FREE ESSAY ON ROMEO AND JULIET CONTRAST WITH THE WEST SIDE STORY

ROMEO AND JULIET CONTRAST WITH THE WEST SIDE STORY

Andy Warhol once said, They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change
them yourself. Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and
the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the
message of the story, simply the creators' unique visions evolved. Shakespeare's delivery
of the timeless tale of desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only
intensify through retelling and modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet
as one of the most beloved plays of all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present.
Romeo and Juliet have attained the role as the quintessential lovers, and the noun, a
Romeo, is synonymous with  lover. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is closely based on
Arthur Brooke's tale, The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. The language,
attitudes, and customs detailed in the play are generally English, in spite of Brooke's
original Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke
and Shakespeare's romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and
nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer
Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script and book. The love
story proved to have universal appeal throughout all artistic forms, as it had already
been adjusted for opera and ballet. The contemporary adaptation of this timeless classic
alters details and deepens the message of hatred, but maintains Brooke and Shakespeare's
vision. The relationships between the characters, plot sequence, and theme of hatred in
West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet intertwine resulting in two similar, yet varying
versions of the most famous love story of all time. 
The relationships between the characters of West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet are reflective of their respective time periods and the original story. Maria and
Juliet represent a slightly practical counterpart to both Tony's and Romeo's idealistic
nature. Maria's brother Bernardo and Juliet's cousin Tybalt portray impulsively stubborn
and violent characters who both die from wounds inflicted by the male lead. Lieutenant
Schrank is similar to Prince Escalus, although Schrank is unfair in his treatment and
attitude towards one gang- the Sharks. Anita and Nurse both take on the role as Juliet's
confidant and trusted friend, often tampering with their roles as messengers. The
mischievously tomboyish Anybodys, who desperately wants to be a Jet, would best fit into
the role of Balthasar, since it was she who aided Tony in escaping after the rumble, as
well as later informing the other Jets that Tony was being hunted. Finally, the character
of Doc appears to fulfill the role of Friar Laurence because both possess somewhat of a
peacekeeping nature. Doc attempts to get through to Tony by dramatically pleading, Why do
you live like there's a war on? Why do you kill? (2.5). All of the characters are
consistent to the heart and soul of the story as well as the slightly differing plots. 
West Side Story maintains Romeo and Juliet's intricate and exciting plot using
appropriate adaptations to accommodate mid-twentieth-century pop culture. For instance,
both artistic forms portray mutual disrespect between the parties. At the dawn of Romeo
and Juliet, Capulet's cohorts harass Montague's. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a
disgrace to them, if they bear it, boasts Sampson (1.1.42-43). In the opening scene of
West Side Story, several members of a Puerto Rican gang insult A-rab, a member of the
opposing gang. It is here where Lieutenant Schrank becomes aware of the potential rumble.
In Romeo and Juliet Escalus, Prince of Verona, threatens, If ever you disturb our streets
again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace (1.1.103-104). In West Side Story,
Schrank mediates in his own way when he declares, I got a hot surprise for you: you
hoodlums don't own the streets(1.1). Later, another similarity takes place. Riff
convinces Tony to attend the dance at the gym just as Benvolio persuades Romeo to attend
the Capulets' masquerade. Tony confesses to Riff that he's reachin' out for
something(1.2), just what, he doesn't know. Riff encourages Tony by proposing, Maybe what
you're waitin' for'll be twitchin' at the dance! (1.2). Shakespeare and director Jerome
Robbins choose to draw the audience's attention to the dramatic lovers by giving them
unique and eminent qualities. At the Capulet ball in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, all
of the characters speak in blank verse, but when Romeo and Juliet converse, they speak in
sonnet form. Throughout the dance at the gym in West Side Story, both of the gangs'
members dance a mambo, but Tony and Maria dance a cha-cha. Bernstein and Robbins
translated Shakespeare's spoken word into modern dance techniques (Gravely 1). Along with
the dance atmosphere, the discovery of the doomed love affair is interpreted in a unique
fashion in West Side Story, possibly losing passion in the adaptation. Upon the
revelation by Juliet's kinfolk of her new love for the enemy in both versions, the
leading lady responds in similar manners. Couldn't you see he's one of them? (1.4.)
