Dark and Light, Romeo and Juliet Anonymous 9th Grade

The Bible states “God saw light was good, and he separated the light from darkness.” Though light and dark are separated in Romeo in Juliet, they have entirely different connotations. The presence of light turns the characters belligerent, while darkness pacifies them.

Light imagery indicates aggressiveness, impatience, and danger. For example, when Friar Lawrence speaks on Romeo and Juliet’s love, he advises, “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, / Which, as they kiss, consume” (2.6.9-10). Fire, a form of light imagery, personifies the amorous passion that Romeo and Juliet mutually share. Just as fire and gunpowder combust when mixed, the irrational feelings of the lovers reach new plateaus whenever they kiss. Friar Lawrence believes that this type of love is particularly dangerous, as it is neither stable nor particularly successful in the long run. In addition, impatiently waiting for the sun to set, Juliet proclaims, “Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds, / Towards Phoebus lodging! Such a wagoner / As Phaeton would whip you to the west” (3.2.1-3). Fiery-footed steeds, Phoebus, and Phaeton all refer to the common Greek myth in which every day, Phaeton, the god of the...