Theme Of Light And Dark In Romeo And Juliet

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RESPONSE ESSAY

“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” is the story of two “star crossed” lovers who became widely known for their brightly magical yet tragically ended love. However, the poetic and vivid manner in which Shakespeare engages the viewers makes this a beautiful and heartfelt play. Throughout the play, William Shakespeare extensively used ‘light and dark’ imagery to compare the romance between Romeo and Juliet, and each approach of this theme has an immensely different connotation. The light and dark imagery plays an important role in creating mood, symbolizing love, and foreshadowing action and fate. Shakespeare’s use of imagery of a poetic contrast to explore this theme is exquisite and allows much more deeper involvement of the reader by elevating the tone of their relationship after knowing the true meaning of this use of contrast.

Shakespeare first uses light and dark imagery is during the scene at the Capulet ball (Act I, Scene 5), where Romeo stands in the corner, away from the dancing. From this vantage
As Romeo professes how the brighter the day shines forth, the darker fall the shadows of their woes; this imagery of darkness in this act shows that the time of night seems to shelter and protects the lovers, while the glare of day threatens to reveal them. Hidden in darkness, Romeo and Juliet's love is free from the family feuds that could separate them. But danger lurks in the light, as the secrecy of Romeo and Juliet's marriage could prove to be highly critical to

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