The beautiful and impersonal forces of the heavens are a constant note in Romeo and Juliet. From Romeo’s first impassioned speech in which “Juliet is the sun” to Juliet’s “take him and cut him out in little stars” (II.2.3, 3.2.22), the lovers see each other in celestial terms. These images suggest the grandeur and exaltation of love—in particular, how it causes a beloved person to seem to shine.

However, the lovers run into trouble when they talk about the moon. Associated with both virginity and changeability, the moon holds both Romeo and Juliet’s deepest fears: Romeo that Juliet will deny him, and Juliet that Romeo will fall out of love with her as easily as he fell into love with her.

The symbolic weight of the sun, moon, and stars also relates to the roles that day and night play in the story. Romeo and Juliet can rarely be together by the light of day. When they argue over whether the bird they’re hearing is a nightingale or a lark, they point to one of the play’s great tragedies: Their love never sees the bright, certain light of the sun. In its celestial

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