Shakepeare picked a theme that's been known to cause indigestion and sleep loss for centuries. And yet, regardless of the ills associated with it, it remains a topic of worldwide interest. And that is simply, love.

My mother says that love is one of the most overused, misunderstood words in the English language. Over time, I've asked friends what they thought "it" was. I've always received differing answers. It's when he opens the door. It's when she does the laundry. It's that thing that causes insanity. It doesn't exist. It existed only in the middle ages. It's what everyone is hunting for and no one can find. Forget about it.

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (Tenth Edition) defines it as: 1. (1): strong affection for another rising out of kinship or personal ties. 2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion. 3: unselfish loyal and benevolet concern for the good of another. 4: to thrive on.

Spiritual masters say that love is all there is. They also say in order to

The reader continues because Shakespeare was a genius at creating dramatic tension. In Romeo and Juliet, he uses two main vehicles to do so. One is the theme of love (Romeo and Juliet) versus hate (The Montagues and the Capulets). The other is the theme of darkness and light.

After the nurses brings news of Tybalt's death, Juliet plummets into her own misery. The scene has moved from Juliet's anticipation of her wedding night to the gloom of Romeo's banishment and the threat of death. Everything that once seemed joyous (light) is now evil (dark).

In the end, Shakespeare utilized the images of light and dark, as well as the themes of love and death, to illustrate that essentially all contraries become one. I believe that that was the point of the play, it was Shakespeare's way of saying all is all, and that's all there is.

We see by her comments that Juliet is certainly not docile, nowhere near a pushover. By the end of the scene Shakespeare introduces a spice to Juliet's character. We begin to see her as "lively," "independent," and "cocksure," it is obvious that she inhabits a much "lighter" emotional world than does Romeo.

Romeo is having a bad day. But what a day for Juliet. We forget about her, waiting at home, yearning to consumate the marriage, until we read her famous soliloquy.

Professors of English say that the greatest writers are those who can "hook" their readers. Those who can propel a story forward. Divide and contrast. Divide and contrast, they say. Friction produced by opposing forces creates great drama. Shakespeare is a great dramatist.

By introducing Romeo in "darkness," and Juliet in "light," Shakespeare sets the stage for a contrast that he utilizes throughout the play. Romeo's darkness doesn't last long however.

Before the scene is over, Romeo and Juliet have met, fallen in love, and discovered the nature of each other's familial backgrounds. Again, love (light) is contrasted with anger and violence (darkness), having the offspring of two ancient enemies meet and fall in love heightens the contrast and catapults the story line forward.

As Mercutio's laughter echoes down the street, Romeo sees a light coming from a window in Capulet's house. And there on the balcony, stands Juliet. Romeo is struck by Juliet's loveliness. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Romeo is enraptured. He compares her eyes to stars, saying if they were set in heaven, birds would think it was daylight by their brightness.

Romeo and Juliet stay with each other almost until the dawn. During the night they are able to display their "love," but with the coming dawn, the drudgery of the "workaday" world must be resumed. It is during this "light," the "light of day," that the "darkness" which accompanies all those involved in the Capulet and Montague feud reigns.

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Approximate Word count = 2201
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)