In Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the audience learns that love is both a creative and destructive force, through the deaths of two young teenagers lovers and those around them. . The play begins in Verona with a feud between two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Romeo is a Montague, while Juliet is a Capulet. Their relationship was doomed from the start and there are many deaths that all led to their own deaths. West Side Story by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins teaches us that everyone has control over their own life and makes the most of it. This musical revolves around two fighting gangs, the American Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Tony, a former Jet, sees Maria, a shark, at a ball, and they immediately fall in love. Shortly after their meeting, everything goes wrong and this leads to the tragic death of one of the lovers. The West Side Story, directed by Jerome Robbins, an adaptation of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, contains many differences from the original play, including Juliet's strength being portrayed differently, the replacement of family hatred by the hatred of his peers, and the softening of the seriousness of their relationship. In both the play and the film, the female lead is portrayed as incredibly strong, but this is shown in completely different ways. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the character Juliet develops strength through her love for Romeo, while in West Side Story, Maria, Juliet's equivalent, is strong from the start. Asked about marriage, Juliette first says: “I'm going to look like, if I look like I'm in love, move. But I will no more deeply end my eye than your consent gives me strength to fly. (Shakespeare Ⅰ,ⅳ,103-1...... middle of paper ...... Juliet does what she did. West Side Story is a modernized The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, with differences that add to the original The story and the musical complement each other well, one showing how love is both a creative and destructive force, and the other showing how people. should live their lives the way they want to live it, the adaptation of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet contains many differences from the original play, including Juliet's strength depicted differently, the replacement of family hatred with hatred. of his peers and the softening of the seriousness of their relationship Works CitedShakespeare, William The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Digital Texts. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine & Schuster, 2004. Web.West Side Story, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise...