Two types of tension are evoked in Act III, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In the beginning soliloquy Juliet is anxiously awaiting night to come so she can be reunited with Romeo for their honeymoon. The initial tension in her words is happy and even sexual in nature, but also has a dark undertone as evidenced by the her first allusion. In the opening lines she alludes to the Greek myth of Phoebus and Phaethon:
Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,
Towards Phoebus’ lodging. Such a wagoner
As Phaëton would whip you to the west
And bring in cloudy night immediately.
Phoebus, or the sun god Apollo, has a chariot and team of horses which daily drags the sun across the sky to bring on night. The chariot is driven by Phoebus's reckless son Phaethon who has trouble holding the horses. Phaeton is close to scorching the earth with the sun when he is stopped by Zeus. The audience might interpret this reference as indicating Juliet is also anxious about her hasty and maybe even ill-advised marriage to Romeo.
The second allusion evokes the growing tension between Juliet and the Nurse. This tension first surfaces in Act II, Scene 5 when the Nurse is slow to give Juliet the news of Romeo's plans. In this scene Juliet alludes to the devil and to hell in regarding the Nurse:
What devil art thou that dost torment me thus?
This torture should be roared in dismal hell.
The Nurse has come in weeping and distraught but doesn't initially tell Juliet what has happened. Juliet is afraid that Romeo has been killed. Eventually the Nurse reveals that Tybalt is dead and Romeo banished. Later in Act III, the tension between the Nurse and Juliet boils over as the Nurse advises Juliet to forget Romeo and marry Count Paris. Juliet vows to never consult the Nurse again in the final words of Act III.
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