Danielle Matamba Matamba 1 Marryat NC English 1 8 February 2023 Analysis of Shakespeare’s Iconic Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene The classic author, William Shakespeare, is well known for his usage of figurative language in his most famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Many scholars consider Shakespeare the master of figurative language. In Romeo and Juliet, he uses different forms of figurative language to help create tension and add to the tragedy.
Romeo and Juliet: Characters in the Dark Themes are observations about life that can be applied in everyday situations and literary works. Such is the quote by Dwight Lyman Moody, “Character is what you are in the dark.” This quote can be interpreted in several ways and applied to many circumstances. For instance, it can be read as “you are most sincere when no one is watching.” This theme is expressed in William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo and Juliet must hide their romance from their families with only Friar Laurence and the nurse to confide in, ultimately resulting in the tragedy of the couple taking their own lives.
Light and dark replace one another, however Romeo’s darkness and depression (dark night associated with dark feelings of a person) was replaced with Juliet’s light and salvation (light of morning is associated with happiness and upbringing) that brought their love to unite them. Light scatters across the sky replacing the blue darkness that once lived, this brought balance to the natural cycle of both night and day. This ties into how fate predicts the upbringing of some and downfall of others, as Friar Lawrence explains how a good will come of evil, however the opposite result occurs. The dark rift between the Capulets and Montagues due to their feud would soon construct a light brought from selfish desires of man (Romeo and Juliet’s marriage), however this also brings deep misfortune resulting in the balance cycle. Shakespeare used Friar Lawrence as a balanced character to interpret the play’s true
Most of the events and speeches in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, leads up to the final conclusion of the couple’s untimely demise. The couple faces contrasting darker forces of hatred which injects a sense of urgency and hastiness into the lovers’ relationship and leads to risk-taking sacrifices in the name of their love. Tybalt, Mercutio, Lord Capulet, and Friar Laurence are the characters that make up the contrasting dark forces that Romeo and Juliet have to face. Mercutio and Tybalt are considered one of these dark forces as they both perpetuate the family feud with provocative statements to protect their families pride, even though the Prince and even Lord Capulet had warned them of the consequences if it happened again. Another contrasting dark force they face is Lord Capulet.
This is one of the best examples of the use of light and dark imagery, as Shakespeare creates a visual picture to compare Juliet’s beauty to the light of the sun, but it also symbolizes the lover’s plight to remain together. Though they love each other so deeply, Juliet is the sun while Romeo is the moon; their fate enables them to be together briefly just as the celestial objects are only to meet at dawn and dusk successfully portraying their love. Romeo continues the inference of Juliet’s eyes to that of the light and beauty of the brightest of stars, when he states, " Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes
“Romeo and Juliet”, by William Shakespeare is one of the most beautiful and tragic stories. Throughout the play Shakespeare used light and dark imagery to enhances the plot in Romeo and Juliet. Light is used to describe Juliet’s beauty, light imagery represents anger and hatred. Darkness represents their doomed love. Light imagery is used to describe Juliet’s beauty.
Shakespeare: Playing with Duality in Romeo and Juliet Life is an experience impossible to encapsulate in one word. It is a complex, ever-changing sequence people find themselves in every day. William Shakespeare knew this and throughout his many plays, he displays the duality of life and human emotions. In Romeo and Juliet, conflicting ideas relating to love and death are shown, enhanced by the duality of words that Shakespeare uses. The play centers on Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love story, with the Montagues’ and Capulets’ long-standing feud causing the pair to never be together publicly, doomed to hiding away in the shadows.
Romeo and Juliet: Light Imagery Shakespeare uses light imagery to describe Romeo and Juliet’s love. He details their relationship exemplified through light. In his 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare uses light imagery to explain Romeo and Juliet’s love further. In Romeo’s soliloquy, expressing his love for Juliet, he says, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon.
If it wasn’t for fate, Romeo and Juliet could have been together. Just like the sun and moon, Romeo and Juliet were destined to be ill-fated. In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, the dichotomy of light and dark illustrating the opposing lovers and the devastating irony
Once in fair Verona, a bloody feud took the lives of two attractive young lovers and some of their family and friends. The Montague/Capulet feud will forever go down in literary history as an ingenious vehicle to embody fate and fortune. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses literary devices, such as foreshadowing, repetition, and symbolism, to show how the Montague/Capulet feud is a means by which the inevitability of fate functions and causes the bad fortune of the lovers. To start with, Shakespeare uses the prologue to foretell future events as a direct result of the feud.
In films and literature, darkness often represents fear and misery, whereas light portrays joy and cheerfulness. Shakespeare undoubtedly utilizes these connotations in his tragedy Romeo and Juliet, as light imagery is used in order to establish joyous atmospheres and display the elation of being in love, whereas dark imagery is used to create tension and portray the distress that love can inflict. Thus, through Shakespeare’s use of light and dark imagery in Romeo and Juliet, it is undeniable that he effectively creates atmosphere and reinforces the theme of love as a source of joy and pain. Firstly, light imagery is used in pursuance of establishing a romantic atmosphere, whereas dark imagery is employed in order to generate suspense.
In this play the motif Light & dark has some patterns and contrast of language that reveal a central idea of “ The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. In this literary analysis they explain that how Romeo and Juliet how they fall in love in the light and once dark comes they disperse each other with memory since they don’t have any time to see each other in the night time. The Motif of Light vs Dark in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is developed by personification and literary analysis the love of Romeo and Juliet can impact the way that other families see each other as equals. In the beginning of this story in Act 1 Scene 1 they have patterns or contrast in language that reveal a central idea of The Tragedy Of Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare uses light and dark imagery throughout Romeo and Juliet to highlight the juxtaposition between the couple and their marriage. Romeo, at the beginning of the play, is very gloomy because Rosaline rejects his love. However, Shakespeare writes, “[b]ut soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun” (2.2.2-3).
Romeo’s complaints give a sliver of insight into the duality of all things, which is a strong, central theme in the play “Romeo and Juliet”. At this moment, Romeo’s heart is heavy as he longs for Rosaline’s affection whilst knowing he cannot gain it. He asks his cousin, Benvolio, to let him hold the torch so that “Being but heavy, [he can] bear the light” (Shakespeare 1.4.12-14). The contrast of his dark, moody, and wallowing attitude against the bright burning light of the torch, suggests that some new and burning desire might enter into the scene soon. Fortunately for Romeo, this will present itself in the form of Juliet.
In life, people want to have that someone they can call the “sun to the their moon,” or the “night to their day,” wishing for an undying love. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet deals with the recurring visual motif of light and dark, that is used to represent and foreshadow their love. Both of the lovers compare one another to the day and night, which highlights the intensity of their relationship, but also expresses the downfalls and unforeseen complications to come. For Romeo, Juliet is his sun. His light.
