William Shakespeare's play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” is the story of two “star-crossed” lovers who both meet tragic ends. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy; however, the poetic and lively way in which Shakespeare engages the viewer or reader makes it a beautiful play. The story of Romeo and Juliet is timeless and has served as a model for many other stories. The story or plot of Romeo and Juliet is much loved by many people around the world, but that is not what gives the play its special quality. As in most of Shakespeare's plays, words and phrases with double meanings, images and poetry are all used to create a play that is not only a pleasure for the eyes, but also for the ears and l 'spirit. Romeo's following statement in Act 1, Scene 1, provides a good example: Love is smoke made of the vapors of sighs, To be purged, a sparkling fire in the lover's eyes, To be vexed, a nourished sea. with tears of love. What else is it? A most discreet madness, A stifling gall and a preserving candy (Riverside, 1.1.190-193). Shakespeare's use of these components is exquisite and allows for much deeper involvement on the part of the reader or viewer. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses imagery in the form of light and darkness, animals and plants or herbs to give the reader or viewer a more vivid and enjoyable experience. Light and Dark Images of light and darkness are used extensively in Romeo and Juliet to symbolize and/or describe the events that are taking place. Capulet describes the feast he is preparing with lightness and darkness, "stars that walk the earth and light the dark sky" (1.2.25). The stars continue to play a role in the play as Juliet mentions her own death, she says, Take him and cut him into little stars, And he will make the face of the sky so beautiful That the whole world will be in love with the night, And pay no worship to the blazing sun (3.2.22-25). It seems that Juliette, without knowing it, is describing the future in a symbolic sense. Later in the play, after Romeo has been banished from Verona for the murder of Tybalt, he and Juliet exchange lines full of light imagery. As dawn approaches, Romeo describes the view: "Look, my love, what envious streaks / Lace the parting clouds there in the east / The candles of the night are extinguished. .