Preview

Light imagery in romeo and juliet Romeo and Juliet, Shakespear

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
388 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Light imagery in romeo and juliet Romeo and Juliet, Shakespear
Light imagery is a very important aspect of Romeo and Juliet. There are many references to light and dark in the children's relationship. The light imagery is a recurring theme in the story. It is very important in setting the mood in their relationship. The depiction of light and dark is often jumbled in the story. Sometimes light is good and dark is bad, and more often it is the other way around.

In the balcony scene, when Romeo was swearing his love to Juliet, she says "O swear not by the moon, th'inconsistent moon, that monthly changes in her circle orb, lest thy love prove likewise variable." (2.2, line 110) In this quote, Juliet is telling Romeo not to swear his love by the moon, because it waxes and wanes constantly, and she did not want his love to be the same way. This quote condemns night time because of the moon and its changes.

On Romeo and Juliet's only night together, they pretend that the sun rising is just a reflection of the moon. "More light and light, the more dark and dark our woes." (3.5 line 36) This quote from Romeo is a direct example of reverse light imagery. Because they can only be together at night, and Romeo must leave for exile at dawn, Romeo and Juliet's troubles become worse, or darker by day, and the mood is lighter for them at night.

When Juliet is preparing to be married to Paris, and her and the friar devise a plan to help her and Romeo escape to Mantua together, the friar says "and that very night shall Romeo bear the hence to Mantua." (4.1, line 117), and "I'll have this knot knit up tomorrow morning"(4.2, line 24) show once again how Romeo and Juliet are happy at night than they are during the day, because they can escape together at night, and during day they must face their families who do not understand their love.

Light Imagery is one of Shakespear's most common conceit in Romeo and Juliet. It is unique in this play because often, night is the time of safety and happiness because they can see each other, while day

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    * Mythological beings are also used in the passage as a way of Juliet showing her impatience for night to arrive. This is shown on lines 3-4, where she states “As Phaëton would whip you to the west, and bring in cloudy night…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Romeo and Juliet, dreams, visions and premonitions play a very important role. They foreshadow the eventual tragedy, tell us about a character’s view over a particular matter, and reflect underlying messages in the play. They are symbols, telling us about the various themes in the play as well.…

    • 2431 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Contemporary, upbeat, pop music is playing as the audience is seated, before a visual montage of images such as explosions, various iconic couples, hearts and ‘make love not war’ quotes is shown. These two things set the tone of the entire play and foreshadow the themes of love and hate. Music and visuals continue to work together throughout the performance to create the tone of each scene such as after Juliet meets Romeo, she is found in her bedroom with images of roses and a feminine song playing softly to represent the romantic mood. Additionally, stars are always shown whenever Romeo and Juliet are together, symbolising that they are eternally star-crossed since, after their death scene, stars continued to be shown. The actors also portrayed the performance humorously, giving it a comedic tone, such as how a male personated the maid, wore an amusing costume, and altered his voice and movements to entertain the audience. Thus, the element of mood has been effectively applied throughout the play, helping the performance to…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In her soliloquy, Juliet longs for night to come so she can be with Romeo. What does the audience know that Juliet doesn’t at this point?…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    bed for the night. Juliet asks Romeo if he is leaving since it’s still a long…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare reveals that youth impulsivity can doom the inevitable fate, he does this by utilizing foreshadowing and metaphors throughout the play. Shakespeare utilized foreshadowing to compare fate to the stars. He makes references to the stars or fate in the play quite often through characters and discretely points at the theme. Early into the play he already references the stars. “a pair of star crossed lovers take their life..”…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the theme of lightness and dark, Juliet says: “Come night; Come Romeo, Come; thou day in night”(3.2.73). In this scene she is waiting for Romeo to return and deflower her, she refers to him as the day in night while he often refers to her as all things associated with light. This is representing her eagerness as well as how much she is in awe of romeo. Yet all of that love and idolization can easily be reversed. She yells the following at Romeo:“O serpent heart, hid a flowering face”(3.2.73) This line is said when Juliet finds out that Romeo killed her cousin Tybalt. She is cursing him for his actions as well as herself for being naive. These juxtapositions allow for Juliet to a complex three dimensional character who is a love struck teenager but also beginning to come of age and due to aforementioned events, realize her own…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this scene Romeo and Juliet are alone together for the first time before his exile, but as soon as dawn breaks Romeo must leave. Both try to pretend that it is still night, and that the light is actually darkness. "More light and light, more dark and dark our woes."(3.5.36) When the light comes, darkness in the two lovers' heart's set in. This is an example of when Shakespeare switches the imagery. Despite all the positive reference to light in the play, in the end it takes a negative role in this…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare uses a variety of techniques in Romeo and Juliet in order to enhance the reader’s experience and to communicate messages through his work. For instance, the use of celestial imagery contributes to the tragic tone of the play, because it suggests the inevitable end to the main characters. Notably in the opening of the play, the reader hears: “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” (I.Prologue.6). Likewise, before Romeo enters the Capulet party he tells his friends: “I fear, too early; for my mind misgives/ Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,/ Shall bitterly begin with this sweet date/ Of a despised life, closed in my breast,/ By some vile forfeit of untimely death. (I.iv.116-121). Celestial imagery is a form of author’s craft that uses the…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    with her. Shakespeare's conceits express how deeply passionate Romeo is to be with Juliet through use of light imagery.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In any case, in Act Two Scene Two, the inclination is through and through more idealistic and Shakespeare utilizes a great deal of light symbolism, especially with how Juliet is depicted in Romeo’s mind. When he first sees her on the overhang, he thinks about her as the sun, a supplier of life. This obviously passes on Romeo's energy for Juliet, a splendid wellspring of light, and it has meanings of bliss and cheer, which stand out significantly from Romeo's past despairing. Besides, Romeo shouts that…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Light In Romeo And Juliet

