If we were to only consider “Romeo and Juliet” within a modern perspective, we would not consider it to be a particularly profound love story or tragedy. The time period in which the play takes place allows for us to contextualise the anomaly of Juliet’s character and the kind of love that Romeo and Juliet share. It would be unthinkable for Juliet to be as forthwith and candid with her feelings as she is throughout the play. Moreover, the prospect of an unarranged marriage between nobles would be unheard of; this is a time in which the bride would still pay a dowry to the groom’s family. Shakespeare’s comparison of love to death and light to dark also allows for us to understand what he believes about love and marriage. That while love is powerful …show more content…
Comparing their love to darkness and death does not make much sense when we blame Romeo and Juliet’s demise on immaturity or recklessness. This imagery becomes much more significant to the play when we accept the notion that Romeo and Juliet are fated to be together briefly and then die. With the exception of their marriage, every interaction between Romeo and Juliet occurs at night; in Act 3, Scene 5, Romeo is forced to leave Juliet when the day breaks so that he is not caught in Verona. While their love occurs in darkness, they frequently compare each other to light; when Juliet is waiting for the Nurse to bring her news of Romeo and their marriage she frequently contrasts light and dark, “Come, night! Come, Romeo! Come, thou day in night!” Romeo often makes similar comparisons, “Her eyes would… stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night”(3.2.17;2.2.20-22). While the comparison between light and dark typically refers to their love literally taking place in the dark, it also refers to their love being ‘pure’ in spite of the hate between their families. The contrast between death and love which is present throughout the play foretells their inevitable fate, “These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder which as they kiss consume… Therefore love moderately— long love doth so: too swift arrives as tardy as too slow” (2.6.9-15). The love between Romeo and Juliet is all-consuming, arguably because of their age; when we do anything too fast it is likely to end just as
To begin, light and dark imagery is shown through the darkness of Romeo. At the beginning of the play, Romeo is depressed and thinks negatively because he believes that it is the end of the world for him by not being with Rosaline. The darkness of Romeo is shown through his depression which is recognized by everyone in his family, even Lord Montague:
William Shakespeare is amazing at using extended metaphor in Romeo and Juliet to show love between the characters, the word choice that Shakespeare uses to write extended metaphor is very detailed. During the balcony scene, Romeo says something towards Juliet which is an extended metaphor which shows love Romeo said, “Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her maid art far more fair than she” (Shakespeare 2.2.3-5). What this means is that Juliet is being compared to the sun and Romeo is telling Juliet to arise beautiful woman and kill the envious moon so Juliet is a fair sun which has to destroy the darkness which is the moon. Romeo is saying that Juliet is as beautiful as the sun which shines over the world they live in. A little later during the balcony scene, Romeo uses extended metaphor again to compare Juliet to something good. Romeo is in love with Juliet and her beauty because Romeo always complements Juliet with something lovely and he speaks of Juliet in a nice way. For example, Romeo says “O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art as glorious to this night, being o’er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes” (Shakespeare 2.2.29-32). This really shows the love that Romeo has for Juliet because he compares her to a bright angel and being compared to an angel shows that she’s very glorious and mighty with beautiful features. Also, Romeo complements Juliet’s eyes again saying that her eyes are awestruck and so pretty that all mortals fall back to gaze this shows that Romeo is in love with all of her beauties and all the other people are too. Romeo says a lot of extended metaphor during the play to compare Juliet to things that are of beauty and not something that is horrible thus extended metaphor is used to show the love between
An example of this is “Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, That runaways’ eyes may wink and Romeo leap to these arms, untalk’d of an unseen”. Juliet is longing for Romeo to come and consummate their marriage at night, which is when they can be together, as their relationship is too unnatural for them to meet at day, due to the hatred of their families. It is further proven that the dark imagery represents passion. Juliet is passionate about Romeo, as she has made up her mind to give her maidenhood to him, which is something she can never undo. An additional quote is “Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die… Let me be ta’en, let me be put to death; I am content, so thou wilt have it so“. Romeo has just consummated his marriage with Juliet. He says that the stars are gone, and that daylight is coming. Romeo must leave, as Verona is waking up, and he will be killed if he is seen with Juliet. Even with this risk, he considers staying with Juliet, as he enjoys being with her. Dark imagery is used to show how passionate Romeo is about Juliet. He made their marriage legal, and is even considering risking death to stay with her longer. He has permanently committed to her, and cannot go back. As the evidence presented shows, the dark imagery in Romeo and Juliet reflects the theme of passion.
