Opposites Attract
Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet displays an outstanding role of light and dark imagery throughout the play. The 2 arguments that will be displayed within are, without the presence of darkness in the character’s lives, there can be no light or silver linings, and without any light, there can be no darkness to make the light a struggle to reach, only making the light seem more rewarding. The other point is how the thought of power over other people can overrule integrity. As Francis Bacon said, “ In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.”.
Without dark, there can be no light, and without any light, there can be no darkness. This principle is brought up many times in Romeo and Juliet discreetly and out of sight. One of the main
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The first time that he saw Juliet, in act 1 scene 5, he explained that “ she doth teach the torches to burn bright! ”. The darkness that surrounds the play's plot, with many of the important characters dying, and one of them, Benvolio, a close friends to Romeo. However, with this darkness, came Juliet, a solution to all the pain that is felt. Romeo’s desperation for Rosaline’s love left him sad and shameful, however the second he laid eyes on the beautiful Juliet, he felt saved and the darkness of Rosaline‘s rejection completely disappeared with Juliet’s light. There is also another darker force that is inevitable, with light, comes another layer of darkness, hurt and suffering. With the presence of Juliet, came to Romeo, another quest to defeat a greater force. Himself. Since most of Romeo’s world now revolved around Juliet, he could not imagine the pain that would be
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest love stories ever told. This is evident in today’s society, with the story being retold again and again in theatre productions, books, and movie spinoffs. The story is of two lovers, whose love was doomed from the start due to their disputing families, the Capulets and Montagues, who would never see a marriage between the two. Romeo and Juliet eventually take their own lives, ceasing their families’ fighting. William Shakespeare, the playwright who wrote Romeo and Juliet and likely the most famous playwright ever, uses light and dark imagery within the story to highlight the lovers’ affection for one another against the backdrop of their lives. The motif of light and dark is used, with
n literature duality is anything that has two sides mostly dealing with good and evil. In many different books, duality plays an important role in showing who the characters are and how the story occurs. Books such as Dr. Jekyll and Mrs.Hyde, Romeo and Juliet, and the Bible are books that duality plays a huge role in.
As the play continues and the continues and the conflicts become more complicated, light vs. dark illustrates that love cannot be conquered by hate. “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks!/it is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” (Romeo, 2.2.3-4). This quote relates to light vs. dark because it shows that Romeo is happy when he sees Juliet and compares her beauty to the sun, which is like the light which the light is also representing that he is happy at the same time
The darkness in this quote represents the negativity and disadvantages that surround both of their lives in Harlem. The light and darkness in this story both symbolize the hope and struggles that they will continue to face throughout their lives.
Inevitably, passionate love is woven through “Romeo and Juliet”, declared by speech and insinuated by the couple infatuation with each other. Without a doubt, several scenes were a strong representation of this obsession. Many scenes into the play, the young, lovelorn Romeo is seen in a dismal and in a disconnected state due to his unrequited love for Rosaline. But as his hopeless eyes falls upon Juliet at the Capulet’s ball, Romeo is resurrected from his depression in awe by the mesmerising beauty of Juliet; this was expressed through Romeo’s soliloquy. A little while into the aftermath of the party, Romeo, powered by the newly found momentous love, risks his life climbing the high orchard walls into the deadly grounds of his enemies, the Capulets. Although Juliet fears for Romeo’s life, Romeo fearlessly
In act 1 scene 5 as Romeo breaks out into a rhyming sonnet that are often well known in Shakespeare’s plays as a way to empathize any important situations of love or any arguments. During this sonnet, there is use of light lexis. First of all, Romeo describes Juliet as a source of light, as he states in an oxymoron, “o she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” By using
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light,” (Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). This exemplifies the true beauty that even in the hardest times of anyone's life, there is always light somewhere, to restore. Many struggle with something that rests upon them throughout their life and never seem to have a way to cope with whatever the challenge may be. Nevertheless, many should put forth effort to seek for those concealing glimmers of hope that illuminates anyone's heart. Similarly, within Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” two family rivals, the Capulets and Montagues, clearly resemble this quote, however in this case Juliet and Romeo’s relationship represents
In the play Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare utilizes opposites in both the thoughts and actions of the characters in Romeo and Juliet. Outlined are contrasts of crime and violence versus peace and law, love versus hate, and young versus old.
Shakespeare shows the dualism of the light and dark by metaphorically using darkness as a symbol of depression.There
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his view of light carrying darkness out of darkness through the hard times he was facing when he spoke his mind in this quote. Shakespeare similarly develops the idea of light driving out darkness in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. This concept constructs understanding and the imagery of love within different characters throughout the play. This imagery exemplifies parallelism, portraying the primary example as the light and dark to represent Romeo and Juliet. This symbolization ultimately develops the depressing mood and foreshadows the doomed, tragic events of the two characters.
This pure feeling changed the thoughts of Romeo to do something more courageous than he ever would. Also, when the families found out what happened, they felt terrible about how they
Writer Landon Parham once said, “Life isn't just about darkness or light, rather it's about finding light within the darkness.” In a dark place, love can be like a bright light, illuminating the way to happiness. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, a depressed Romeo finds a light of his own in Juliet who is able to bring him out of the darkness. He describes in this soliloquy his strong emotions for Juliet. Romeo uses celestial imagery in the balcony soliloquy to portray Juliet as a divine force in his life that allows him to move on from his depressed state.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses the motif light and darkness to have a deeper connection with the idea of love. Love is often looked at as a power that two can share that will never be broken or a darkness that will engulf their minds. Shakespeare uses Romeo and juliet to show readers that what may be true love must have a balance of light and darkness. Without darkness their love could not of had the light that it did. Romeo often looks at Juliet as a light no matter the circumstance of the situation.
At the beginning of the play, Romeo is upset about Rosaline, the girl who he likes, not liking him back. His being upset is especially prominent when Romeo makes his first appearance in the play towards the end of Act I, Scene I. In this scene, Lady Monatgue, Romeos mother, is voicing her concern about her son being so depressed. His cousin, Benvolio sees him coming towards where the rest of his family is standing, and says that he will talk to Romeo. Benvolio is able to get it out of his cousin that he is upset because a girl does not like him back. Romeo talks about the darkness, which is a symbol for sadness and
Duality exists in many genres of literature. Duality is found in romance, horror, and science fiction. Books that highlight duality include Romeo and Juliet, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Ender’s Game.