How Does O She Doth Teach The Torches In Romeo And Juliet

Romeo, still helplessly pining after Rosaline, attends Capulet’s masquerade party with Mercutio and Benvolio to distract himself, albeit with other women. This party is the first time Romeo sees Juliet, and he is immediately enamored with her beauty and grace, similar to Rosaline’s. While watching her, he exclaims, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear—Beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear”(1.5, 51-54). Romeo thinks of Juliet’s beauty as something almost greater than anything he has ever seen before—something that shone even brighter than the torches that were made to do exactly that. In this metaphor, and in Romeo’s eyes, even the torches’ light pales in comparison to the

‘Ethiop’ was a term used in Shakespeare’s time to denote a Black person from Africa. In this case, the term is used to emphasize the contrast between the dark skin of a person from Africa, and the brightness of the jewel of Juliet’s beauty. At the time, it was also common for bright and light things to be thought of as beautiful, while dark things were thought of as dull. Though the connotations behind the use of an African person as “dark and dull” may have changed over time, the motif light and dark are constantly used throughout the play and still in modern times, with dark commonly representing evil or less appealing concepts, and light representing good, morally pleasing notions. Continuing on, Romeo describes Juliet’s beauty as too rich to use—not a typical beauty that may be found everywhere, but one so exquisite that it pains him to see her in such mundane, banal surroundings. Later in the play, Juliet and Romeo have established their forbidden relationship and meet often on Juliet’s balcony. In one of these moments, Juliet longs for Romeo, wishing him to come to her at