Light In Romeo And Juliet

John Steinbeck once quoted, “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” In decree to appreciate something for all that it really is, one must learn to collate it to its opposite. These opposites both bring out the worst in each other in addition to complementing each other. Moreover, they also bring out the energy through the tension in which they take. Simultaneously, this is true in literature everywhere. Authors often make use of opposition, thus making their work more absorbing and relatable. For instance, William Shakespeare uses the reference of light and dark imagery in his own lyrical play, “Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare refers to this imagery to create a tension that mirrors the energy …show more content…
Although the star-crossed lovers are referred to as light imagery, their meetings always take place at night. The reason being is the most amorous activity takes place at night. Accordingly, towards the balcony scene, Juliet’s thoughts pertain to Romeo, which she can only meet up with at night. Juliet expresses her yearning desire to be with loverboy through a soliloquy laced with light imagery, “As Phaeton would whip you to the west / And bring cloudy night immediately” (III.ii.5). As Juliet is impatiently waiting for the end of the day, she is hoping for a cloudy night. The indicated excerpt mentions that Juliet yearns for dusk to be even darker than night, so their meeting could be more covert. Nevertheless, the rising sun represents a threat to the couple in the means that their relationship will be more conspicuous. Accordingly, when Romeo learns that he is banished from Verona, he quickly meets with Juliet at nightfall, thereby asserting goodbye and staying with her for the night, “Night candles are burnt out, and jocund day / Stands tiptoe on the misty mountaintops. / I must be gone and live, or stay and die. / More light and light, more dark and dark our woes” (III.v.9-11). The indicated excerpt mentions, Romeo sees the sun coming up, and day announces it’s arrival. Romeo notices that his cover for the night is gone, and tells Juliet the sad irony of his situation. The quote additionally mentions, that at one point, Romeo alters his mind and tells Juliet that he does not want to leave and can stay there with her, but then overturns and claims that if they found him, he would be dead. Additionally, Juliet tries to persuade Romeo that it is still night, considering she doesn’t want the night to end. So while Romeo and Juliet view each other as light, in decree for their light to luster luminously, it needs the disparity of murk, of night, to make it