Recurring Motifs and Images in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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Recurring Motifs and Images in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet As in all of Shakespeare's plays, Romeo and Juliet is full of

recurring motifs and images. In addition to the more obvious themes of

love, war, and death apparent in the Bard's tragic tale, there are

other concepts that Shakespeare refers to again and again, all of

which work to enrich the already engaging plot and characters. To

supplement your reading and understanding of Romeo and Juliet, we have

explained some of these themes below.

Light and Dark

Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare utilizes light or the absence

of light as a motif that enhances and/or contributes to the mood of a

particular scene. As we watch Romeo and Juliet fall in love, and we

watch as more and more obstacles get in the way of their burgeoning

love, Shakespeare has alternately included light and dark images in

the text of his play. When Romeo first encounters Juliet in the

Capulet house, he exclaims "O, she doth teach the torches to burn

bright!" and when he sees Juliet later in the famous balcony scene,

the smitten Romeo says, "But, soft! what light through yonder window

breaks? / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."

But this optimistic light fades when situations start to go awry. In

Act III, scene 5, Romeo and Juliet have met secretly in the Capulet

orchard during the night. In this case, the light is not a friend to

the young lovers, because as soon as day breaks, they must part.

Indeed, when Juliet persuades Romeo to leave, she states, "O, now be

gone; more light and light it grows" and Romeo replies,...

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...arry Paris;

although Juliet escapes marriage by pretending to die, Romeo does not

get the Friar's note and believes she is dead.

Near the beginning of the play, in Act I, scene 4, Romeo aptly

predicts his own fate:

I fear, too early: for my mind misgives

Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date

With this night's revels and expire the term

Of a despised life closed in my breast

By some vile forfeit of untimely death.

Indeed, even though Romeo attempts to challenge fate, stating "I defy

you, stars!" in Act V, scene 1, later in the play (Act III, scene 1),

Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, and Romeo attributes his death to "this

day's black fate." Shortly afterward in the scene, when Romeo kills

Tybalt, the exasperated Romeo exclaims, "O, I am fortune's fool!"

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