Romeo And Juliet - West Side Story Essays - , Term Papers

Romeo And Juliet - West Side Story Andy Warhol once said, "They say that time changes things, but actually you have to change them yourself." Two hundred fifty years passed between the original Romeo and Juliet and the premiere of West Side Story on Broadway in 1957. However, time did not change the message of the story, simply the creators' unique visions evolved. Shakespeare's delivery of the timeless tale of desperate love in his classic Romeo and Juliet proves to only intensify through retelling and modern interpretation. Audiences cherish Romeo and Juliet as one of the most beloved plays of all time from the Elizabethan Age to the present. Romeo and Juliet have attained the role as the quintessential lovers, and the noun, "a Romeo," is synonymous with " lover." Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is closely based on Arthur Brooke's tale, The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet. The language, attitudes, and customs detailed in the play are generally English, in spite of Brooke's original Italian setting. In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins decided to retell Brooke and Shakespeare's romantic tragedy using song and dance, elements of racism and nationalism, and a modern vernacular. Robbins called upon the musical talents of composer Leonard Bernstein and the words of Arthur Laurents for the script and book. The love story proved to have universal appeal throughout all artistic forms, as it had already been adjusted for opera and ballet. The contemporary adaptation of this timeless classic alters details and deepens the message of hatred, but maintains Brooke and Shakespeare's vision. The relationships between the characters, plot sequence, and theme of hatred in West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet intertwine resulting in two similar, yet varying versions of the most famous love story of all time. The relationships between the characters of West Side Story and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are reflective of their respective time periods and the original story. Maria and Juliet represent a slightly practical counterpart to both Tony's and Romeo's idealistic nature. Maria's brother Bernardo and Juliet's cousin Tybalt portray impulsively stubborn and violent characters who both die from wounds inflicted by the male lead. Lieutenant Schrank is similar to Prince Escalus, although Schrank is unfair in his treatment and attitude towards one gang- the Sharks. Anita and Nurse both take on the role as Juliet's confidant and trusted friend, often tampering with their roles as messengers. The mischievously tomboyish Anybodys, who desperately wants to be a Jet, would best fit into the role of Balthasar, since it was she who aided Tony in escaping after the rumble, as well as later informing the other Jets that Tony was being hunted. Finally, the character of Doc appears to fulfill the role of Friar Laurence because both possess somewhat of a peacekeeping nature. Doc attempts to get through to Tony by dramatically pleading, "Why do you live like there's a war on? Why do you kill?" (2.5). All of the characters are consistent to the heart and soul of the story as well as the slightly differing plots. West Side Story maintains Romeo and Juliet's intricate and exciting plot using appropriate adaptations to accommodate mid-twentieth-century pop culture. For instance, both artistic forms portray mutual disrespect between the parties. At the dawn of Romeo and Juliet, Capulet's cohorts harass Montague's. "I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it," boasts Sampson (1.1.42-43). In the opening scene of West Side Story, several members of a Puerto Rican gang insult A-rab, a member of the opposing gang. It is here where Lieutenant Schrank becomes aware of the potential rumble. In Romeo and Juliet Escalus, Prince of Verona, threatens, "If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace" (1.1.103-104). In West Side Story, Schrank mediates in his own way when he declares, "I got a hot surprise for you: you hoodlums don't own the streets"(1.1). Later, another similarity takes place. Riff convinces Tony to attend the dance at the gym just as Benvolio persuades Romeo to attend the Capulets' masquerade. Tony confesses to Riff that he's "reachin' out for something"(1.2), just what, he doesn't know. Riff encourages Tony by proposing, "Maybe what you're waitin' for'll be twitchin' at the dance!" (1.2). Shakespeare and director Jerome Robbins choose to draw the audience's attention to the dramatic lovers by giving them unique and eminent qualities. At the Capulet ball in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, all of the characters speak in blank verse, but when Romeo and Juliet converse, they speak in sonnet form. Throughout the

