Imagery: Light and Darkness-Importance of conrasts

Light and Darkness imagery is shown throughout Romeo and Juliet. Benvolio is fooling around with Romeo`s actions. "Come, he hath hid himself among these trees To be consorted with the humorous night: Blind in his love, and best befits the dark." (Shakespeare.II.ii.30-33). Benvolio still believes Romeo is deeply in love with Rosaline, a women in which he can not have. Benvolio uses the word blind to let Romeo know that he is blinded with being in love to Rosaline that he might as well just remain hiding in the dark. Benvolio also means that he's going to miss the whole point of what being in love is all about, if his love is so blind. I believe this is darkness imagery because Romeo does not love Rosaline and Benvolio had been using the dark to symbolize Romeo's love for the woman who swore herself to celibacy. Blinded by love reflects to character development because Benvolio created a characteristic that made himself seem worried for how Romeo was handling his situation. Benvolio wanted to ensure Romeo he was not meeting the eye of true love and the experience was failing because Romeo hid in the dark.


Romeo compares Juliet's eyes to the brightest stars in heaven. "Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes,To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven, Would through the airy region stream so bright, That birds would sing and think it were not night." (Shakespeare.II.ii.15-22). Romeo is comparing the change from dusk into dawn. The brightness of Juliet's cheek would not weigh out the beauty of her eyes. Romeo has used light imagery because he has given her eyes the trait of a star. Romeo develops his own character by showing he is thoughtful and imaginary to have compared Juliet to beautiful objects people look at in the world.


Yond light is not daylight,I know it, I:
It is some meteor that the sun exhal'd
To be to thee this night a torch-bearer,
And light thee on thy wa"y to Mantua.
Therefore stay yet, thou need'st not to be gone."
Juliet says to Romeo, it is not morning yet, I need you to stay with me, the sun has set a torch on the night. Juliet is trying to convince Romeo that the sun is playing tricks on the night and that dawn is no where near rising. This is imagery because Juliet has given the sun a trait that is impossible. Light imagery is shown within this quote because Juliet is fooling with the "real" light that is shining through Juliet's bedroom windows. This develops character because Juliet had not yet shown her true side of rebellion, although now that she has dared Romeo to stay into sunrise, it could led to trouble and harsh consequences.