In the prologue, Romeo and Juliet are called “a pair of star-crossed lovers” (I, 0, 6). Stars surround every aspect of their lives, joining their paths together. In later scenes, star imagery is used often, mainly by Romeo, and usually in reference to Juliet. However, Shakespeare isn’t the only one to use imagery of stars in his writing. Charles Dickens also employs it often, in his novel Great Expectations, often to describe one of his lead characters, Estella. Star imagery is used by both Shakespeare and Dickens to represent fate and beauty, driving themes in both Romeo and Juliet and Great Expectations.
Fate is a very significant theme in Romeo and Juliet, and stars are used to show that. Right before Romeo and his friends enter the Capulet …show more content…
In act 2, Romeo witnesses Juliet on the balcony, and reflects upon her prettiness. He first describes a scenario of if Juliet’s eyes and two stars from heaven switched places, and then compares the two, saying “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars / As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven / Would through the airy region stream so bright / That birds would sing and think it were not night” (II, ii, 19-22). Stars are commonly known as beautiful and captivating things, so for Juliet’s eyes and cheeks to be even brighter, shows just how extraordinary Romeo believes Juliet’s beauty is. Also, beauty plays a significant role in the play. It is Romeo and Juliet’s first initial attraction. Upon seeing Juliet, one of Romeo’s first lines is that he “ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (I, v, 54), and Juliet obviously feels the same as she is immediately entranced by him. Beauty starts their strong love, and continues to power it, for they hardly even know what the other is like when they decide to get married. If one or neither of them had been so captivated by the other’s beauty, then they wouldn’t have had such a strong initial attraction, and at the end of the play, might not have been willing to kill themselves rather than live without the …show more content…
To state the obvious, Estella means star, but Dickens goes even further than that. When Pip has his first visit at Miss Havisham’s house, she asks him to call Estella, whom he had met just moments before. He does so and describes her entrance by saying “she answered at last, and her light came along the long dark passage like a star,” (Vol 1, Chapter 8, Page 59). Pip has just described his horror upon witnessing Miss Havisham’s rotting state, so Estella is like a rescuer to him right now. She is light in a place of darkness. Beauty in a place of decay. Pip then immediately proceeds to describe Estella’s “fair young bosom” and “pretty brown hair” (Vol 1, Chapter 8, Page 60), and he consistently mentions her prettiness many times in his first visit alone. Beauty is extremely significant to the plot of Great Expectations. It is Pip’s first reason to become fascinated with Estella, an obsession he does not give up. He isn’t fixated with her personality, (he even admits to Miss Havisham that he thinks she is rude), but rather with her prettiness. Her beauty begins their complicated one-sided relationship, which is his main motivation to become a gentleman, setting off the entire
Fate is a very significant theme in Romeo and Juliet, and stars are used to show that. Right before Romeo and his friends enter the Capulet …show more content…
In act 2, Romeo witnesses Juliet on the balcony, and reflects upon her prettiness. He first describes a scenario of if Juliet’s eyes and two stars from heaven switched places, and then compares the two, saying “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars / As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven / Would through the airy region stream so bright / That birds would sing and think it were not night” (II, ii, 19-22). Stars are commonly known as beautiful and captivating things, so for Juliet’s eyes and cheeks to be even brighter, shows just how extraordinary Romeo believes Juliet’s beauty is. Also, beauty plays a significant role in the play. It is Romeo and Juliet’s first initial attraction. Upon seeing Juliet, one of Romeo’s first lines is that he “ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (I, v, 54), and Juliet obviously feels the same as she is immediately entranced by him. Beauty starts their strong love, and continues to power it, for they hardly even know what the other is like when they decide to get married. If one or neither of them had been so captivated by the other’s beauty, then they wouldn’t have had such a strong initial attraction, and at the end of the play, might not have been willing to kill themselves rather than live without the …show more content…
To state the obvious, Estella means star, but Dickens goes even further than that. When Pip has his first visit at Miss Havisham’s house, she asks him to call Estella, whom he had met just moments before. He does so and describes her entrance by saying “she answered at last, and her light came along the long dark passage like a star,” (Vol 1, Chapter 8, Page 59). Pip has just described his horror upon witnessing Miss Havisham’s rotting state, so Estella is like a rescuer to him right now. She is light in a place of darkness. Beauty in a place of decay. Pip then immediately proceeds to describe Estella’s “fair young bosom” and “pretty brown hair” (Vol 1, Chapter 8, Page 60), and he consistently mentions her prettiness many times in his first visit alone. Beauty is extremely significant to the plot of Great Expectations. It is Pip’s first reason to become fascinated with Estella, an obsession he does not give up. He isn’t fixated with her personality, (he even admits to Miss Havisham that he thinks she is rude), but rather with her prettiness. Her beauty begins their complicated one-sided relationship, which is his main motivation to become a gentleman, setting off the entire