On first seeing Juliet, Romeo exclaims, "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! / It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear; … So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows" (Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 44-48) Romeo describes Juliet's beauty in terms of light and dark. "She doth teach the torches to burn bright" means both that her beauty is brighter than the light of any torch and that she makes the whole room light up. The brightness of Juliet's beauty is made even brighter by the contrasts with the blackness of the "Ethiope" and the blackness of crows. The use of antithesis with the "snowy doves" and the "crows" creates a powerful opposing force showing how she stands out from the others. Another interpretation of the dove is that it is a symbol of peace and sets in place an image of Romeo and Juliet's love creating peace between the two rival families. Another moment is when Juliet is waiting for Romeo to come to her bed. In her imagination, the night will bring her love. She goes on to say, "Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, / That runaways' eyes may wink and Romeo" (Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 5-6). Juliet is seeing things as though she is in bed, the curtains are closed, creating a dark atmosphere where they act their love. In the dark, the pair will create their own light, because "Lovers can see to do their amorous rites / By their own beauties" The use of courtly love is very common in theatres at the time of Romeo and Juliet because in those days people would dream and fantasize about courtly love and was an entertaining
In Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo and Juliet first meet each other in the party. This is a significant scene in the play as this is the start of the event that ultimately leads to their demise. When Romeo first see Juliet, his excitement shows through the imagery he uses to emphasise how much her beauty contrasts with the other people in the room. For example, he says ‘Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright’. This metaphor emphasises the way in which she stands out in contrast to the rest of the guests and how brightly she seems to shine to him, with this contrast being further emphasised by the dimly lit room. ‘Burn bright’ could suggest both light and heat, as if she is the sun in the room. He also describes Juliet as ‘a snowy dove trooping with crows’. This simile tells us that he thinks that Juliet stands out above every person in the room and that she is more beautiful than any other girl. However, Tybalt hears Romeo and becomes a threat to the love between Romeo and Juliet. He says, ‘to strike him dead, I hold not a sin’. This phrase tells us that he will not hesitate to kill Romeo, which may be a way of Shakespeare foreshadowing a fight between Romeo and Tybalt.
Shakespeare has many prime examples of symbolism in Romeo and Juliet that helps the audience understand the relationship love and hate have, and how it relates to the plot. One example is of the light and dark (day and night). Although the day has the sun and is brighter and happier, their love flourishes in the dark. Due to this, Romeo constantly refers to Juliet as the sun. When Romeo is observing Juliet at her deathbed, he states, “For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes This vault a feasting presence full of light” (5.3 85-86) Even when Juliet is dead, Romeo proclaims that her beauty makes the vault full of light. Even when she is no longer alive, she is still the sun. Although people don’t consider death and beauty to be at all related, these two contradictions fit well together. Throughout all of these examples, Shakespeare represents that love and hate need each other to survive, just like the day and night, the light and dark, and the death and
Also the night will shield them from anyone seeing when they make love to each other. From this we can tell that darkness is one of the main themes in the story as it revolves around tragedy and misfortune because many characters die. Juliet shows us that she wants the darkness to come when she says: 'And bring in cloudy night immediately. Spread thy close curtain, love performing night' Not only does this quote indicate to us that Juliet wishes for the night to come however, it tells us that she wishes to make love to Romeo: 'So tedious is this day' Also this quote tells us that she cannot wait for the day to be over.
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless tale of lovers who's misfortune and immaturity was a cause of their own destruction. The characters individually show immaturity and together demonstrate how ignorance of the world effects more than just their own lives. Romeo and Juliet, as expressed in the succeeding examples, fall in love quickly as a result of their naivety.
Juliet’s personification of night identifying the secrecy of darkness as a positive quality is also Juliet defending her own secrecy. Literally, darkness makes Romeo and Juliet’s love possible by masking it from their parents. Juliet asks in the beginning of the soliloquy, “spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, / That runaways’ eyes may wink” (3.2.4-5). The night’s darkness hides Romeo and Juliet’s love much as a curtain blocks the view of a room from curious onlookers. If anyone were to see, Juliet’s reputation would have suffered greatly, as well as her relationship with Romeo. Later on, Juliet asks the night, “Hood my unmanned blood; bating in my cheeks,” (3.2.13) Not only is Juliet thankful that night will allow her to meet Romeo in secret, she is also thankful that the night conceals her affection for him. Women in Verona were expected to be polite and moderate, yet Juliet’s affection fo...
Juliet’s weakness to be controlled by love leads her to make unadvised and irresponsible decisions that contribute to her choice of ending her life. Characterized as a young and rash teenager, with no interest in love and marriage at first, Juliet wants to be independent. However, after she first lays eyes on Romeo, Juliet’s perception of love is quick to change. Their strong love easily manipulates and clouds her judgment. Even if she is cautious and realizes their love is too fast, the rush of feelings from having a first love overcomes her. Her soft-spoken words symbolically foreshadow the journey of Romeo and Juliet’s love. “Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee, / I have no joy of this contract tonight. / It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;…/ This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, / May prove to be a beauteous flower when next we meet” (2.2. 117-123). The blooming flower is indicative of their growing love, especially Juliet. Being her first experience of true love, her actions become more rash the deeper she falls in, even ...
Akin to Laurent 's play, Romeo and Juliet occurs at night. This illustrates the way Romeo and Juliet 's love exists in a world separate from the hatred of the feud, flourishing only at night, an allusion to the forbidden nature of their relationship.
The lover’s immediate connection is established at the Capulet feast, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” Through doing this, it shows that Romeo is reckless and continues even though he recognizes that they come from different families, “o dear, my life is my foe’s debt”. Throughout the play, it establishes that Juliet allows herself to behave impulsively and be persuaded by Romeo into a impetuous and thoughtless marriage, “The exchange of thy love’s faithful vowel for mine” Juliet expresses her concern that it is too soon to promise to love Romeo when they have only just met, “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden / Too like the lightning” This simile is used to convey Juliet’s thought on their sudden love. Although Juliet has recognized how spontaneous they are acting, it does not prevent her from continuing her relationship with Romeo, proving that Juliet is just as impulsive as Romeo. Thus, Shakespeare has skillfully utilized the lovers to demonstrate that their own reckless actions is a reason for their untimely
Self-awareness or a ‘dawning moment’ is important to understand the relationship between Romeo and Juliet because the scene has the underlying notion that the relationship between them will be revealed as the night begins to fade and the light of the dawn begins to rise. If they continue their relationship at the pace that it is going, they will have the fall out and it will lead to tragic disasters for everyone in their life as the people in their life are now self-aware of the marriage between the two of them. The play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500s. The playwright uses subtext to add a underlying factor that their relationship is waiting to be revealed. Romeo explains to Juliet, “I must be gone and live, or stay and die (Romeo and Juliet. 3. 5. 11).” Romeo tries to
Love is a wonderful curse that forces us to do unexplainable things. Romeo and Juliet is a famous play written by William Shakespeare, who does an exceptional job in showing the readers what hate, mercy, death, courage, and most importantly what love looks like. This play is about two star-crossed lovers who are both willing to sacrifice their lives just to be with one another. Unfortunately tragedy falls upon the unconditional love Romeo and Juliet have for each other, but along the way they experience immeasurable forgiveness and extraordinary braveness just to be with one another. Sadly enough, love is a cause of violence in the end. Even though the pair spends less time together, it is enough for them to fall in love. It is clearly true
Shakespeare emphasizes the optimism of the scene by using language that creates positive connotations of the dark - to contrast the depressive connotations of act one, scene two. Romeo is grateful for 'night's cloak' which allows him to visit Juliet in secret without being captured and killed by the guards. This notion is developed later in the play - Romeo and Juliet meet primarily in the night-time whilst the main acts of violence occur during the day. this manipulation of stereotypical imagery, combined with the sense of contrasting and conflicting emotions.