Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story: The Balcony vs. The Fire Escape

This is a particularly interesting topic, since, as has been said before me, these two plays are approached in such entirely different ways.  This is, of course, partially due to the time in which each was written, with Romeo and Juliet coming from the mid-16th century, while West Side Story was written in 1961.  However, there is no denying that WSS borrows heavily from R&J in theme and storyline - it could be very easily argued that every single scene in WSS has a brother in R&J.

One such scene is the famous balcony scene in R&J, during which Romeo and Juliet meet each other in secret to reaffirm the love that they feel for each other.  Their love is forbidden because of the fact that their families are warring against each other.  The situation in WSS is very similar - Tony and Maria are forbidden to love each other because Maria is associated with the Sharks and Tony with the Jets (the modern equivalent of the Capulet and Montague families).  A line which particularly strikes me is one from Maria, just before they sing 'Tonight' - "but you are not one of us, and I am not one of you."  This is practically the exact message that Juliet delivers to Romeo from her balcony, "Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague."

However, a difference presents itself with the situations that the lovers are under.  Romeo and Juliet are in exact parallel with each other - they are both young children, heirs to wealthy families with long standing prejudices against each other.  Both character's share in these prejudices to all of the family with the exception of each other.  In WSS, however, the thing that separates Tony and Maria is entirely based on racial dividing lines.  At the beginning of the play, Tony isn't even a member of the Jets anymore.  He bares no ill will to the Sharks or any of Puerto Rican descent.  This makes for an even sadder ending when you think of it.  If they could only have realized that race doesn't matter, then no-one need have died at all.

I also must say that Maria is a much stronger character than is Juliet.  Even though she has literally lost the love of her life, she does not kill herself.  She uses the last moments of the play to act as a moral compass, forcing the Sharks and Jets to realize what they have done sheerly for the sake of racial prejudices.  She walks away from the thing alive which, to me, is infinitely stronger than Juliet killing herself.  She will act as a constant reminder to everyone as the consequences of their actions, hopefully preventing such things from happening ever again.

As to preference, I honestly can't say one way or the other.  I do, however, believe, as Makayla has said before me, that Norris Houghton is incorrect in his assumption that Shakespeare's language always wins out.  I believe that WSS and R&J both use language in ways that allow for those in the audience to grasp the consequences of what is happening in each play, not only on a literal level, but also on an emotional level.  I think that this is proven simply by the fact that they have both entered so deeply into the psyche of the world, and will, in my opinion, remain there in the foreseeable future.

Also, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHoaPLO6Zd8

It's an excellent version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet.