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When Juliet appears on her balcony, what does Romeo compare to her?

While hiding in the Capulet family orchard, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun when she emerges on her balcony. Like the sun, he says, the radiance of Juliet's beauty has the power to "kill the envious moon" and outshine everything else. It is possible the "envious moon" is a reference to Rosaline, the girl Romeo pined after rather ostentatiously before meeting Juliet at the Capulet family masque a couple of scenes earlier. In any case,...

While hiding in the Capulet family orchard, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun when she emerges on her balcony. Like the sun, he says, the radiance of Juliet's beauty has the power to "kill the envious moon" and outshine everything else. It is possible the "envious moon" is a reference to Rosaline, the girl Romeo pined after rather ostentatiously before meeting Juliet at the Capulet family masque a couple of scenes earlier. In any case, comparing Juliet to the sun emphasizes her beauty. Later, he compares her eyes to stars, and her to an "angel." While these comparisons may seem a little clichéd to modern readers, Romeo's speech was meant to convey the extent to which he was smitten with Juliet. The audience discovers from Juliet's speech from her window that she is equally in love with Romeo, though she is a little more concerned about the sad reality that he, as a Capulet, is forbidden to her.  

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