The+parallels

=//Romeo and// //Juliet// and //West Side Story// Similarities=

by Nicole Masiello and Emily Mead
There are many similarities between Shakespeare's classic masterpiece, //Romeo// //and// //Juliet//, and the modern, but just as well-known musical //West Side Story//. At first, it may seem that a musical about two members of opposite gangs who fall in love and a dramatic tragedy about members of two fighting family in the late 1500s. Many movies, musicals, TV shows, operas, and books have plots based on //Romeo and Juliet//, but out of all of these, //West Side Story// is the most famous. Both //West Side Story// and //Romeo and Juliet// can be enjoyed in theatre, as books, on film, or in many adaptations. Even though //West Side Story// is based on //Romeo and Juliet,// both are extremely well known and have become sources of inspiration for all different forms of art.



Background Information

 * Story:** //Romeo and Juliet / West Side Story//
 * Setting:** Verona, Italy / New York, New York
 * Time Period:** Late 1500's / 1950's
 * Rivals:** Capulets-Montagues / Jets-Sharks
 * Main Characters:** Romeo and Juliet / Tony and Maria

Characters
If you are familiar with both of these plots, you already know that there are clear similarities between multiple characters. Here are some of the principal characters in //Romeo and Juliet// along with their equivalent characters in //West Side Story.// For a more complete list of character comparisons, visit [|this site].
 * **Romeo- Tony**
 * **Juliet-Maria**
 * **Montague Family- The Jets**
 * **Capulet Family- The Sharks**
 * **Paris- Chino**
 * **Tybalt- Bernardo**
 * **Mercutio- Riff**
 * **Nurse- Anita**

Plot
The plots of //Romeo and Juliet// and //West Side Story// are extremely similar. They are actually so similar that //West Side Story// is defined as a "modernized version of //Romeo and Juliet// with music" in Oxford University's [|dictionary of music]. Here are some of the similarites:
 * Both plays begin with a fight between the rival groups.
 * In both plays, the main characters meet at a dance.
 * Both Juliet and Maria have arranged marriages that they are not happy about.
 * Throughout each play, the main characters are afraid of their families finding out about them seeing each other and frustrated that they have to hide their love.
 * In both plays, when a fight happens, both Romeo and Tony kill their girlfriend's relative; however in spite of this, both Juliet and Maria forgive them
 * Romeo and Tony both die at the end of the play
 * Both plays end with the families or groups united for a funeral

There are also several differences between //Romeo and Juliet// and //West Side Story.// Here are a few of the many differences:
 * The time in which both plays are set are hundreds of years apart, so many little things are different, including the way they dress, talk and their customs.
 * //West Side Story// is an energetic, upbeat musical, whereas //Romeo and Juliet// is an all-around tragedy.
 * A major difference between these two plays is that in the end of //Romeo and Juliet//, Juliet kills herself, however in the end of //West Side Story//, Maria is still alive.
 * While Juliet reacts to the death of her lover by taking her own life, Maria reacts to Tony's death by causing the fighting gangs to see the consequences of their feuding and find peace with each other.

To find more parallels between these two stories, you can read a shorterned, student version of //West Side Story// here: [|westsidestory.pdf]. //Romeo and Juliet// can be read in its entirety here: [|Romeo and Juliet.htm].

For More Information About the Plots, Visit These Websites: [|http://www.howard-winn.k12.ia.us] http://www.rit.edu/ [|http://www.e-scoala.ro/]

//West Side Story//

//Romeo and Juliet//