Comparing Romeo And Juliet And The West Side Story
ROMEO AND JULIET
COMPARISON IN THEMES • The overriding theme, of course, between the two stories – Romeo and Juliet and The West Side Story is love – deep, intense and passionate love that defies friendship, family and everything in between. This point is reinforced when Maria later disregards the death of her brother, Bernardo, at the hands of Tony and agrees to marry him, consummation sealing the deal. • In the original play, Romeo is a pre-buscent teen, portrayed as a romantic, yet often hysterical and impetuous. There is a series of intense thoughts and emotions around Romeo - who takes to a whole new level of ‘intensity’ - which is repeated in the musical – Tony’s emotional outbursts, sneaking into enemy territory to see Maria, the foolish and mishap-murder of Bernardo by his hands and finally, his most foolish act of provoking Chino into shooting him due to the belief that his lover is dead. These intense and extreme emotions are what define Romeo and Tony, alike. …show more content…
• Both the play, and the film show the audience the chaotic obstacles and cacophony that surround passion and love, along with the lives that are laid to waste due to pointless feuds.
• In both play and film, love is linked to death, as indicated by the untimely suicides of Romeo and Juliet and the murder of Tony. • Another theme that is apparent in both the film and play is the concept of “Us against the World.” Both works highlight the struggles and conflicts of the “individual self” against the norms of
society.
DIFFERENCES IN THEMES • In the original play, a hysterical Juliet kills herself on discovering the death of her lover, which should be pointed out (though irrational), takes more courage than one can imagine. However, Maria, though also hysterical in the beginning, uses Tony’s death to point out to the two feuding groups the heavy cost he paid due to their senseless fights – his death. Also, Maria’s choice of braving a life without the love-of-her-life – Tony – portrays Maria as much more strong-willed and rational than Juliet, for she chooses not to suicide out of love, but to live out of love. • Unlike the original play, West Side Story adds more layers to the personality of the supporting characters. The movie gives a more animalistic view on the Jets (the Montague counter-parts) as evidenced by their attempted rape of Anita who is later saved by the intervention of the candy store owner, Doc. • While the play is set against the backdrop of two feuding families, it is a feud between two cultures in the musical adaptation – the Americans and the Puerto Ricans. • An element of racial prejudice is added to the film adaptation – the city’s racist officer that quietly sides with the Jets for “cleaning” the streets of New York.
COMPARISON IN THEMES • The overriding theme, of course, between the two stories – Romeo and Juliet and The West Side Story is love – deep, intense and passionate love that defies friendship, family and everything in between. This point is reinforced when Maria later disregards the death of her brother, Bernardo, at the hands of Tony and agrees to marry him, consummation sealing the deal. • In the original play, Romeo is a pre-buscent teen, portrayed as a romantic, yet often hysterical and impetuous. There is a series of intense thoughts and emotions around Romeo - who takes to a whole new level of ‘intensity’ - which is repeated in the musical – Tony’s emotional outbursts, sneaking into enemy territory to see Maria, the foolish and mishap-murder of Bernardo by his hands and finally, his most foolish act of provoking Chino into shooting him due to the belief that his lover is dead. These intense and extreme emotions are what define Romeo and Tony, alike. …show more content…
• Both the play, and the film show the audience the chaotic obstacles and cacophony that surround passion and love, along with the lives that are laid to waste due to pointless feuds.
• In both play and film, love is linked to death, as indicated by the untimely suicides of Romeo and Juliet and the murder of Tony. • Another theme that is apparent in both the film and play is the concept of “Us against the World.” Both works highlight the struggles and conflicts of the “individual self” against the norms of
society.
DIFFERENCES IN THEMES • In the original play, a hysterical Juliet kills herself on discovering the death of her lover, which should be pointed out (though irrational), takes more courage than one can imagine. However, Maria, though also hysterical in the beginning, uses Tony’s death to point out to the two feuding groups the heavy cost he paid due to their senseless fights – his death. Also, Maria’s choice of braving a life without the love-of-her-life – Tony – portrays Maria as much more strong-willed and rational than Juliet, for she chooses not to suicide out of love, but to live out of love. • Unlike the original play, West Side Story adds more layers to the personality of the supporting characters. The movie gives a more animalistic view on the Jets (the Montague counter-parts) as evidenced by their attempted rape of Anita who is later saved by the intervention of the candy store owner, Doc. • While the play is set against the backdrop of two feuding families, it is a feud between two cultures in the musical adaptation – the Americans and the Puerto Ricans. • An element of racial prejudice is added to the film adaptation – the city’s racist officer that quietly sides with the Jets for “cleaning” the streets of New York.