Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story

by William Shakespeare

Book Overview

"The permanent popularity, now of mythic intensity, of Romeo and Juliet is more than justified," writes eminent scholar Harold Bloom, "since the play is the largest and most persuasive celebration of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440974836
• Release Date: August 1965
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.6" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

A logical pairing of 2 great theatrical works

This is two books in one: the text of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" and the text of "West Side Story," the 20th century musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The book also includes an introduction by Norris Houghton, who notes, among other things, that WSS is based on R & J. Each text tells the story of a love affair between a young woman and a young man who are caught between warring factions.I find it stimulating and useful to have these two pieces, linked in theme but separated by centuries, together in one volume. Each is a great text on its own, but having them together may help the reader to see each piece in a different light. One of the things I find most striking as one moves from R & J to WSS is how the latter text adds the element of ethnic tension to the fundamental story of "star-crossed lovers."R & J is more than just a classic piece of literature; it's also a touchstone of pop culture (hey, it's even been incorporated into a "Brady Bunch" episode!). Despite the passage of centuries, I find Shakespeare's portrayal of the joy and pain of forbidden love to remain relevant and compelling. And R & J holds up as a reader's text, even with the availability of filmed versions. I think that WSS, being a musical play, naturally loses some impact as a text strictly on the page, but nevertheless I found it a rewarding reader's text also. One might try listening to a CD of WSS's songs as an accompaniment to reading the text.To supplement WSS's portrayal of urban Puerto Ricans, I recommend that interested readers seek out some writings by "Nuyorican" authors; to start with, try Roberto Santiago's illuminating anthology "Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings."

A real tragical story.

Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet is a story that combines swordfighting, disguise, misunderstanding, tragedy, humor, and some of the most romantic language found in literature all in the name of true love. In Verona, Italy , two powerful families the Montagues and the Capulets have been feuding with each other for years. Old Capulet, Juliet's father, throws a party to which he invites all his friends. Romeo asists to that party and falls instantly in love, but is disappointed when he finds out that Juliet is a Capulet. Juliet notices Romeo too, but she is unaware that he is a member of the hated Montagues. The very next day, with the help of Romeo's friend Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet are secretly married. On the day of the wedding, Juliet's cousin, Tybalt is out to get Romeo for crashing the Capulet's party so he starts a fight with his friends. Romeo shows up, but does not want to fight Tybalt because he no longer holds a grudge against Juliet's family. Mercutio is killed. To avenge the death of his friend, Romeo kills Tybalt, an act that will award him even more hatred from the Capulet family. The Prince of Verona banishes Romeo and he is forced to leave Juliet, who is devastated by the loss of her love. Juliet's father, not knowing of his daughter's marriage, decides to marry her to another young man named Paris. In despair, Juliet consults with Friar Laurence. Then, the Friar will send Romeo to rescue her. Bad news travels fast. Before the Friar can tell Romeo of the hoax, Romeo hears from someone else that his beloved Juliet is dead. Overcome with grief, Romeo buys a poison and goes to Juliet's tomb to die beside his wife. Inside the vault, Romeo drinks the poison and kisses his last breath next to his sleeping wife. Moments later, Juliet awakens to see her husband's dead body. With no reason left to live, Juliet kills herself with Romeo's dagger.

Great chance to compare and contrast the plays

Everyone has read "Romeo and Juliet", the classic love story by William Shakespeare, and most have seen the movie "West Side Story," probably noticing some similarities- two groups against each other with lovers in the middle, and a tragic ending. But with these two plays together, you will discover almost every scene from West Side Story parallels one from R & J. The text of R & J also has notes to help the reader understand some of the difficult Shakespearean language. I am a freshman in high school and this book really helped me with an essay.

If you love musicals, plays, and the like, this is for you!

I have been hooked on musicals and plays in general since before I can remember. When I first found this book, I couldn't believe my eyes, I got the script for West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet together in one volume, so I had the words to all my favorite songs and I could study the varied, hilarious lines too. I could relieve the thrills of watching the play, or just reread my favorite scenes. If you're the least bit like me, you'll love this too.

Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story

A great word-for-word rendition of both plays. It was especially helpful to me, because I had a research paper comparing the two.