Love is like fire, beautiful from a distance or even up close, but get too close or feed the flame enough and it will consume everything in its wake. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the two protagonists learn about this all too late. They start as lovers at first sight, but when the passion of love and the fury of hate prove too much for them to bear. Instead of the beautiful sunny life they thought they would acquire, they end up in a dark decrepit crypt, on their deathbed. Through their toils, they help us understand love and hate through light and dark; And how passion from these emotions can influence our decisions. Within the play, Shakespeare uses metaphors and imagery to show the contrasting nature of Romeo’s sadness and how Juliet is his light inside his dark depression. In Act 2 Scene 2 Romeo uses the metaphor of “It is the east and Juliet is the sun / Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon,”(16). This is important because it shows how Romeo views Juliet. When we first meet Romeo in the play he is downcast and miserable, mainly because of the unrequited love he has for Rosaline. It puts him in a dark depression of which he sees no way out of. Thus, when he says “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!”(13). He is saying that she is his only light in his darkness and he feels that without her light he cannot possibly continue on living. She means that much to him. Juliet is very similar in this regard, however she compares him to something else,
‘’The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,’’ shows readers that Juliet is now Romeo’s everything and nothing could compare against her. (2.2.19) Shakespeare convinces the audience that Juliet is the most important to Romeo by writing, ‘’But soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!’’ (2.2.2-3). Before meeting Juliet, Romeo had a bad heartbreak. He had convinced himself that he will never find love again, and his life will forever be consumed by darkness. By comparing Juliet to the sun, that gives bright light to everyone, Shakespeare is conveying the message that Juliet is the light to overcome Romeo’s darkness. Juliet is the one that Romeo will fall in love with and once again will be happy. The sun is not only a provider of light, but is essential for survival. By having Romeo call Juliet, the sun, Shakespeare means that without Juliet, Romeo will not be able to survive. Juliet has become Romeo’s everything and is the reason why he is happy and is able to love life again. This also shows Romeo’s infatuation with Juliet, because by comparing Juliet to the sun, Shakespeare is also saying that everything now revolves around Juliet for Romeo. Due to applying metaphors in his dialogues, Shakespeare is able to persuade readers that Juliet is Romeo’s true love and how much she means to
With the idea of light representing love already established, Shakespeare uses it reinforce the impossible odds the lovers are facing. Romeo and Juliet constantly talk of and call on astronomical and light emitting objects to change the dark world they live in. Romeo says when he encounters Juliet on her balcony, “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,” (2.2.5). The courses of all of these celestial objects is set in stone and is celestially difficult to change, and yet Romeo and Juliet nonetheless constantly call on these forces to do the impossible. They do the same with their love, too. The lovers believe that their love and light can indeed destroy the corruption and dark of their society even though they know it is astronomically arduous to accomplish. Romeo and Juliet’s love, they hope, will shine out the dark, letting them live together in a world that accepts them.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two
Romeo and Juliet, one of many Shakespeare tragedy plays, reveals that Shakespeare thinks love brings sorrow and grief. The play tells a story about “two star-crossed lovers” named Romeo and Juliet, who live in two different households that hate each other. Many problems arise with Romeo and Juliet loving each other, but being enemies in nature. The story is told by many characters, including Romeo and Juliet. Through this, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, repetition of epithets, and pathos to show how love brings sorrow and grief.
In Act 2, Scene, 2 Romeo’s attitude to love shifts from an infatuated love towards Rosaline to more true and youthful love he feels for Juliet. When Romeo sets his eyes on Juliet for the first time, he uses light imagery to express his feelings ‘Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon’. For Romeo, Juliet is the sun who has brought brightness into his life like the sun that brought brightness to people’s lives. This beautifully romantic imagery highlights the purity of Romeo’s feelings and underscores to the reader the powerful force of love that Romeo is now entangled in.
In the beginning of the play, the motif of light vs. dark is displayed through imagery. “But all so soon as the all-cheering sun should in the farthest east begin to draw… away from light steals home my heavy son... and makes himself an artificial night.” (Montague, 1.2.127-128 130&133). This quote shows that the happy sun does not affect Romeo and the sad night is how he feels because of the darkness of the night. The quote also reveals that his depressed state is represented by darkness. This reveals a central idea that love will overpower all feelings, because he is sad that his love did not work out and caused him to be depressed.