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Even through the darkest times in life, there is always light. Moreover, light brightens to overwhelm the darkness. In Night by Elie Wiesel and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a major conflict exists to which people are killed from their violent and inhuman actions. These conflict last for so long, seeming as if there will never be a resolution. However, the motif of light is presented as the thought to never give up for Eliezer, Romeo, and Juliet, in order to reach their goal of freedom or unity.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare uses metaphors, many allusions, and some conceits in order to develop characterization. When Romeo stated "It is the east and Juliet is the sun, Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon" Shakespeare is using a metaphor to compare Juliet to the sun. This passage implies that Juliet is as great and as bright as the sun (good) which eliminates darkness (evil) as it arises, He also uses an allusion to metaphorically compare Juliet to Helios, the sun god, and is asking Juliet to arise and eliminate the evil of darkness, Artemis, the Greek moon goddess. Shakespeare also compares Paris to a book when lady Capulet says "Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face" which is a conceit to show the reading that Paris is like a perfect book and "only lacks a cover". The "cover" of a book is also another…

    • 724 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Juliet is in love. She is impatient towards Romeo's upcoming visit. She cannot wait until night fall, until her lover appears and shares his love with her. "Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night, That runaways' eyes may wink, and Romeo Leap to these arms, untalked of and unseen."…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Juliet and Romeo’s interaction before his punishment, Shakespeare utilizes the symbolism of light and dark to demonstrate the true nature of the pair. As they disagree about the correct time of day, the lovers use contrasts of light and dark objects to demonstrate their point of view and feelings at this time in the play. It’s in the objects that they choose to defend, that Shakespeare shows the true nature of the pair. When Juliet begins persuading Romeo she starts by stating the obvious that “it is not yet near day” (3.5.1). As Romeo begins to disagree with her, both start using more and more words that relate to light and dark. Romeo first points out the “envious streaks do lace the severing clouds” (3.5.7-8). Romeo uses vivid detail to describe the rising sun in the east over the clouds. By personifying the streaks, he is describing them as envious, because he too is upset that he must leave Juliet. While this describes his feelings, it also shows the character of Juliet who is often portrayed by the light. While she doesn’t want him to leave, she begins to be consumed with her own desires and jealousy. She should be comforting Romeo, but instead she is envious that he gets to leave and escape.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays