A metaphor is a hidden, implicit or implied comparison between two seemingly unrelated things. It is a figure of speech in which two strikingly different concepts or things are compared to one another based off a single common characteristic.
“He that hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail!”
Romeo speaks these words just as he begins to make his way to the capulet ball. In this metaphor, Romeo compares his fate to a ship. The common characteristic that binds them and brings us meaning is the fact that the ship cannot control the path it takes, its captain does this. Romeo’s fate is similar here as he believes that someone/something is in control of it for him. This links to the larger notion of fate that is communicated in the play as it shows the acknowledgement from one of the main characters that a greater power rules their actions. This was a common belief of the people in Elizabethen England, who believed their life was pre-determined.
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.”
Romeo delivers these words in the balcony scene with Juliet. In this metaphor, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. The common characteristic here is the sun is a life-giving element of the universe, meaning Romeo is comparing juliet to this bright, glorious thing, saying Romeo sees Juliet is a life-giving being. The sun metaphore communicates to us that Juliet is romeo’s world. So we know that when Juliet dies in the end, because Romeo cant live without her he kills himself too.
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