 Time is also connected to the theme of light and dark . In Shakespeare 's day , plays were most often performed at noon or in the afternoon in broad daylight . This forced the playwright to use words to create the illusion of day and night in his plays . Shakespeare uses references to the night and day , the stars , the moon , and the sun to create this illusion . He also has characters frequently refer to days of the week and specific hours to help the audience understand that time has passed in the story . All in all , no fewer than 103 references to time are found in the play , adding to the illusion of its passage . 
