7-3 Project Part Two: Presentation Draft
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Exploration Document 7
Exploration Document
Jennifer Moore
Southern New Hampshire University
HUM200: Applied Humanities
Benjamin Truitt
June 12, 2022
The first artifact that I have chosen is Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was written by Shakespeare about 1594-96 in his period of “early mastery” during the Italian Renaissance. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet to help couples appreciate their love for one another. Romeo and Juliet has a setting in Verona, Italy. Verona up until 1405 was an independent city but eventually become Venetian Republic (Pserb, Park Ridge Illinois, 2011). The second artifact that I have chosen is West Side Story the musical. The music is by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents. West side Story is set in the mid-1950s, in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Which in this era was considered a multiracial, blue collar neighborhood (Gottlieb, 2001).
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet were about two young Italian lovers who were cruelly fated to die at the hands of each other. It has been one of Shakespeare's most regularly produced works, along with Hamlet, for several centuries after his death. In popular culture, the two primary characters are now seen as archetypal examples of young loves. Romeo and Juliet's tragic love story is one in a long series of tragic tales dating back to prehistoric times. The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567 are both based on an Italian legend. Two of Shakespeare's most well-known characters, Mercutio and Paris, were both heavily affected by Romeo and Juliet. The play is assumed to have been composed between 1591 and 1595, and the quarto edition was first published in 1597. The text in the first quarto was poor, but subsequent editions altered it to more nearly approximate Shakespeare's original.
Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner worked together on the script for Steven Spielberg's upcoming musical drama, West Side Story, which will be published in 2021. It's the sequel to the 1957 theatrical musical of the same name, which was adapted for the second time for the big screen. In support of their roles in this film, Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Mike Faist, David Alvarez, and Rita Moreno join them. Moreno served as an executive producer for the 1961 film adaptation alongside Kushner. The image includes music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. 20th Century Fox began development on the project in 2014, and Kushner began writing the script in 2017. After Spielberg's contract was signed in January 2018, casting began in September 2018. Justin Peck choreographed the dance numbers. Filming began in July 2019 in New York and New Jersey and lasted two months. West Side Story premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater in New York City on November 29, 2021, just three days after Sondheim's death.
The two relics share a common theme of love. The protagonists in both artworks have to deal with both elements of their lives. These people stick together to achieve a common objective. They are depicted as inseparable, despite the difficulties they have endured in their lives, through this example.
Falling in love at a young age is hard to justify to either your parents or society. Either way no one really thinks you are in “love” and that is it just “puppy love”. Because how can anyone at a young age be in love or even know what love is? Well, when I was young, my husband and I fell in love and both sides of the family were like not. They were not having it. I grew up in what society saw as high class and my husband grew up in what society saw a low class. So, my parents did not see eye to eye with how his family was living and vice versa. It was very difficult. But I was fixing to turn the age of 18 and they could no longer control it caused many feuds in both sides of the family. Even though there were no deaths involved it seemed like death when we were not speaking to any family members, for both sides. We were excluded from both sides of the family for quite some time, but after all our story ended up a fairy tale and we are all together as one.
I lived in a neighborhood that had an old couple. The couple were in their 90s and would accompany each other to the grocery every evening. One day I confronted the couple and asked them how long they were married. They told me they were married and had stayed together for 66 years. They narrated how they could not live without each other and even explained how they were afraid of death as it would separate each other. When the wife died, the husband fell ill and died two weeks later. The death of the two affected much as I had grown too close with them in their last days. This shows how love and death are linked and how death contrasts love.
One of the professions that could be affected by love and death is psychology therapist. This is due to the fact that psychologists are often called upon to help clients with emotional and psychological issues. People who have experienced the loss of loved ones and those who have died are among those who benefit from this service. If a counselor or psychologist is to be successful, their knowledge of death and love and how they connect to their client's mental and psychological well-being can play a role.
One of the most resourceful humanities resources that can be used is EDITEment which contains lesson plans under humanities with an option for the user to select the artifacts needed. Each of the source has an option to explore it through the guidance of a teaching plan. In addition to JSTOR is another resource that can be used in researching for artifacts such as Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. This is more efficient because it includes articles and books that were written between the early 1900s and the present. OmniFile Full Text Mega is an additional useful tool. Humanities journal articles on a variety of topics and themes, such as death and love, can be found in this database of secondary sources.
Both artifacts demonstrate the power of love as a strategy for overcoming adversity. Despite the fact that the objects represent different eras of history, they both demonstrate the importance of love as the primary approach for navigating life's obstacles together. Literature is responsible for the inception of both mediums. The West Side Story is also made into a film, which captures every detail of the original novel.
As a means of raising public awareness, Romeo and Juliet was conceived. When it came to developing strong families and communities in this time period, love was considered an essential ingredient. One of the reasons why West Side Story has become so popular is because of its depiction of modern society as defined and formed by the modern culture.
The two pieces of art are created using literature. In the first artwork, Romeo and Juliet, the story is written as a novel which describes the story. Also, the artwork is created as a film which follows every detail written as piece of literature.
In the two artifacts presented in the case, the theme of love and death are brought simultaneously throughout the play. However, there is a major gap created on defining the role of death throughout the play. However, there is an evidence in how death has been used in creating clarity in the role of love between the characters.
Thesis: Assessing the role of death as a contrasting idea of love between two suitors.
An appropriate audience that can be interested in the topic include literature scholars and students who are learning on effective strategies to write and author books. This is because in both cases, there is use of high level of skills in describing characters and using common themes to create unique story line that inspires wide base of audience.
The message can be tailored to fit the characters of scholars. This include explaining the styles used in developing the artifacts and how the impacts of the styles to the literature work. This provides a more resourceful and informative resource for the students and scholars connect with the artists and learn ways of communicating more effectively with the target audience.
Reference
EDSITEment (2022). Driving Excellence in Humanities Education. https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities
JSTOR (2022). Explore the World’s Knowledge, Cultures and Ideas. https://www.jstor.org/
EBSCO (2022). Humanities. https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/omnifile-full-text-mega Atchity, K. J. (2021). Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
Lee, D. A. (2022). West Side Story (musical). Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Elizabeth A. Wells. (2011). West Side Story : Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical. Scarecrow Press.
Gottlieb, Jack. 2001. West Side Story Guide. Leonard Bernstein Office. Retrieved on May 11, 2022 from https://leonardbernstein.com/works/view/9/west-side-story
Pserb, Park Ridge Illinois. May 18, 2011. Why Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. Retrieved on May 11, 2022 from https://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/328034/Why-Shakespeare Wrote Romeo-and Juliet/#:~:text=Well%2C%20the%20answer%20to%20this,lovers%20can%20find%20t emselves%20in.
Challoner, H., & Papayianni, F. (2018). Evaluating the role of formulation in counselling psychology: A systematic literature review. The European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1).
Somoza‐Fernández, M., Rodríguez‐Gairín, J. M., & Urbano, C. (2018). Journal coverage of the emerging sources citation index. Learned Publishing, 31(3), 199-204.