In Act II, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, we find the two young lovers engaged in conversation in the Capulets' garden after the ball has ended. Juliet has just professed her love for Romeo while standing on her balcony, not knowing that he has overheard her words from his hiding place below. Upon learning that she is not alone and that Romeo has listened to her private thoughts spoken aloud, she initially fears for his safety if he should be caught there and then she chastises him for spying on her. She is also embarrassed that he has overheard her true feelings for him and she says:
"Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face; Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek For that which thou hast heard me speak tonight." (lines 85 - 87)
In the first line of this quote she compares the night to a mask, which conceals her awkward humiliation, and this is an example of a metaphor that is used to describe night.
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