Bernardo asks Maria, his sister. No; I saw only him, (1.4) she replies. Sixteenth-century
Juliet's exclamation was starkly more eloquent:
My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy. (1.5.140-143)
The balcony scene is mirrored in West Side Story as the fire escape scene. Romeo
metaphorically asks Juliet to arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon (2.2.4). During
the fire escape scene, Tony and Maria sing Leonard Bernstein's' s melody, Tonight:
Tonight, tonight,
The world is full of light,
With suns and moons all over the place.
Tonight, tonight,
The world is wild and bright,
Going mad, shooting sparks into space. (2.5)
Before drawing apart, both lovers agree to meet the following day. Romeo and Juliet are
to convene by the hour of nine (2.2.182) and Tony and Maria [at] sundown (2.5). The
tumultuously intense meeting inspires the young romantic lead to negotiate peace in both
versions. Tony, at the request of Maria, tries to stop the violent affairs by pleading,
Bernardo you've got it wrong/ Are you chicken? / You won't understand (2.5). Just as
Romeo defends his pacific nature by explaining, O sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me
effeminate / And my temper softened valour's steel (3.1.109-111). Despite Romeo and
Tony's courageous efforts, Mercutio assaults Tybalt, which culminates with Riff's attacks
on Bernardo. Both episodes result in the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, and Riff and
Bernardo. Ironically, the peacemaker himself, in both works, murders his beloved's
relative:
I do protest, I never injured thee
But love thee better than thou canst devise,
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love:
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as my own, be satisfied. (3.1.71-75)
While Romeo is forced into exile for his action, Tony is so horrified by his own behavior
he becomes a fugitive and plans to escape with Maria. While searching for the man who has
supposedly killed his beloved, Tony spots Maria, alive and well, as does an enraged
Chino. Just as Tony initially fell in love with one glace, Tony perishes with a single
shot. Upon discovering Romeo's death, Juliet ends her own by piercing her chest with her
truelove's dagger. Coincidentally, an anguished Maria remains alive, although she cries,
How many can I kill, Chino? How many [bullets do you have left] and still have one bullet
left for me? (2.6) 
The universal theme of hate and close-mindedness presents itself in unique forms in Romeo
and Juliet and West Side Story respectively. Like Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria are of
adverse parties, and their doomed love is forbidden. Maria, a Puerto Rican, and Tony, a
Polish-American, are youthful, fresh-faced and open-minded. They are apathetic to the
societal borders in which they are violating. Identical to Romeo and Juliet, love is
their sole concern. Both relationships in each individual time period faced severe
pressure when their love crossed into a different section of society. Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet experienced long-lasting, deadly feuds between prominent families.
Comparatively, instead of animosity between feuding families (Montagues and Capulets),
West Side Story offers prejudice between races, as illustrated between street gangs (Jets
and Sharks). The enmity between the two sects was modernized to racism. Just as Romeo and
Juliet represent Elizabethan Italian disputes, West Side Story relevantly portrays modern
civilization's unscrupulous racism. Tony represents the white indigent immigrant culture,
which is being threatened by the intrusion of new immigrant populations that are
beginning new lives in America, especially the Puerto Ricans. The adapted ending in West
Side Story involves Maria's survival throughout the play, contrary to Shakespeare's
version in which Juliet commits suicide upon the learning of her soul mate's death. This
altered ending clarifies the social message West Side Story delivers to its audience.
Perhaps Maria's survival signifies a poignant reminder of the responsibility everyone
shares in the tragedy that befell her. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, Tony and Maria were not
star-crossed lovers whose destiny was determined by fate, but rather victims of the
intolerance, misunderstanding, and mistrust that seem to be ever-present in human society
(Gravely 1). 
The relationships between the characters, plot sequence, and theme of hatred in West Side
Story and Romeo and Juliet intertwine resulting in two parallel yet slightly differing
representations of the most famous love story of all time. Shakespeare presents an
entertaining, witty and sometimes sexually provocative portrayal of Arthur Brooke's tale.
Robbins' presentation of the celebrated classic paints the awful truths of racism and
irrational violence through dance, song, and music. Romeo and Juliet's blind love is the
force that unites two enemies, just as the eternal human spirit brings all people of the
Earth united as one.