Not Only in French

The Restrictive Only / Not Only in French There are two common French equivalents for the restrictive only in English: seulement and ne... que. These two terms mean essentially the same thing, but seulement is an adverb of quantity while ne... que is a negative adverb, so theyre used a bit differently Seulement: Only The simplest way to say only in French is with the adverb seulement, which can qualify a noun, verb, or clause.Jai seulement un livre.I have only one book. Il voit seulement les films à ©trangers.He only sees foreign movies. Note how the placement of seulement can change the meaning: Jai lu seulement deux pages pour te faire plaisir.I read only two pages to please you. (You didnt want  me to read more.) Jai lu deux pages seulement pour te faire plaisir.I read two pages only to please you. (I didnt feel like reading, but I did it for you.) Il veut seulement travailler la banque.He only wants to work at the bank. (He doesnt want to invest there). Il veut travailler seulement la banque.He wants to work only at the bank. (He doesnt want to work at the store). Ne... Que: Only in the Negative An equally common but slightly more complicated way to say only is with ne... que, which is used similarly to other negative adverbs: ne goes in front of the verb and que  usually follows it.Je nai quun livre.I have only one book.Il ne voit que les films à ©trangers.He sees only foreign movies.As with seulement, you can change the meaning by placing que directly in front of the word you want to qualify.Je nai lu que deux pages pour te faire plaisir.I read only two pages to please you.Je nai lu deux pages que pour te faire plaisir.I read two pages only to please you.Il ne veut que travailler la banque.He only wants to work at the bank.Il ne veut travailler qu la banque.He wants to work only at the bank.Note that indefinite and partitive articles do not change to de after ne... que, the way they do after other negative adverbs:Je nai quun livre.I have only one book.Il ne veut que des idà ©es.He only wants ideas, Hes just looking for some ideas. Negation: Not Only To say not only, you can negate ne... que into ne... pas que, which can stand alone or be followed by additional information: Je nai pas que 3 livres (jai 2 stylos aussi).I dont have only 3 books (I have 2 pens too)Il ny a pas que le travail (il faut vivre aussi).Work isnt all there is; Theres more [to life] than just work.Il nà ©tait pas quen retard....He wasnt just late (theres more to it than that). Seulement​ Seulement has two negatives. The first one, ne... pas seulement is pretty much interchangeable with ne... pas que.Je nai pas seulement 3 livres...I dont have only 3 books ...Il ny a pas seulement le travail....Work isnt all there is...Il nà ©tait pas seulement en retard....He wasnt just late... Non-Seulement The other negative,  non seulement, cannot be used in a stand-alone clause; it must be balanced with something like aussi, mais encore, etc.Il y a non seulement le travail  ; il faut vivre aussi.Work isnt all there is; you have to live too. Non seulement jai 3 livres, mais aussi 2 stylos.I dont have only 3 books, I have 2 pens too.Non seulement il à ©tait en retard, mais encore il à ©tait ivre.He was not only late, but drunk (too). Not only was he late, he was (also) drunk.

Surperman the American Icon Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Surperman the American Icon - Research Paper Example The iconic hero did not even escape the mind of the film-makers and a series of films were made in Hollywood, making this superhero protagonist. Even the programmers were not spared from the enchantment and huge success of this iconic character and many video games were even manufactured taking the superhero at the centre of the game (DC Comics, â€Å"Superman†; NYDailyNews, â€Å"Superman Turns 75: Man Of Steel Milestone Puts Spotlight On Creators' Cleveland Roots†). The trajectory of this blue costumed, red capped and stylized red and yellow inscribed ‘S’ shield on his chest to an iconic figure of the American culture was not paved in a single year. It took decades and several socio-cultural and socio-economic activities followed this transportation of the comic superhero into an emblem and cultural icon of America. This evolution of comic character into first American superhero followed by a superhero genre in America particularly which is adapted in bro adcasting and literary arena across the globe now engineered many more avenues for literary, cultural, psychological and mythological criticism formulating many school of thoughts associated with the transition of one of the most fascinated American comic figures to a cultural idol and ideal to a great extent. THESIS STATEMENT The essay intends to throw light on the journey set by the first accepted comic figure of America transformed into a cultural icon. The essay also throws light on the multitudes of scholarly activities which haloed the comic figure and manifested it into a cultural icon. SUPERMAN AND MULTITUDE OF SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS Since the inception of the comic character, cultural theorists and critics have taken an extra plunge for the exploration of the character of Superman on the culture and economy of the United States in particular and rest of the world in general. Quite early, just a few decades after the character of Superman already evolved as a super hero, Umberto Eco produced an elaborative discussion pertaining to the mythic qualities inherent in the character portrayal of the Superhero during the first quarter of 1960s. And, then subject of sexuality or sexual relationship revolving round the character of Superman along with its implication and impact upon the society was elaborately hinged and discussed by Larry Niven (Heer and Worcester 146-149). In order to trace the trajectory of the impacts and influences, the comic character like Superman had in the society, one must get back to the years and the motif of its creation. Though the character has been created and re-created and renewed a number of times for complementing it with different broadcasting medium yet no one can undermine the initial motif behind the production of the character. Both the Shuster and Siegel were a bit inclined towards the leftist front in the political domain. And, the context of Great Depression evolving out through the initial storyline of the comic cannot be overruled at any level. It can be noticed very pertinently during the initial stories of the Superman series that the hero is bringing scathing attack upon the crooked businessman and the corrupt politicians, demolishing their shops and running down the tenements of the rich people. Here, Superman takes the stand of a social activist more and superhero less. Roger Sabin,