World Literature Essay Number Two: -- English Literature

World Literature Essay Number TwoThe symbolism of dividing line and Water in the play Blood WeddingThe two word title of the play Blood Wedding by Frederico GarciaLorca presents both a contradiction and a concurrence. These themescontinue passim the play, and the two words of the title are usedto capture the essence of the contrasting movements of its action. Thewedding symbolises the harmony of man and woman, and the extensionof life. Blood too symbolises these things, however it also evokescontrasting feelings of violence, ending and destruction. Bloodrepresents the strength of the broth ties in families, and promotesthe sense of repeating history which is evident throughout the play,as well as fertility and the cyclical nature of life. Used in anotherway, the literary references to blood create a sense of destiny, theblood choosing the path of the characters. Blood also represents andis used to express extreme passion in the characters. It alsoreinforces the violence to whic h the characters in the play areexposed and school part in.The strongest symbolic use of blood, which is carried throughout theplay, is the link it creates between the characters and theirancestors, and the sense of history being repeated. This is evidentfrom the very offset printing of the play, when the mother speaks about thedeath of her husband and her son. She asks herself why a man would bekilled just because he goes out to his vines or his olives becausethey are his passed down to him from his fathers1. The mother istalking to her son, the bridegroom, and so from the beginning we knowthat his father and brother were both murdered, and thus he isimmediately linked by his blood to violence and k... ... It is also introduced in order to furnishthe light by which the bridegroom and the townspeople may hunt for thebride and Leonardo. The light of the woolgather is cold, and this light isthe mechanism by which the blood is able to be spilled. The moonbrings in a surreal aspec t to the play in that it is represented by awoodcutter, and has its own purpose and desires.Blood represents three recurring themes in the play Blood Wedding.It creates a strong sense of inevitability of events by symbolisinglinks to the past by family and blood line. It also enforces the conceitof the inescapability of fate and the cyclical nature of life andrecurring events across generations. It is also used to represent theextreme emotions felt by the characters, and to show the depth oftheir passion. The final examination theme is that of violence, which is presentthroughout the play.