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The use of the images of “day“ and “night“ in the “Balcony Scene” in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

The play “Romeo and Juilet” by William Shakespeare is full of images that create a moving and touching atmosphere. A very broadly and regularly occuring pair of images is that of “day and night”. Romeo throughout the play compares Juliet to light. In the beginning Romeo compares her to torches that brighten the night (I, 5, 44-46). Even in the end, when Romeo believes Juliet to be dead he speaks about her as light that brightens the whole dark tomb (V, 3, 85-86). Shakespeare uses these expressions in order to stress Romeos enormous love. Another function of these symbols is the foreshadowing of the tragic ending of the play. Both functions become most obvious in the most famous scene of the play, the so called “Balcony Scene”. The name of this scene has its origin in the old Elizabethan theatre. When “Romeo and Juliet” was performed in the theatre “The Globe”, Juliet appeared in one of the balconies that were installed there. This scene is one of the most beautiful scenes in all of the Shakespearean plays, as it is filled with many hihly romantic images and an abundant amount of literary devices.

Romeo in the beginning of the “Balcony Scene” compares Juliet to the rising sun (II, 2, 3: “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!”). This is, like “stars” (II, 2, 19) an old petrarkian motive that was used on the one hand to describe the beauty of women, or like in this case girls.
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes” (II, 2, 15-16)
This old petrakian symbol also shows that Romeo’s beloved is unattainable for him. Juliet, like the sun is too far away and it is too dangerous to touch her. The sun in this scene also symbolizes that Romeo feels filled with warmth and energy by the love he feels for Juliet. On the contrary Romeo describes his first love Rosaline as cold and...