Brooke Martin
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses light and darkness as a recurring motif to symbolise love, hope, joy, youth, purity, good fortune, confusion, age, obscurity, and doom. Night's candles, as described in the play, are a metaphor for the moon and stars. The lovers can only meet in secret at night, and they long for the arrival of night while dreading the coming of day, which pulls them apart.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Metaphor | The moon and stars wax |
| Symbolism | The night candles symbolise light in darkness, love, hope, and joy |
| Imagery | The night candles are described as "burnt out" |
| Portrayal of Juliet | Juliet is described as a bright, solar force, a jewel sparkling in the night, and a bright angel among dark clouds |
| Portrayal of Romeo | Romeo is described as "day in night" and "Whiter than snow upon a raven's back." |
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What You'll Learn
'Night's candles' is a metaphor for the moon and stars
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare makes extensive use of light and darkness imagery. The lovers are often associated with light, which is usually a symbol of openness, purity, hope, and good fortune. However, in the play, dawn, day, and bright lights are mostly negative. The night, which is the only time Romeo and Juliet can meet in secret, is what they long for.
The lovers also associate each other with light. Romeo compares Juliet to light throughout the play. He says she teaches "the torches to burn bright" and that she is "the sun" who can "kill the envious moon". He also says her eyes are like "two of the fairest stars in all the heaven".
Juliet, too, associates Romeo with light. She says that if she dies, she wants Romeo to be "cut in little stars" and that this will make "all the world will be in love with night, / And pay no worship to the garish sun".
Given this context, it is clear that "night's candles" is a metaphor for the moon and stars. The phrase appears in the line: "Night's candles are burnt out and jocund day / Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops / I must be gone and live or stay and die". Here, the "candles" refer to the stars and the moon, which are extinguished by the arrival of the day. This image reflects the play's central theme of the interplay between light and darkness, and how this relates to the lovers' secret meetings and their tragic fate.
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The candles being burnt out signifies the arrival of dawn
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses light and darkness as a recurring motif to symbolise several themes. The night's candles being burnt out signifies the arrival of dawn, which is associated with negative connotations in the play.
The lovers can only meet in secret at night, and they long for the darkness that allows them to be together. The arrival of dawn, therefore, symbolises the end of their brief time together and the beginning of their separation. This interpretation is supported by Romeo's exclamation: "More light and light: more dark and dark our woes" (III.5.36). The lovers must part before the light arrives, or Romeo risks being caught and killed.
The use of light and darkness in the play also symbolises the themes of love, hope, and joy, contrasted with hatred, death, and confusion. The night's candles burning out and the arrival of dawn thus foreshadow the tragic end of Romeo and Juliet's love story and the death that awaits them.
Additionally, the night's candles burning out can be seen as a metaphor for the moon and stars, with Juliet being compared to the sun by Romeo. The arrival of dawn could symbolise the blinding light that harshly reveals hidden things and leaves no room for old loves or behaviours, such as Romeo's previous affection for Rosaline.
The candles burning out and the arrival of dawn also hold dramatic significance. When performed in outdoor theatres like the Globe Theatre, daylight was the only source of lighting. Thus, the arrival of dawn on stage would have been a literal transition from night to day, marking the passage of time and creating a sense of urgency as the lovers' time together comes to an end.
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The lovers' time together is uninterrupted at night
In Romeo and Juliet, the night is the only time the lovers can be together in secret. Their time together is uninterrupted at night, but they lament the arrival of the day, which pulls them apart.
Romeo and Juliet's love is a bright light flashing across a dark night sky. Their love shines most brightly in the dark, and it is associated with mystery, emotion, and imagination. The day works against them, and they must part before dawn to ensure Romeo isn't caught and killed.
Throughout the play, light and dark are almost as large a presence as some of the characters. Light is seen when there is love, hope, and joy; darkness is present when hatred and death are afoot. The lovers' time together is a light in the darkness, a true and quickly-ending love among feuding families.
