I accidentally forgot to write about image and pattern last night so here it is a day late.

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses various themes, imagery, and visual motifs with consistency throughout the whole play. As his story progresses, it is only natural these details must change and evolve as well.

Perhaps the most prominent and notable theme would be the idea of romance occuring slowly during night, as our two protagonists meet under secrecy and and stars, while time itself slows down for the lovers to enjoy each other's presence. The first balcony scene is a great example of this, yet the second one, occuring almost three acts later is quite a different beast. Carrying only a few of the same qualities yet changing up certain details drastically.

While Romeo and Juliet still have chosen the secrecy of night, the circumstances are wildly different, with Romeo's sentence hanging over his head and Juliet's almost ferverish reluctance to allow his departure. Romance still hangs in the air, but marked with notes of fear and apprhension in response to the upcoming separation as they hastily consummated their marriage.

“JULIET
Yond light is not day-light, I know it, I;
It is some meteor that the sun exhal’d
To be to thee this night a torch-bearer
And light thee on thy way to Mantua.
Therefore stay yet, thou need’st not to be gone.

ROMEO
Let me be ta’en, let me be put to death,
I am content, so thou wilt have it so." (Act 3, Scene 5 lines 12-19)

This scene stands out in stark comparison to the first balcony scene, which was accompanied by sweet words that culminated in a long, drawn out goodbye that lasted page after page.

On a sidenote...

In terms of imagery, it would be interesting to note how Romeo refers to a radiant sun that would kill the vengeful moon in his monologue, as the moon itself hangs over him as he gazes lingingly towards in her window.

In comparison, the second balcony scene has Juliet denying the radiant dawn and instead claming it to still be the romantic night. Interestingly, it's argued that the sun and moon Romeo talks about is actually a representation of his love for Juliet killing his love for Rosaline. While a stretch, I believe this reversal is extremely interesting, where Romeo must choose between staying beneath the false moon or the sun that represents the path that leads him away from love.

In addition to this, his leaving is different than the first scene as well. Romeo leaves with excess haste, tather than taking numerous pages to wish her goodbye. While this is probably due to the circumstances—and perhaps belief in the Friar's plan—I thought it would be interesting to note.