Romeo And Juliet Figurative Language Essay

William Shakespeare’s drama, Romeo and Juliet, exemplifies love which is, quite literally, to die for. The sweethearts may be a bit dramatic, but since this is a drama, that's acceptable, tolerable at the least. Throughout the play, there are many vivid descriptions of light and dark. These detailed parts create imagery, a type of figurative language. Imagery is descriptive to a level that allows the reader to envision the writing. It's a tool that brings Shakespeare's work to life. Some imagery is in the form of comparisons, some in the form of so many details that it paints a picture. An important element of imagery from this classic encompasses several mentions of dark and light, which portray a meaning the reader might not notice at first,

Here, Romeo states, “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? / It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!” (II.ii. 2-3). This quote displays how Romeo thinks of Juliet, his newfound love. He sees her as the light that brought him from the darkness, this dark resemblant of his mourning over Rosaline. He then continues, “O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art / As glorious to this night,” (II.ii. 28-29). This example describes Juliet as an angel, glowing with beauty. His connotations of light with beauty and purity lead him to see Juliet as bright. He sees his own self as trapped in a figurative darkness, but reiterates that Juliet has brought him out of that sad state through the analogy that she is this beautiful bright light which frees him from the

Juliet, who in the past had no reason to abstain from the Capulet-Montague feud, now sees that the feud is pointless and wishes it didn’t exist. Because she is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague, she wants to abstain from this feud which before she wasn’t concerned about. Juliet states “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet. / So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, / Retain that dear perfection which he owes / Without that title,” (II.ii. 46-49). This vision of an aromatic rose which Juliet depicts helps her to convey her message. Through this love, Juliet’s eyes open to fresh wisdom. She learns how futile their families’ conflict truly is, and her love for Romeo leads her to devise her own opinion. She’s unconcerned about this disagreement and wishes to love Romeo regardless of his