On the surface, Romeo and Juliet may seem like two love blinded immature teens, but when delving deeper into their dialogue and exchanges many things become clear. Romeo sneaking onto Capulet property and professing his love to Juliet includes other things besides extensive compliments. Through their exchanges, readers can discover a recurring theme of a variety of motifs. Shakespeare uses these motifs which include love and hate, light and dark, and youth and age to develop a central idea of love and family.
To start, one motif that is both a recurring theme in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and a central idea is the notion of love and hate. Romeo and Juliet is essentially a love story, so it would make sense that this is the most prominent …show more content…
“Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized" (2.2.54). In the Christian faith baptism, the act of sprinkling or dunking someone with holy water, symbolizes rebirth or welcoming new people into the Christian community. When Romeo tell Juliet her love has the potential to “baptize” him, he is stating that her love will wash away his sins and will make him reborn. Additionally, Romeo claims that Juliet’s love gives him a variety of superpowers, one of them being super strength. “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls” (2.2.71). The walls Romeo is referring to in this quote are the walls that surround the Capulet mansion. In the line before that one, Juliet asks him how he managed to scale those walls, which suggests to readers that the walls around her house are extremely tall. So, it is evident to readers that Romeo is telling Juliet that love has given him wings to reach her. However, it is not only Romeo that uses imagery to express love. “This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet” (2.2.128-129). In this quote, Juliet is comparing the love that she and Romeo share to a flower. She is explaining that over time, …show more content…
These motifs or uses of imagery primarily appear when Romeo and Juliet are together. “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars” (2.2.19). This quote is demonstrating to readers using the idea of light how beautiful Juliet is. Romeo is essentially saying that Juliet’s cheeks are so bright, hence the use of light, that they would shame some of the stars because her cheeks outshine them. Readers can connect this quote to the central idea of love due to the fact that Shakespeare uses the way Romeo talks about Juliet to prove to readers that he loves her. Another example of the use of light comes from Act II. "[t]wo of the fairest stars in all the heaven" (2.2.15). Again, Romeo is using light to convey to readers how truly beautiful Juliet is. The two stars he is referring to in this quote are of course Juliet’s eyes. Stars are bright and emit light, which is how the motif of light and dark connect to the quote. Another interpretation of this quote could be that Juliet’s eyes are so bright they outshine the rest of the stars at night. However, regardless of the analysis, this quote will connect to the use of light in the play. This quote also helps develop the idea of love in Romeo and Juliet because it proves that Romeo loves Juliet. Additionally, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon”
To start, one motif that is both a recurring theme in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and a central idea is the notion of love and hate. Romeo and Juliet is essentially a love story, so it would make sense that this is the most prominent …show more content…
“Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized" (2.2.54). In the Christian faith baptism, the act of sprinkling or dunking someone with holy water, symbolizes rebirth or welcoming new people into the Christian community. When Romeo tell Juliet her love has the potential to “baptize” him, he is stating that her love will wash away his sins and will make him reborn. Additionally, Romeo claims that Juliet’s love gives him a variety of superpowers, one of them being super strength. “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls” (2.2.71). The walls Romeo is referring to in this quote are the walls that surround the Capulet mansion. In the line before that one, Juliet asks him how he managed to scale those walls, which suggests to readers that the walls around her house are extremely tall. So, it is evident to readers that Romeo is telling Juliet that love has given him wings to reach her. However, it is not only Romeo that uses imagery to express love. “This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet” (2.2.128-129). In this quote, Juliet is comparing the love that she and Romeo share to a flower. She is explaining that over time, …show more content…
These motifs or uses of imagery primarily appear when Romeo and Juliet are together. “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars” (2.2.19). This quote is demonstrating to readers using the idea of light how beautiful Juliet is. Romeo is essentially saying that Juliet’s cheeks are so bright, hence the use of light, that they would shame some of the stars because her cheeks outshine them. Readers can connect this quote to the central idea of love due to the fact that Shakespeare uses the way Romeo talks about Juliet to prove to readers that he loves her. Another example of the use of light comes from Act II. "[t]wo of the fairest stars in all the heaven" (2.2.15). Again, Romeo is using light to convey to readers how truly beautiful Juliet is. The two stars he is referring to in this quote are of course Juliet’s eyes. Stars are bright and emit light, which is how the motif of light and dark connect to the quote. Another interpretation of this quote could be that Juliet’s eyes are so bright they outshine the rest of the stars at night. However, regardless of the analysis, this quote will connect to the use of light in the play. This quote also helps develop the idea of love in Romeo and Juliet because it proves that Romeo loves Juliet. Additionally, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon”