Romeo And Juliet With West Side Story Essay, Research Paper

Shakespeare’s is one of the most read writers ever and his writing was so

successful that not just one group of people liked it. He did this by relating

to his audience using universal truths. . Human emotions are not something that

change over time and they are also known as universal truths; love, hate,

revenge, and envy are all examples of universal truths. This play was so

successful that many other movies have copied the plot but changed the scenery.

Over the past 400 years since this play was written the world has changed

drastically, but the emotions and feelings in this play have withstood the test

of time. This is why the movies, Romeo and Juliet (1996) and West Side Story

(1961) were so successful. Shakespeare’s play and the two movies modeled after

it have many similarities and many differences, but one thing remains constant

in all of them, They all use universal truths to relate to their audiences.

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. One of the major differences is that Maria doesn’t die,

she is left alone. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet kills herself after she finds

that Romeo has perished. Another major difference is that in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo kills Paris who is supposed to marry Juliet then himself when he thinks

that Juliet is dead. In West Side Story, Tony is killed by Chino (the equivalent

of Paris) . Romeo and Juliet has a stronger sense of love and irony. Love is a

universal truth that is portrayed similarly in both Romeo and Juliet and West

Side Story. Two members of warring groups fall in love. Love is something that

we can all relate to in one way or another and it will never change over time.

In Romeo and Juliet both Romeo and Juliet have such a strong love for each other

that they both commit suicide when the other dies. In West Side Story, Tony and

Maria talk of running away and they have such a strong love that they believe

that they can end the hatred with their love. Hate is another universal truth

that has a strong influence in both of these plots. Everyone has felt hate at

one time or another in their life. As it is in Romeo and Juliet with Mercutio

and Tybalt, in West Side Story Maria’s brother, Bernardo and Tony’s best friend,

Riff are the focus of hate. These characters could not see past their blind

hatred and many others were killed. The original play Romeo and Juliet and the

new movie are almost exactly alike in their script, but the interpretation of

the dialogue is unique to the actors. One major difference is that at the end of

the original play the two families end their feud but in the new movie that is

not shown. Irony is when something ends up being the opposite of it’s obvious

and literal beginning and this change takes out the whole sense of irony that

Friar Laurence achieved when he joined the two families. Shakespeare’s Romeo and

Juliet was such a classic that today it is considered a standard. This story was

so well written to please audiences that is was redone over 400 years later and

it is still a success. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was also copied to make a

musical for Broadway and today it is one of the most famous musicals ever. These

were all so victorious because they utilized the universal truths of love and

hate which are easily relatable and captivating yet timeless to all audiences

both young and old, both then and now.

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