Randy Mootooveran

Lit Media

September 14, 2016

Romeo and Juliet/ Prince of cats Analysis

             When looking at both stories, it’s clear that while both have their differences, they both deal with themes of conflict, lust, young love, and how things that are forbidden for us will always be sought after. I believe when Shakespeare wrote the play, it displayed all these themes to represent the same kind o conflict that erupts between two countries with little to no justifiable grounds for disagreement. Yet beneath all of that, it shows people at the core of the fighting still acting like normal people, like Tybalt wanting to protect Juliet from a crowd he despises, people like Mercutio, who damns both houses for taking away his promise of a future for their petty squabbles, and of course how two people look past the hate between their respective houses and search for something more. In every variation, from West Side Story, Prince of Cats, and the1996 version, they all depict two factions feuding over the same basic foil, just with an added backdrop of social order, status, immigration, and racism. All versions also have the star crossed lovers, who meet one night and declare true love. I believe that this is an element that also remains constant in every version because it shows the dangers of rushing headlong into a serious relationship, what the ramifications can be when pushed to the extreme, and how people will only really learn to cooperate and be understanding if something they cared for was lost by the fault of their own actions. At the end of all the stories, the two groups cease when they see what their petty squabbles resulted in, which proves Shakespeare knew harmony will not be born without tragedy.