How Does Shakespeare Use Light And Dark In Romeo And Juliet

As Mehmet Murat İldan once quoted, “A man who refused light will remain in darkness even by the side of light.” Throughout Romeo and Juliet, light and dark imagery is used to intensify the tragedy in this story. Romeo exists in a dark, depressed state while thinking about his first love, Rosaline. Romeo doesn’t ever think he will be happy or see light again, yet Shakespeare provides light imagery that implies Romeo could have a positive future. Light imagery conveys that Juliet, a beautiful, young girl full of hope, dreams of bringing Romeo out of the artificial darkness he creates for himself. Shakespeare uses light and dark imagery in many ways, including setting the mood, capturing the characters’ personalities, and developing the characters

in order to immerse the readers in the emotion of the struggle the characters are experiencing.
Many references to light and dark are made throughout the story of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s father, Lord Montague, mentions Romeo has been in a depressed, dark state. Talking about Romeo he mentions, “[he] shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and makes himself an artificial night.” (I.i. 147-148) Romeo has been physically not letting himself be happy, he wanders around only at night and as soon as day breaks, he locks himself in his dark room to just sit alone and be depressed with his thoughts. Lord Montague worries about his son, but does not know what has gotten into him to make him act the way he is. This reference to darkness sets the mood and Romeo’s personality is shown.
The light and dark imagery affects the mood of Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. Between Paris’, Romeo’s, and Juliet’s deaths at the end of the play, all families involved are now in a dark, depressed state. Although the families are mourning and in pain after the loss of their own children, Lord Montague brings a little glimpse of light into their lives after mentioning pure gold statue that he is planning to create of Juliet, portraying her faithfulness to Romeo. Shortly before the death of Paris, the heartbroken intended groom to be gives the orders “If thou be merciful, open the tomb, lay me with Juliet.” (V.iii. 75-76) Yet Romeo is in the tomb where Paris should be. When Paris sees Romeo in the tomb with Juliet, he challenges Romeo to a fight, this ends up costing him his life. The deaths of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet all contribute greatly to the dark mood of the play.
In the beginning of the play, Romeo is morose, he has lost what he believes to be the love of his life, Rosaline.

He does not think he will ever be happy again, he doesn’t want to be out during the day and creates an artificial night, but this changes the moment he sees Juliet. Juliet, instantly becomes the new love of Romeo, bringing him out of the darkness and becoming the light to Romeo’s darkness. Montague, concerned about his son’s behavior says, “But all so soon as the all-cheering sun should in the farthest East being to draw the shady curtains from Aurora’s bed, away from light steals home my heavy son and private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and makes himself an artificial night.” (I.i. 142-148) Montague saying this explains how Romeo has been acting extremely upset and depressed, shutting out all light and enveloping himself in darkness. However, when he meets Juliet, everything changes and he begins to embrace the light. Romeo muses, “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is East, and Juliet is the sun!”(II.ii. 2-3) Here, Romeo refers to Juliet as the sun, for she has brought light into his life, bringing him out of the darkness. Due to Juliet, Romeo goes from being depressed all the time to learning to embrace the light and finding

happiness.
The use of light and dark imagery is paralleled throughout the play.

Ever since the beginning, Juliet is referred to as the gold blazing sun. Toward the end of the play, Lord Montague reveals that he will be having a pure gold statue of Juliet. When Romeo first meets Juliet, he instantly begins to refer to her as the light in his life, similar to a glowing, gold sun. “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as the 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.” (I.i.142-148) This connects to the end of the play when Lord Montague says he will build a pure gold statue of Juliet, “For I will raise her statue in pure gold.” (V.v.324) After the death of Romeo and Juliet, Montague wants this statue to be made out of pure gold to show how faithful and true she had been to Romeo. The parallelism of gold gives the reader hints about Juliet’s

personality.
Through the use of light and dark imagery, Shakespeare helps the reader understand the mood, characters, and the development of the characters in the tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, struggling with darkness and hopelessness due to the heartbreak of losing his first love, is brought into the light after meeting the promising bright light of a new love in Juliet. Yet, that light was short lived as the tragedy unfolds. Through light and dark imagery, William Shakespeare takes his readers on an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows, to which most will likely relate.

Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Trans. Arthur N. Applebee. Vol. 1 The Language Of
Literature. Evanston, IL, 2006.990-1120. Print.