Romeo said this when he saw Juliet for the first time.
An Ethiope was an Ethiopian, a person from Ethiopia. Ethiopians were and are dark skinned people, and Romeo compared Juliet to a bright jewel placed next to the cheek of a black-skinned person. In part, he was talking about how fair her skin was. She was extremely pale, and that was quite attractive back then. If she was so pale, she would contrast with the dark night. Also, the jewel against the dark skin would make the skin glow; Juliet's beauty shines out of the night and makes it bright.
Romeo Montague.
"Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!" "She hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear." He likes her, don't you think?
When he first sees her he compares her to burning torches, a jewel and a dove as in the extract: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. Later, when hiding in her garden, he compares her to the sun as in: But soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!-
"How silver-sweet sound lover's tongues by night,/ Like softest music to attending ears!""Death lies upon her like an untimely frost.""It seems she hangs on the cheek of night / like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear.
This is one of the most beautiful similes from the play. He imagines Juliet shining out in the darkness (one of many times that the lovers compare each other to lights and particularly heavenly lights). First he uses the personification, "on the cheek of night" and then evokes an image of a jewelled earring shining against the black skin of a person, which would be at the cheek or jawline. I always imagine the jewel to be a ruby, because the red lights would look particularly rich against mahogany brown skin. The idea is that the jewel looks more beautiful because of the contrast, just as Juliet's beauty is contrasted with and stands out against the darkness of night.
In Act 1 Scene 5 (when they meet briefly for the first time) Romeo describes Juliet as teaching the torches to burn bright, 'as a rich jewel', "Beauty too rich for use', as a 'snowy dove trooping with crows' and a 'Holy shrine'. The exact words he uses are "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear--beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows as yonder lady o'er her fellows shows."
"She doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs on the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear."
"Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!" "She hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear." He likes her, don't you think?
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
"She doth lie upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear,"
It's a metaphor. Romeo is comparing Juliet to an earring which dangles against a person's cheek. The person's skin, like the night, is dark, and Juliet shines in the dark the way a jewelled earring might shine against the skin of a dark-skinned person. It is surely one of Shakespeare's most beautiful and evocative metaphors.
She doth lie upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear.
To a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear.
A guy probably likes you if, when you are out together in a group, he hangs out with you for the whole night but then he never contacts you after that. Then when you see him out again he hangs out with you all night. It's clear from this that he likes you but not enough to actually make an effort to see you other than when you are out.
Try using a Starry Night and Cosmo...
When he first sees her he compares her to burning torches, a jewel and a dove as in the extract: O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. Later, when hiding in her garden, he compares her to the sun as in: But soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!-
"How silver-sweet sound lover's tongues by night,/ Like softest music to attending ears!""Death lies upon her like an untimely frost.""It seems she hangs on the cheek of night / like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear.
This is one of the most beautiful similes from the play. He imagines Juliet shining out in the darkness (one of many times that the lovers compare each other to lights and particularly heavenly lights). First he uses the personification, "on the cheek of night" and then evokes an image of a jewelled earring shining against the black skin of a person, which would be at the cheek or jawline. I always imagine the jewel to be a ruby, because the red lights would look particularly rich against mahogany brown skin. The idea is that the jewel looks more beautiful because of the contrast, just as Juliet's beauty is contrasted with and stands out against the darkness of night.