Prologue Quiz Answer: Simile
“The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, /
As daylight doth a lamp” is a simile. It is also an example of hyperbole, but we’re going to save that answer for a future question. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things with “like” or “as.”
In this example, Romeo is comparing a comparison. The brightness of Juliet’s cheek makes the stars look dim, much in the same way the brightness of daylight makes a lamp look dim. Keep in mind that lamps during this period were little candle things. Light bulbs had not yet been invented.
Go back to the Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene Literary Terms Quiz
Last Updated on April 18, 2017 by Trenton Lorcher
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