as he is told, Tybalt snaps back rudely to his elder, illustrating his uncivil side. Whereas Benvolio asks his respected uncle to step aside politely, Tybalt disregards Capulet’s wishes and even retorts with a saucy comment, hence displaying his lack of civility in comparison to Benvolio. Moreover, Tybalt welcomes a fight. When given the chance to avoid using violence, Tybalt does not “excuse the injuries/that [Romeo] has done [him]; therefore [turns] and [draws]” (3.1.65-66). Instead of calmly forgiving and forgetting past offences, Tybalt intends to fight with Romeo. Tybalt is being uncivil towards Romeo, as he is trying to start a conflict with him when unnecessary. In contrast to Benvolio, who does his best to avoid fights, Tybalt strives for a conflict, hence proving him the less civil of the two. In conclusion, Benvolio is more respectful and peaceful than Tybalt, proving him to be the more civilized…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    |The play begins with a fight between the rival | The play begins with a fight between rival gangs|…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Sweet, sweet, sweet nurse, tell me, what says my love?" (RJ 2.5.55) In Zeffirelli's version of Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 5, Juliet seems bratty and impatient because the nurse fails to deliver the information about Romeo as soon as she walks through the door. Luhrmann made his version more modern, and makes the characters kinder to emphasize their relationship. These movies contain some similarities and differences; they both use some of the same lines, but portray the characters in diffrerent ways and the characters wear different types of costumes.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Arthur Laurent’s West Side Story share many elements in common, but also have differences that separate them. West Side Story is a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic love story that ended in tragedy. Because it is set in 1950’s New York City the scenes, characters, and plot have their own interpretations. The differences in some plot elements make each tragedy its own, but the similarities make them one.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Appropriations are often a reflection of our time’. This can be seen with Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, a play which was written almost 400 years ago. Although modern appropriations have been made; with Franco Zeffirelli’s, Elizabethan version (1968), and Baz Luhrmann’s (1996) more contemporary version, the essence of the play, and why audiences appreciate it remain the same. In order to highlight this, comparisons between the ‘Ballroom’ and ‘Balcony’ scenes of each film can be made. Although the setting, costumes and props are very different, the underlying themes remain true to Shakespeare’s original text.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays