There are other interesting comparisons. In Act 1 Scene 2 Benvolio has said that he will show Romeo women who will make his “swan” (Rosaline) look like a “crow” (supposedly a common and ugly bird). Now Romeo, in a very similar comparison, says that Juliet (whose name he does not yet know) is like a “snowy dove” among “crows” (the other women). She stands out in a dark room as a bright jewel in the ear of a dark-skinned person. The contrast of light and darkness in these comparisons suggests that Juliet is fair-skinned and perhaps fair-haired while most of the other women are dark. Romeo also realises the foolishness of the professions of love which he has made in the past and declares-
“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.”
However after Romeos proclamation which is filled with love and endearment, Tybalt hearing Romeos voice is enraged and voices his feelings and asks for his rapier to fight Romeo then and there. There a deep contrast between Romeos love sonnet and the reaching hate of Tybalts verses. There could perhaps be another comparison of light and dark with Romeos words representing light and Tybalts’s representing dark.
When Romeo actually meets Juliet he shows that he is an ingenious lover using wordplay and his wit to convince Juliet to kiss him. Romeo uses the pretence of religion as his supposed theme during his conversation with Juliet. Romeo refers to Juliet’s hand as a holy place or “shrine” which he asks whether he would have permission to defile or “profane” with his hand. He compares his lips to pilgrims that can “smooth” away the “rough touch” of the hand with a kiss. By using religious imagery Romeo conveys that love can only be described in religious terms in this situation as it is associated with purity and the passion of god like beings. Juliet as a saint and Romeo as a pilgrim who wishes to erase his sin, he tries to convince her to kiss him, since it is only through her kiss that he might be absolved. Juliet agrees to remain still as Romeo kisses her. Thus, in the terms of their conversation, she takes his sin from him. Juliet then makes the logical leap that if she has taken Romeo’s sin from him, his sin must now reside in her lips, and so they must kiss again.
Although religious imagery is used to convey feelings of purity and association to God, there is a serious undertone to their conversation because when Romeo refers to Juliet as saint who he must worship he treads close to the edge of blasphemy as this could be perceived as a form of idol worship which the Anglican church during Victorian time saw as heretical. Juliet compounds this as in Act 2 Scene 2 she engages in this type of conversation and installs Romeo as the god of her idolatry effectively replacing God with Romeo. Again there is almost a pattern to be seen here as the love of Romeo and Juliet seems to be opposed and obstructed by their society, families, and order. With this religious language it also appears to be in conflict with religion as well.
When Romeo and Juliet meet they speak just fourteen lines before their first kiss. These fourteen lines make up a shared sonnet, with a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg. A sonnet is a perfect, idealized poetic form often used to write about love. Encapsulating the moment of origin of Romeo and Juliet’s love within a sonnet therefore creates a perfect match between literary content and formal style. However the use of a sonnet also creates a darker realization. The Prologue of the play also starts with very similar 14 line sonnet with even the same rhyme scheme. By using the same type of shared sonnet for the start of the play and the first lines the main protagonist speak to each other Shakespeare creates a definite link from their love to their destiny. This link is exacerbated by the structure of the way that the characters speak. After Romeo glimpses Romeo from a distance and delivers his soliloquy, Tybalt hears his voice and becomes angry and threatens to fight Romeo then and there. These instances prevent the audience from fully enjoying the first meeting and the laying of the foundations of Romeo and Juliet’s love as they are constantly reminded by the perils that closely follow it.
The first conversation between Romeo and Juliet also provides a glimpse of the roles that each will play in their relationship. In this scene, Romeo is clearly the aggressor. He uses all the skill at his disposal to win over a struck, but timid, Juliet. Note that Juliet does not move during their first kiss; she simply lets Romeo kiss her. She is still a young girl, and though already in her dialogue with Romeo has proved herself intelligent; she is not ready to throw herself into action. But Juliet is the aggressor in the second kiss. It is her logic that forces Romeo to kiss her again and take back the sin he has placed upon her lips. In a single conversation, Juliet transforms from a proper, timid young girl to one more mature, who understands what she desires and is quick-witted enough to procure it.
Juliet’s sequential comment to Romeo ‘You kiss by th’ book,’ could be taken in two ways, one is that Juliet uses this as an exclamation as a compliment to Romeo or it could be a indecorous observation as to the fact that Romeos kissing could be almost mechanical and unoriginal. The latter could also be true as from previous scenes it is learned that Romeo is pining for Rosaline read many books of romantic poetry. However, whatever the case it is clear that Juliet is smitten with Romeo and ends up encouraging him to pursue their love.
