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Symbolism and imagery of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare
Symbolism in Romeo and Juliet
Symbolism and imagery of romeo and juliet by william shakespeare
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Throughout the course of the play Romeo and Juliet and the novel Lord of the Flies, there is a common motif of light versus dark that affects the way characters grow and view the world. Contrasting sharply between the two written works is the usage of this idea. In Romeo and Juliet the light is treated as a problem that will bring their forbidden love to “light” whereas the darkness provides a covering for their rendezvous. In Lord of the Flies it is the opposite, with the darkness being representative of the boy’s hidden savagery as well as providing fear of the unknown while the fire, a symbol of light, provides safety in warmth and food as well as the ability to see through the dark.
Romeo and Juliet portrays the use of darkness in a positive
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way. Throughout the play, darkness is used as a covering for the forbidden actions of Romeo and Juliet. While in the play there is no true metaphoric meaning for the dark and the light, the contrast between the two is used to set a stage and provide scenery for the happenings going on. For example, just before the balcony scene between Romeo and Juliet, Romeo provides a lengthy monologue on the sun and the moon with Juliet being “the sun” that banishes the “envious moon”(Act 3, scene 2, lines 22-25). Under the cover of darkness, Juliet and Romeo are able to cultivate their love in safety away from the eyes of their families. In addition to this, Juliet says that she would like Romeo “cut into little stars/And he will make the face of heaven so fine/That all the world will be in love with night,/And pay no worship to the garish sun.” (Act 3, scene 2, lines 22-25). Romeo also describes the daytime with the remorseful words “More light and light: more dark and dark our woes.” (Act 3, scene 5, line 36). These lines prove the love the characters have for the night, especially seeing as they can only meet under the cover of darkness. However, Romeo and Juliet takes an entirely different approach to the light. Light in Romeo and Juliet is seen as a hinderance to the budding love between Romeo and Juliet as well as common metaphor for the people in the play. Romeo exclaims that Juliet taught “the torches to burn bright.” (Act 1, scene 5, line 43). However, he seems to concede to the fact that often light burns best when surrounded by darkness, as he says Juliet “hangs upon the cheek of night/ As a rich jewel in a Ethiop’s ear” (Act 1, scene 5, lines 44-45). This being said, this view on light and dark seems to be shared by Romeo and Juliet alone, as Mercutio and Benvolio consider the sunlight to be freeing and healthy as well as beautiful and find Romeo’s obsession with the dark to be a sign a depression as well as worrisome. This shows that in this play, there is no real clear cut attitude towards the light and dark but the motif is simply used to contrast a set of characters from each other as well as provide a playing ground for love. Lord of the Flies is unlike Romeo and Juliet in that there is a clear meaning to both the darkness and the light.
The examples of light through the book like the fire, Ralph’s fair hair, and the pale skin of the boys, are symbols of the good and safety. The examples of darkness such as the face paint, the night and the density of the forest’s foliage symbolize shady dealings and frightful encounters. Jack, one of the more savage boys, truly descends into a hateful madness when he smears on mud as face paint. This not only makes him look more gruesome, but it hides his pale skin away from the world. Also, it should be noted that throughout the book there is a common theme of hair color being an example of foreshadowing towards the mindset of each boy. For instance, one of the notoriously good characters, Ralph, has very fair hair whereas Robert, a sadistic and violent boy, has dark hair. Jack is one of the few characters to break this mold because his red hair shows his progression into madness as well as the fire’s steady decline from light imagery into something darker. In the beginning of the book, Jack is tasked with keeping the fire lit. However when the fire goes out around the same time Jack catches his first pig and paints his face, Jack descends into depravity and the fire becomes an ominous symbol. This, along with the hunters want to live deeper in the woods where the sun does not reach shows the darkness as a symbol of malicious intent. However, it is here in the forest where one of the characters discovers the Lord of the Flies and becomes enlightened. It is this sort of contrasting imagery that shows the books love of blurring the lines of the good and the
