Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2. Romeo speaks these lines in the passionate balcony scene, one of the most famous in all English literature. Juliet is leaning out of her bedroom balcony and a smitten Romeo is hiding in the garden below. With teenage hormones raging, his adoring words mark the beginning of the finest passages of poetry in the play. The sun represents a metaphor for Juliet who is transforming the darkness of the night into the light of day. The moon is personified as being "envious" and "sick and pale with grief." In mythology the moon represented virginity. Moon goddess Diana was patron of virgins in ancient Roman religion (for the Greeks she was Artemis). This passage tells us that virgin Diana is "envious" of Juliet’s radiance. Juliet is urged not to be Diana’s "maid" but to take her "vestel livery" and "cast it off," as only fools wear it. In this risqué metaphor, Romeo is wishing for Juliet to give up her virginity and be with him in the most intimate and physical way. The passage is also a good example of the light and dark motifs found throughout the play, with many scenes occurring in darkness and the motifs used to show contrast and conflict.