Compare and Contrast Romeo and Juliet andWest Side Story

Step One: Compare the characters from Romeo and Juliet and from West Side Story. Then compare the settings from Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. How are the characters or scenes similar? How are they different? Romeo & Juliet ~ West Side Story Characters to compare/contrast Romeo/ Tony Juliet/ Maria Paris/ Chino Tybalt/ Bernardo Nurse/ Anita Mercutio/ Riff Friar Lawrence/ Doc Scenes to compare/contrast The Capulets Balcony/ Fire escape in New York Harass the Nurse in Verona/ Attack Anita in the candy store Tybalts death/ Bernardos death Romeos death/ Tonys death Juliets fate/ Marias fate Step Two: Write a description of five songs in the movie. You only need to pick FIVE SONGS from the songs below. Try to describe it visually (what is going on? Where are they singing? How are they dancingupbeat and

energetically or slow and deliberate?) and musically (is the music happy and upbeat or sad and melancholy?). Prologue Jet Song Somethings Coming Dance at the Gym Maria America Tonight Gee, Officer Krupke I Feel Pretty One Hand, One Heart Quintet The Rumble Somewhere Cool A Boy That/ I Have a Love

Step Three, Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story essay:
Choose an essay topic below. You will need to write a 5 paragraph essay. Your essay should include an introduction, 3 supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your introduction should include a THESIS STATEMENTbasically a statement on what you are going to say in your paper. Choose only ONE of the essay ideas listed below for your essay. We will be working on these essays from December 15th to December

18th (end of semester). Essays will be DUE December 18th. NO EXCEPTIONS! Essay Topic #1: The Forcefulness of Love Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. West Side Story tells of a love that knows no boundaries. Love is both the plays and the movies dominant and most important theme. Essay Topic #2: Love as a Cause of Violence Love, in Romeo and Juliet, is a grand passion, and as such it is blinding; it can overwhelm a person as powerfully and completely as hate can. The passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is linked from the moment of its inception with death, just as the love between Tony and Maria causes great violence and death as well. Essay Topic #3: The Individual Versus Society Much of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story involves the lovers struggles against public and social institutions that either explicitly or implicitly oppose the existence of their love. Essay Topic #4: The Inevitability of Fate In its first address to the audience, the Chorus states that Romeo and Juliet are star-crossedthat is to say that fate (a power often vested in the movements of the stars) controls them (prologue). Many could also argue that Tony and Maria, and their love, were doomed from the start as well.