In life, one of the most baffling motifs that presents itself is the feeling of love. Whether you take it when you have it or be scared and back away is up to you. However, when you decide to take it and embrace it freely, this is when is when people finally decide to open up and be their true self. In the play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, the author portrays a contrasting theme between how life and death relates with how dramatic their love can be.
In William shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, we follow the tale of two lovers from enemy/warring families. They get married, only to have Romeo banished for revenging the death of his friend by killing Tybalt Juliet's cousin. The story ends with both Romeo and Juliet dead, which leads their warring families to peace. In this story, one of the recurring themes is about love; Shakespeare shares that being away from the ones you love can bring pain to all involved, and should be avoided.
In the ‘timeless classic’ Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the author brilliantly utilizes several literary devices to convey the motif that true love cannot be stopped. He does this by using many opposing ideas such as love vs. pain, day vs. night and
As Shakespeare composes this tragic love story “Violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and power, / Which as they kiss consume” (2.6.9). In the play Romeo and Juliet an enchanted love leads to violent ends and consumes two people’s lives until their powerful death. When Romeo first lays eyes on the gorgeous Juliet it is love at first sight. Though their love is authentic and empowering, it is also entirely banned. William Shakespeare writes this masterpiece with much delight but also great sorrow. Romeo and Juliet is the most abiding love story of all time. Shakespeare uses many literary devices in his works. Throughout this story the character Juliet changes remarkably. Shakespeare provides evidence for
Upon seeing Juliet Romeo exclaims, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!” Romeo compared her to a torch because seeing her made everything come into focus. Juliet also compares Romeo not only to the sun but calls him even more mighty than the sun when she says, “Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine. That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun.” So with Romeo and Juliet one goes on a rollercoaster full of references to the light and dark of a situation, but the very last line of the play the Prince says darkness has returned and everything will return to what it once was. The Prince addresses the whole community when he says, “A glooming peace this morning with it brings.The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head.Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.Some shall be pardoned, and some punishèd.For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare makes it bluntly undeniable that fate was in control and whether the light or dark would
In the same scene as mentioned earlier, Romeo expresses his love for Juliet while standing below her balcony. When Juliet enters on her veranda, he states that “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief” (Act 2, Scene 2). Romeo’s comparison to Juliet as the sun killing the an inanimate jealous moon allows the reader to comprehend that he sees Juliet as a beacon of light which can destroy anything negative in his life. Shakespeare additionally uses personification in Romeo and Juliet during the same scene. Romeo refers to Juliet’s blushing face and how “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars” (Act 2, Scene 2). Romeo believes that Juliet’s beauty alone is brighter than any star. This opinion of Romeo’s gives perspective to the reader of how much Romeo is infatuated with Juliet. Shakespeare’s use of personification throughout Romeo and Juliet provides in depth knowledge to his audience on how deep Romeo and Juliet’s admiration for one another
Romeo and Juliet, a tragic love story between two-star crossed lovers, portrays themes that tend to revolve around young love. As the play introduces it’s two main characters, you soon see the challenge that the young lovers would have to face which lead them to the fate of death. The use of imagery and metaphoric language allows us to visualize the theme that is being set throughout the play. Shakespeare gave us several opportunities with his delicate word choice to understand the themes such as “love” and “duality of light and dark”. To help convey these themes to the given audience, Shakespeare carefully words the dialogue of each character to give us different views on each scene.
The second scene primarily consists of Romeo and his remarks for Juliet, as seen here: “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun/Arise, fair sun, and kill the moon” (2.2.4-5) It is evident that this quotation by Romeo has examples of both light and dark imagery. Romeo metaphorically compares the sun and moon to Juliet and Rosaline,
The word love can mean many things. Love can be an object, emotion, and a life. However, love could lead to a loss of power, prosperity, and status. In the literary work “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, the readers are introduced to a tragic love story. In this play, readers are also shown the different perspectives of love and the many downfalls it could lead to. The central theme of this work is the recklessness of love. The theme is significant because it is shown throughout the whole story and it’s a strong force that takes place of all the other emotions and values. In this play, Shakespeare uses characters to present different aspects of love. In addition, Nurse, Mercutio, and Romeo completely show what actual love is and what it is like to lose it due to their experiences.