Editing Romeo and Juliet (section)

===Time===
{{quote box
| width = 23em|"These times of woe afford no time to woo."|—Paris, Act III, Scene IV<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', III.iv.8–9.</ref>
}}

Time plays an important role in the language and plot of the play. Both Romeo and Juliet struggle to maintain an imaginary world void of time in the face of the harsh realities that surround them. For instance, when Romeo swears his love to Juliet by the moon, she protests "O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon, / That monthly changes in her circled orb, / Lest that thy love prove likewise variable."<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', II.ii.109–111.</ref> From the very beginning, the lovers are designated as "star-cross'd"<ref>''Romeo and Juliet'', I.0.6.</ref>{{efn|Levenson defines "star-cross'd" as "thwarted by a malign star".{{sfn|Levenson|2000|p=142}}}} referring to an [[astrology|astrologic]] belief associated with time. Stars were thought to control the fates of humanity, and as time passed, stars would move along their course in the sky, also charting the course of human lives below. Romeo speaks of a foreboding he feels in the stars' movements early in the play, and when he learns of Juliet's death, he defies the stars' course for him.{{sfn|Draper|1939|pp=16–34}}{{sfn|Muir|2005|pp=34–41}}

Another central theme is haste: Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'' spans a period of four to six days, in contrast to Brooke's poems spanning nine months.{{sfn|Tanselle|1964|pp=349–61}} Scholars such as G. Thomas Tanselle believe that time was "especially important to Shakespeare" in this play, as he used references to "short-time" for the young lovers as opposed to references to "long-time" for the "older generation" to highlight "a headlong rush towards doom".{{sfn|Tanselle|1964|pp=349–61}} Romeo and Juliet fight time to make their love last forever. In the end, the only way they seem to defeat time is through a death that makes them immortal through art.{{sfn|Lucking|2001|pp=115–26}}

Time is also connected to the theme of light and dark. In Shakespeare's day, plays were most often performed at noon or in the afternoon in broad daylight.{{efn|When performed in the central yard of an inn and in public theaters such as the [[Globe Theatre]] the only source of lighting was daylight. When performed at Court, inside the stately home of a member of the nobility and in indoor theaters such as the [[Blackfriars theatre]] candle lighting was used and plays could be performed even at night.}} This forced the playwright to use words to create the illusion of day and night in his plays. Shakespeare uses references to the night and day, the stars, the moon, and the sun to create this illusion. He also has characters frequently refer to days of the week and specific hours to help the audience understand that time has passed in the story. All in all, no fewer than 103 references to time are found in the play, adding to the illusion of its passage.{{sfn|Halio|1998|pp=55–58}}{{sfn|Driver|1964|pp=363–70}}