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   dymatsuoka

   eNotes Editor

   There are a number of lines in Act II that deal with the symbolism of night and day.  When Romeo first sees Juliet on the balcony, she is like the sun rising in the east, breaking through the dark of night.  The night represents the darkness of Romeo's mood and soul after his rejection by Rosaline, and the vivid contrast of the rising sun (daybreak) shows the euphoric joy he feels at the sight of Juliet:

   "What light through yonder window breaks?  It is the east, and Juliet is the sun" (Act II, Scene ii, lines 2-3).

   In a later quote, Romeo speaks simultaneously of two symbolic meanings of the night.  He says,

   "O blessed, blessed night!  I am afeard, being in night, all this is but a dream" (Act II, Scene ii, lines 139-140).

   It is the night which hides him, and allows him to spend this time with Juliet, and as such it is "blessed".  Yet the darkness of night also symbolizes the hatred between the two families, and Romeo, in the midst of this enmity, is afraid that his newfound forbidden love might only be an illusion.

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   http://www.enotes.com/romeo/act-ii-scenes-1-2-summary-ana...

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   Posted by dymatsuoka on Tuesday April 1, 2008 at 10:07 PM