West Side Story vs. Romeo and Juliet

There were several very prominent similarties between the video West Side Story and Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". To start, they both have two separate groups. In Romeo and Juliet it was the Capulets and the Montagues battling. In West Side Story it was the two playground gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. They both are declared arch enemies, although in West Side Story, the Sharks are a new nemesis for the fabled Jets of the west side neighborhoods of Manhattan. The similarities do not stop at the characters either. There are also several comparisons to be made about the layout of the story. Both of the stories began with the introduction of the two rivals, and the interaction between the two escalates into a fight, although one is larger than the other. In "Romeo and Juliet" people are killed and the fighting is at swordpoint to the death. In West Side Story it meerly becomes a small scuffle. It may have grew into something larger but the policeman and investigator broke it up.