People usually associate night with negative things since murders and robberies have a better chance of success with the aid of the darkness of the after hours. Day, on the other hand, is seen as a brand new beginning where positive scenarios are depicted. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, night and day were running motifs that appear Act after Act, but the two flipped meanings. In the play, the happy moments for the two are shown in the nighttime where they can see each other and converse and day is the time where they have to be separated once again. Shakespeare used the reverse of the universal archetypes of light and dark being to illustrate the mysterious and dark side of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
As Romeo and Juliet fall deeper in love, Act III, expressed an instance where Juliet stated how great the night is. In Juliet’s soliloquy, there are numerous instances where she established night as a wonderful thing for her and Romeo. Juliet stated, “‘if love be blind, it best agrees with night…come civil night…come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night’” (3.2.9-20) are all examples of how she has associated night with the loving Romeo. At night is the only time where they can be together so everyday she looks
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A little later, Romeo had to leave because day was breaking, but Juliet, in desperation, said, “‘Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day./ It was the nightingale, and not the lark/ Nightly she sings yond pomegranate tree/ Believe me…it was the nightingale’” (3.5.1-5), wanting Romeo to stay longer because she claims it was the night bird that was singing not the dawn one. Soon after in the same scene, Romeo states his hatred of day by declaring “‘More light and light–more dark and dark our woes’” (3.5.35) meaning that when day comes at the end of the night, they would have to separate once again and their troubles would reappear until the next night they