Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Direct Act 2 Scene 2, the balcony scene

Romeo has clambered over the wall into the orchard of the Capulet family when he sees the candlelight appear in Juliet's bedroom window, which he immediately compares to the rising sun; he says, "what light through yonder window breaks?" Though it is late at night and all that is shinning is the moons light, Juliet's surpassing beauty makes Romeo imagine that she is the sun, transforming the darkness into daylight.

Romeo says Juliet is the sun and says, "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon", this is a very strong image and personifies the sun to make it more of a real rival to Juliet's beauty as well as alluding to the violence and tension in the plot. Romeo goes on by personifying the moon, calling it "sick and pale with grief" at the fact that Juliet, the sun, is far brighter and more beautiful. This quote is important because in addition to initiating one of the play's most beautiful and famous sequences of poetry, it is a prime example of the light/dark motif that runs throughout the play. Many scenes in Romeo and Juliet are set either late at night or early in the morning and Shakespeare often uses the contrast between night and day to explore opposing alternatives in a given situation. Here, Romeo imagines Juliet transforming darkness into light; later, after their wedding night, Juliet convinces Romeo momentarily that the daylight is actually night (so that he doesn't yet have to leave her room).

Romeo goes on by comparing Juliet's eyes to the stars he says, "Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven," claiming that she eclipses the stars as daylight overpowers a lamp. Her eyes alone shine so bright that they will convince the birds to sing at night as if it were day he says, "birds would sing at night and think it were not night." At this moment Romeo has a look of desperation as he is looking at the silhouette of Juliet in her window and wishes to see speak and touch her. When Juliet appears on the balcony walking out of the wooden French doors, through the white drapes which are flickering with the flow of the calm wind, wearing a white nightgown dress, she sighs, stretching her arms and says, "Ay me!" whilst moving towards the edge of the balcony and sits tilting her hands on the parapet. As soon as Romeo hears Juliet speak he moves towards the balcony, discreetly, he says, "O speak again, bright angel" hoping that he can finally hear voice which he has so desperately been waiting for. Romeo uses extreme language comparing Juliet to an angel making out that Juliet is as perfect and lovely as an angel from the heavens living on earth.

Shakespeare uses Romeo to show the contrast between feelings learned from books and poetry and genuine emotions gained from experience with the contrasts between his courtly love for Rosaline and his genuine love for Juliet for example when he first sees Juliet and says, "Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!" Romeo is questioning with himself that did he really love someone before he saw this incredible beauty standing in front of his eyes.
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Juliet, musing to herself declares her love for Romeo in spite of his belonging to the hated Montagues, she says, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" she asks herself why Romeo must be Romeo-why he must be a Montague, the son of her family's greatest enemy, leaning out of her upstairs window, unaware that Romeo is below in the orchard. Still unaware of Romeo's presence, she asks him to deny his family for her love. She adds, however, that if he will not, she will deny her family in order to be with him if he merely ...

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