Romeo And Juliet Influence

The influence of William Shakespeare’s plays on modern culture is apparent in a multitude of media settings. Hamlet is the basis for Disney’s The Lion King; Arthur Laurents’ West Side
Story is loosely based off of the plot of Romeo and Juliet; Twelfth Night has been the basis for countless moderately successful teenage romantic comedies (Fallon). Aside from repeatedly using the same plots for blockbuster movies, public figures frequently quote Shakespeare in their speeches, interviews, and even on tattoos. Individuals in the public sphere may use parts of a work to emphasize a point, regardless of any irony or contradiction that the original work would provide.
As a result of overuse, Shakespearean themes and details are deeply embedded within
Thus, the Montague and Capulet head of households symbolize the aristocracy and the feud represents the upper class politics. In contrast, Romeo and Juliet symbolize innocence and purity of love brought abruptly to an end due to unstoppable outside forces. By the end of the play, the reason for the family feud is forgotten, but is irrelevant because of the irreparable damage it caused. Thus, while Romeo and Juliet is a play satirizing the politics of the uppermost social echelon, it does so by showing that high society politics can be devastating and meaningless.
While modern variations and productions of Romeo and Juliet focus on the romantic story of the star crossed lovers, the presence of an overpowering and devastating authority figure remains. One such modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet is West Side Story (Zeff). In the musical, the overpowering authority figure is the racism and rivalry between the white and Puerto
Rican gangs, and the innocence and purity of love is the secret relationship of Maria and
All of these characters cause death, with or without premeditation; all of these characters
Cook 5 have been defining figures in literary conceptions of tragedy; all of these characters have American political connotations that are different than what was originally intended for the characters to be or not to be. For example, a “Lady Macbeth” is a female politician who stops at nothing to achieve their own ambitions. A “Romeo” is a persistent philanderer rather than a lover who is faithful until death. A “Hamlet” is an emotional and indecisive over thinker (Garber). The modern usage of these archetypes pays no attention to the stories, other characters, and circumstances of both the setting of the play and the age in which Shakespeare wrote them.
Another example of the misuse of Shakespearean ideas is in business and corporations.
Business CEOs may have their higher ranking employees watch a Shakespearean play- any of the tragedies, the plot and characters are secondary to the exercise- to reinforce a specific idea.
Sometimes the lesson is that great power and authority presents greater potential for usurpation and gain enemies, and sometimes the point is less cautionary and relays the unfortunate truths of