Romeo and Juliet's love is also associated with the night sky. Romeo compares Juliet to the sun, brighter than a torch, and a jewel sparkling in the night. He wants her light to blot out the "moon" of his old love, Rosaline. Juliet, on the other hand, sees Romeo as "stars". She looks forward to the moment he brings her to climax—when she shall "die", invoking the Elizabethan meaning of the phrase "to die" as "to orgasm".
The night's candles, as described in the play, are a metaphor for the moon and stars. The lovers' time together is like a candle burning brightly in the night, a fleeting moment of light and warmth in the darkness that surrounds them.
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Their love is like a bright light flashing across a dark night sky
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses light and darkness as a recurring motif to symbolise love, hope, and joy, with darkness representing hatred, confusion, and death. This contrast between light and dark is used to symbolise the love between Romeo and Juliet, which is bright and passionate but short-lived, like a "bright light flashing across a dark night sky".
The lovers are only able to meet in secret at night, and they long for the night to last forever so that their time together can be uninterrupted. Their love exists in the darkness, away from the feuding families who threaten to tear them apart.
Romeo often compares Juliet to light, saying that she teaches "the torches to burn bright" and that she is "the sun" who can "kill the envious moon". He also describes her eyes as "two of the fairest stars in all the heaven". Juliet, in turn, associates Romeo with stars and wishes to see his face "cut out in little stars" in the heavens.
The light imagery is used to emphasise the intensity and passion of their love, as well as the foolishness of their impulsive decisions. Their love is a bright light in the darkness, a symbol of hope and joy in the midst of hatred and death.
The final scenes of the play are marked by darkness, both literally and figuratively, as Romeo and Juliet's deaths leave their families and the Prince of Escalus engulfed in sorrow and peace.
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Light is a symbol of openness, purity, hope, and good fortune
In Romeo and Juliet, light is a symbol of openness, purity, hope, and good fortune. This imagery is used throughout the play, often in contrast with darkness, which represents confusion, obscurity, and doom. Shakespeare uses light to symbolise the presence of love, hope, and joy, while darkness is associated with hatred and death.
One of the most prominent examples of light imagery in the play is Romeo's comparison of Juliet to light. Upon first seeing her, Romeo exclaims that she teaches "the torches to burn bright" (I.5.43). He describes her as "the sun", a bright force that can "kill the envious moon" (II.2.3). This quote has a double meaning: on one hand, it represents Romeo's old love, Rosaline, who is associated with darkness due to her not reciprocating his affections, and on the other, it symbolises his desire for Juliet to cast off her virginity to be with him.
Juliet, on the other hand, sees Romeo as "stars". She associates him with the night sky, describing him as "whiter than snow upon a raven's back" and "day in night". This contrast of light and dark can be interpreted as symbols of love and hate, youth and age, and the secrecy of their forbidden love.
The light imagery in Romeo and Juliet also extends beyond the characters themselves. The play's final speech by Escalus poignantly captures the darkness that death has brought upon Romeo and Juliet, with the line "The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head" (V.3.306). Additionally, the use of candle lighting during indoor performances of the play at Court or indoor theatres like the Blackfriars theatre adds another layer to the light symbolism, allowing for performances even at night.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare masterfully employs light as a symbol of openness, purity, hope, and good fortune. This imagery enhances the themes of love, passion, and secrecy that permeate the play, showcasing the power of light to illuminate not only the physical but also the emotional landscape of the story.
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Frequently asked questions
Night's candles are a metaphor for the moon and stars.
Shakespeare uses light and darkness as symbols of love and hate, youth and age, and good fortune and doom.
Romeo compares Juliet to light throughout the play. He says she teaches "the torches to burn bright" and is "the sun".
Juliet describes Romeo as "stars", "day in night" and "whiter than snow upon a raven's back".
Night is the only time Romeo and Juliet can be together in secret, so it is the time of day they long for. Their love is like a bright light flashing across a dark night sky.