evil. Simon as a character is very interesting because he does not apply entirely to the common idea of light versus dark throughout the book. Firstly, he has black hair, which in other characters tends to symbolize their draw to darkness. Second, he is often found alone in his own private shelter in the dark despite his pure intentions. The last thing to note about Simon is the fact that he is killed in front of the fire. While the book had made it clear to start out with that fire was a good thing and that without it the boys could not be saved, Simon’s death in front of this light symbol brings forth a new perspective on the light versus dark motif that had been running through the book, as well as drawing a newer, clearer line between the good and the evil on the island. It also provides Ralph, the main character, with some deeper development. Ralph is the leader of his group as well as the most prominent example for light on the island, excluding the sun. Ralph has common sense, a deep sense of morals, and a willingness to work hard for a common goal. He also has very fair haired which is mentioned in the first chapter in the book. He is a representing of light, which saves the boys from the fear of the unknown on the island as well as provides food. This being said it is an ironic twist that at the end of the book, the fire that had saved the boys lives is the thing Ralph runs from, as is the fact that the dark smoke attracted the naval officer that saves the boys. This could be taken to mean that in the end, it was the two sides working together that saved the boys. Working against each other like Jack and Ralph only hindered them. The common motif that runs throughout these novels is the idea that Light and dark are two side of the same coin. While in Lord of the Flies the motif is more pronounced, Romeo and Juliet provides more than its fair share of examples to suggest this as a running theme. Each of these novels represents this theme in a different way. While Romeo and Juliet portrays the dark as a good thing and the light as being malicious, Lord of the Flies takes a different route, cutting new lines into the old idea that darkness is evil and light is good.
The evil in man is seen in many parts of life and it could be only be brought out when they have the power and position to do it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to show the theme of the Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the Lord of the Flies, and the fire. The breaking of the conch shows how the boys forget authority and destroy their only symbol of civilization. The Lord of the Flies shows the violence of the boys, and the temptation of the evil Lord of the Flies. The fire shows how something used for rescue and hope is turned into something violent and evil. The fire burns down trees and parts of the island when the savage boys are trying to kill Ralph.
Romeo and Juliet, (R&J), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (AMSND), are two different genres with but have the same basic plot: Two young lovers can’t wed and the girl is to marry another man who is preferred by her father, so the couple meets at night and plans to run away. Both couples have gone against the wishes of their authority figures but it doesn’t end well for Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, or Juliet. R&J is set in Elizabethan times, and the Chain of Being would have been disrupted by their actions.AMSND has fantastical elements that interfere with fate and these elements such as fairies and cupid, would have been understood to be higher on the chain than man by its attendees of the time. Is it the force of celestial bodies that makes R&J a tragedy and AMSND a comedy?
Throughout The Lord of the Flies, the author shows how different Simon is from the rest of the savages on the island. He is much more innocent and pure than the others and has a religious demeanor. Light, very commonly a symbol of holiness and purity, is used quite often during Simon’s “funeral”. In the last four paragraphs of chapter nine, “A view to a death”, Golding makes clear the use of light imagery to suggest the apotheosis of Simon.
White flowers grow outside in the fields where Matt lives. “He’d looked out the window where fields of white poppies stretched all the way to the shadowy hills. The whiteness hurt his eyes, and so he turned from them with relief to the cool darkness inside” (Farmer 6). When the poppies in the fields of Opium (the futuristic place where Matt lives) it gives a pretty and pleasant picture. These poppies, however, are sinister and threatening. This shows that although Matt longs to go into the outside world as it seems exciting, it is actually very dangerous. Darkness on the island in Lord of the Flies symbolises the fear of the unknown. “He says the beastie came in the dark” (Golding 35). The boys fear the dark because they do not understand it, and do not know what it contains. There really is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no “beastie” in the dark. The boys do not understand the darkness so their imagination creates fear. The white flowers and the darkness both show that things are not always as they first appear. It shows that sometimes we view things as dangerous when they are not or view things as fun when they are
In the novel Lord of the Flies William Golding uses many forms of symbolism to point out the underlying conflicts in their society. By using these symbols he makes the reader not only think about the problems that arise in the book, but also hints towards problems in our society today. The story uses the conch, fire, and the glasses to reference other meanings in the story. These symbols play a crucial part in the story in which they provide the reader with information that isn’t directly stated but is inferred.
