Light vs. Darkness

Discuss how the motif of light and darkness is seen throughout Romeo and Juliet.

The theme of light vs. darkness is very evident throughout Romeo and Juliet.

In Act 1, when the narrator is talking about Romeo and his depression over Rosaline, they say that he:     
                     "locks fair daylight out, And makes himself an artificial night."

The light is representing any glimpse of happiness while the darkness of night shows his depression.

Then in Act 2, once Romeo has moved on to Juliet, he compares Juliet to the sun. He's basically talking about how when she walks into view, she can light up a room. Romeo is out of his depression the moment he sees Juliet.

Later in Act 2, Juliet and Romeo see eachother again and again at the Capulet house. Romeo has a huge change of heart, and now the roles are reversed between day and night. They see the night as good because it's the only time they can see eachother. Anytime they're apart, they both get really sad & miss eachother almost instantly. The night is the best time of the day and the light is so much longer, so it's nearly unbearable.
When Romeo finds out he's being banished, and he goes to see Juliet one last time, Romeo is told he must leave Verona by morning. Juliet is trying to convince it is still okay, he doesn't need to leave yet. She talks about how it is not yet morning and the blessed night is still with them. She also says that Romeo is "the day in night."

So really, she's referring to the stereotype of day being good because of light. And then she refers to how he makes the night as good as day, and brings the "light" (not literally) to her evening.