Thou talk'st of nothing" 1. Like a candle in the darkness , the imagery of light in dark comes up a lot in Romeo and Juliet. At times, the image of a flash of light disappearing into the dusk seems to symbolize both the brilliant strength of Romeo and Juliet's love, as well as its transience.
The imagery of light and darkness also picks up the play's emphasis on the contrasts between love and hate, passion and death. Night is a pretty important time in the play. It's when all the passionate love scenes occur so, night seems to shelter and protects the lovers, while the glare of day threatens to reveal them. In contrast, the heat of the sun makes the young men of Verona irritable and prone to violence and the street brawls occur during the daytime. We often think of night as both a time for romance and liberation, as well as a time of danger, and the imagery of night and darkness in Romeo and Juliet carries both night's promises and its threats.
Hidden in darkness, Romeo and Juliet's love is free from the social rules that would divide them. But danger also lurks in the darkness, and the secrecy of Romeo and Juliet's marriage will prove fatal to them. Say what you will about Baz Luhrmann uh, vulgar and flashy , he gets it: during Romeo and Juliet's first love scene, he dunks Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio in a swimming pool.
So what? Check out what Romeo says to Juliet during that scene: "Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized" 2. By saying that Juliet's love will "baptize" him, Romeo is saying that Juliet's love has the potential to make him reborn.
And that's not all. Romeo is constantly comparing his love for Juliet to a religious experience. When the pair first meets, Romeo calls Juliet a "saint" and implies that he'd really like to 'worship' her body 1. Not only that, but Romeo's "hand" would be "blessed" if it touched the divine Juliet's 1. Eventually, Juliet picks up on this 'religion of love' conceit a conceit is just an elaborate metaphor and declares that Romeo is "the god of [her] idolatry" 2.
In the most literal possible way, Juliet's drug-induced deathlike state foreshadows her own death. Romeo buys his suicide weapon from a man that symbolizes death. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By William Shakespeare.
Previous Next. Like their love, darkness is associated with mystery, emotion, and imagination. In fact, the day works against them. At the end of their honeymoon night, Romeo says, "More light and light: more dark and dark our woes" III.
The combination of light and dark makes an interesting motif in Romeo and Juliet. But for our young lovers, the nighttime itself is an important motif as well. The evening hours holds all of the significant moments for Romeo and Juliet. They meet; they pledge their love; they elope; they commit suicide. In Act 1, scene 1, the buffoonish Samson begins a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets by flicking his thumbnail from behind his upper teeth, an insulting gesture known as biting the thumb.
Because of his timidity, he settles for being annoying rather than challenging. In Act 1, scene 4, Mercutio delivers a dazzling speech about the fairy Queen Mab, who rides through the night on her tiny wagon bringing dreams to sleepers.
Finally, it is worth noting that the description of Mab and her carriage goes to extravagant lengths to emphasize how tiny and insubstantial she and her accouterments are.
Queen Mab and her carriage do not merely symbolize the dreams of sleepers, they also symbolize the power of waking fantasies, daydreams, and desires. Through the Queen Mab imagery, Mercutio suggests that all desires and fantasies are as nonsensical and fragile as Mab and that they are basically corrupting.
This point of view contrasts starkly with that of Romeo and Juliet, who see their love as real and ennobling. William Shakespeare if very well known for the symbolic use of love within his works of literature, along with a tragic ending ex. Shakespeare uses the symbol of Cupid not only to represent love, but also as a method to develop theme and plot.
Cupid also symbolizes the fickle nature of love, and how quickly changing it is. In the play Mercutio says, "You are a lover, borrow Cupid 's wings, And soar with them above a common bound" Shakespeare I.
Mercutio also keeps telling Romeo to fall in love with another woman in order to get over Rosaline. The theme of ever-changing love develops because of this, even when Romeo claimed …show more content… The symbol of poison represents the love between Romeo and Juliet.
An example is when Romeo says, "Here 's to my love! O true apothecary! Thus I die with a kiss Shakespeare. When Romeo takes the poison, it is revealed that he truly loves Juliet and that he is unable to live without her. The symbol of poison not only represents the love between Romeo and Juliet, but it can also represent the Capulet and Montague feud. Not only is the feud deadly in itself, — recall Mercutio 's death — it 's also the catalyst for Romeo and Juliet 's double. Get Access. Good Essays.
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