Imagine a group of young boys who have just crash-landed on a deserted tropical island with no adults or supervision. William Golding showed in his ground breaking novel Lord of the Flies, what may happen in just those circumstances. In his very complicated and diverse novel Golding brings out many ideas and uses many literary devices. Above all others though comes symbolism of three main important objects being the conch, fire, and "Piggy's" eyeglasses. Through each of these three symbols Golding shows how the boys adapt and change throughout the novel. These symbols also help to show each of the boy's ideals on a variety of elements from human nature to society and its controls. All three of these symbols also change and are one of the most important elements of the story.
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.
Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is considered one of the most famous love story of all time. It reminds me about the first Hunger Games movie. Although the hunger games did not portray the iconic love in first sight, it still had a strong amount of love and passion between the characters, Katniss and Peeta. There are many similarities and distinct differences between both of the stories. Despite the obvious and specific details, like location or character names, both of the stories shares a similar plot. For instance, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are alike to Romeo and Juliet but by characteristics rather than personalities. If I did not know the title of the film and the character names, I would assume that it is a futuristic remake of Romeo and Juliet.
There are myriad symbols in the novel which incompass human nature.The beast in the novel represents the religious aspect all societies ability to generate a common fear.The need for fear is one of the most powerful tools in development due to the way in can hold a generalized accountability. Jack 's reign reflects the very depths of human instinct and how humans are inevitably malicious. He used the fear of the beast to control all of the people that followed him. On the other end of the spectrum the conch represents order, which is broken as soon as they let fear govern their morals. The lord of the flies is a sow 's head that jack impales on a stake which is used to symbolize the devil just as simon alludes a christ like figure. The sow 's head makes the reader visualize a palpable evil in the novel. The behavior of the boys in general determines that environment directly regulates
In The novel “Lord of the Flies”, there is a good amount of imagery and symbolism that show evil and good also known as darkness and lightness. The evil and the good is used in the book continually over and over. For this reason I chose the theme of evil and to portray this on a mask I will be using Jack; a character from the book who very clearly shows this.
During the book, Golding uses light and dark imagery to illustrate how the good and evil surrounds and impacts the island and characters to set the mood and to show the significance of how it changes their personalities. Light imagery is typically associated with hope, purity and goodness. Dark imagery is associated with chaos, evilness and fear. On the island, the light and dark imagery symbolizes the good and evil, which drastically impacts the boys. When the boys first arrived on the island, they think the island is a paradise, since there were no parents or rules. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, talked as “spots of blurred sunlight slid over their bodies” (Golding 15). This created a feeling of warmth and safety for them, as they stood in the sand, thinking they were in ‘heaven’. As time goes on,
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that ideas or concept. Through the use of symbols such as beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's glasses, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to determine their existence. This study is an attempt to analyze the use of symbolism in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. It aims at shedding light on the motives behind the use of symbolism in this novel. This work is divided into three chapters.
for Juliet when he says, “It is my lady, o it is my love” (II.i.10).
Act III, scene i On Demand Act III , scene i of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare is portrayed in two different movies, Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and West Side Story directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio and Mercutio mock the Capulets and then a fight occurs between Mercutio, and Tybalt in the middle of the town square which results in Mercutio dying. Romeo then challenges Tybalt to a duel and he kills Tybalt so Romeo is banished from Verona. While both movies offer different Interpretations of Romeo and Juliet they also are interpreted the same.
Throughout all of Shakespeare's literary masterpieces, he works to capture and frame human emotion and its vast complexity. Two of the best known Shakespeare works; Romeo and Juliet and Othello both perfectly encapsulate a common theme of his literature; love and it's painful decay and eventual loss; yet both have a distinct difference in what truly drove them to this state. Othello, suspicious of Desdemona’s love and susceptible to the manipulation of Iago (motivated by an uncontrolled desire for Desdemona) ends up taking his lovers life; followed by his own. Jealousy is the culprit here, while in Romeo and Juliet the cruel ending can be attest to a mad, almost corrupt desire which drives the lovers to kill themselves rather than enduring