Which two sentences best show that music composer Leonard Bernstein drew inspiration from literature? Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story
Leonard Bernstein was a composer who was able to write music in many different styles, including classical, pop, and jazz. In many of his works, you can hear all these styles combined together. Bernstein's music was influenced by many pieces he had heard—and even read—before. Perhaps Bernstein's most famous work is West Side Story, a Broadway musical from 1957 that was made into a film in 1961.

With West Side Story, Bernstein achieved critical and commercial success. The music he composed for the production was influenced by a variety of musical styles, including music composed by Hispanic Americans. West Side Story was also influenced by the famous play Romeo and Juliet, written in the late sixteenth century by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is about two young people who fall in love but are prevented from being together because their families are feuding. In West Side Story, two people in New York City fall in love but are kept apart because they are from different communities that are in conflict with one another. Modern-day audiences were drawn to the classic story with a modern twist, and the musical remains popular to this day.

Source: Library of Congress