Why is hate so fundamental and eternal to the human psyche? Hatred is like a boomerang that ultimately consumes the life of the person harboring it. The only alternative to hate is love because it is too heavy to constantly live with hate. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet's love never sees the light of day because their love is forbidden by their feuding families who thrive on hatred. The night unites them by protecting their love, while the day separates them by threatening to reveal their love. In a world full of darkness, they both find themselves as enchanting lights that guide them. As such, the light and dark images are shown as both good and bad, and both represent the contrast between hate and love. Dark images are crucial to their well-being as the night allows them to meet and protects them as a mother lion protects. her puppies. For example, when Romeo is in the Capulets' house and the night draws to a close, he comments: “The candles of the night are extinguished and the joyous day / Stands on tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. / Must I go and live, or stay and die” reflecting how light takes on a negative connotation that makes it obligatory for lovers to part (3.5.9-11). The night is personified as the protector of their sublimely beautiful and blossoming love, which if revealed would result in tragedy. It is evident that the night is a time of peace where lovers can celebrate their love, while the day is a time of perpetual spite where feuds occur and blood is shed. Furthermore, when Romeo looks out the window and sees daylight approaching, he comments: “More light and light – more darkness and gloom our woes” signifying how day is now becoming the… medium of paper… ...to show how their love is like a flash of lightning, very blinding, very sudden and very transitory. This is the swift and tragic end of their powerful love, snuffed out by the hatred of their families. It is evident that both Romeo and Juliet see themselves as radiant lights in their otherwise dark lives. Love and hate are an enigma of extremes and are profoundly symbolized by images of light and darkness, often in terms of day and night. It is the vehement mutual contempt shown by the Montague and Capulet families, which leads to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The sad irony is that in this world steeped in meanness and carnage there is little emphasis on love and life, and more emphasis on hate and death. Tenacious hatred will only make this world more miserable, because what we need instead is more love and more tolerance.