Explain the significance of Romeo referring to the Capulet's tomb as a"lighthouse."

In the play's closing scene, after Romeo has killed Count Paris outside the Capulet tomb, he reiterates his theme of honoring Juliet as the one who brought "light" to his life. Upon opening the tomb, Romeo says,

For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makesThis vault a feasting presence full of light.

It is, of course, a figurative light or brightness. Romeo is really referring to Juliet's beauty and presence as something that lights up a room. He has dwelled on this light throughout the play. When he first sees Juliet in act 1, scene 5 he says, "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!" and then follows up by saying she is a "snowy dove trooping with crows," emphasizing that she is bright in a world of darkness.


In act 2, scene 2, the famous balcony scene, Romeo compares Juliet to the "sun" and a "bright angel," further saying,


Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,Having some business, do entreat her eyesTo twinkle in their spheres till they return.What if her eyes were there, they in her head?The brightness of her cheek would shame thosestarsAs daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heavenWould through the airy region stream so brightThat birds would sing and think it were not night.



Light and dark are recurring motifs throughout the play. The light is often a reference to Juliet's beauty. In an interesting juxtaposition in act 3, scene 5, however, Juliet argues that the nightingale, symbol of the night, is singing outside her bedroom window and Romeo responds by saying it is the lark, symbol of the day, which sings. In this case, the darkness is friendly to Romeo and Juliet and the light brings sadness because Romeo has been banished from Verona.

Thus, it is not surprising that Romeo should bring up the light which pervades Juliet in the final scene as he is about to commit suicide. In fact, Romeo observes that this light has not left Juliet, even in (supposed) death. He says,

Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty.Thou art not conquered. Beauty’s ensign yetIs crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,And death’s pale flag is not advancèd there.

Juliet's beauty then, is most certainly why Romeo would consider Capulet's tomb a lighthouse.