5.3 Themes and Symbolism in Plays

Themes and symbolism are the heart and soul of plays. They're the big ideas and hidden meanings that make us think and feel. Understanding these elements helps us connect with the characters and story on a deeper level.

In this part of the chapter, we'll look at how playwrights use themes, symbols, and motifs to explore universal human experiences. We'll also see how the context of when a play was written shapes its meaning and impact.

Central Themes in Plays

Identifying and Interpreting Themes

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• Themes are the underlying ideas, messages or insights about life and the human condition that the playwright explores through the characters, plot, dialogue and other elements of the play
• Central themes are the most prominent, recurrent and significant ideas that run throughout the play and tie together various aspects of the story and characters
• Themes often deal with universal human experiences, emotions, conflicts or issues that are relatable and thought-provoking for audiences across time and cultures (love, death, power, identity)
• Identifying themes involves looking for patterns, connections and deeper meanings behind the surface-level events and interactions in the play

Themes and the Human Experience

• Interpreting themes requires considering the playwright's perspective, the characters' journeys, the central conflicts, and how the resolution or lack thereof sheds light on the underlying messages
• The relevance of themes to the human experience can be evaluated by examining how they illuminate aspects of human nature, relationships, society, morality, and the challenges and joys of life
• Themes explore timeless questions and dilemmas that people grapple with, such as the search for meaning, the struggle between individual desires and societal expectations, the complexity of human relationships, and the consequences of choices and actions
• By engaging with themes, audiences can gain insights, empathy and perspective on their own lives and the world around them, recognizing the shared struggles and aspirations that connect people across different contexts

Symbolism in Playwriting

The Role of Symbolism

• Symbolism is the use of objects, characters, settings, or other concrete elements in a play to represent abstract ideas, qualities or concepts that extend beyond their literal meaning
• Playwrights carefully select and incorporate symbols into the world of the play to add layers of significance, create subtext, evoke emotions and guide interpretation of events and characters
• Symbols can be universal archetypes that tap into shared human experiences and associations (light representing hope or knowledge, storms representing chaos or upheaval), or they can be more contextual to the specific world and themes of the play
• Recurring symbols gain power and meaning as they are repeated and developed throughout the play, accumulating associations and offering insight into the characters' psyches, relationships and journeys (the glass unicorn in The Glass Menagerie, the fence in Fences)

Analyzing Symbolism

• Analyzing symbolism involves identifying key symbols in the play, examining their literal and figurative meanings, and interpreting how they connect to and deepen the central themes
• Symbols often evolve and transform over the course of a play, reflecting the characters' changing circumstances, beliefs and self-understanding (the shifting meaning of the cherry orchard in The Cherry Orchard)
• Symbolism can operate on multiple levels, from obvious and explicit references to more subtle and ambiguous associations that invite multiple interpretations
• Symbolism enhances themes by providing a tangible, evocative and memorable way to explore abstract ideas, creating a richer and more nuanced understanding of the play's messages

Recurring Motifs in Plays

The Function of Motifs

• Motifs are elements, patterns or structures that are repeated throughout a play to create a sense of cohesion, emphasize key ideas, and guide the audience's understanding of the work as a whole
• Unlike symbols which tend to be concrete objects or images, motifs are often more abstract, such as sounds, lines of dialogue, types of characters, settings or situations that reappear in different contexts (the ticking clock in The Glass Menagerie, the references to seeds and planting in Fences)
• Recurring motifs create a sense of unity and continuity in a play, linking together disparate scenes, characters and subplots through shared associations and parallel experiences
• Motifs can function to highlight the central themes by showing how they manifest across different storylines and circumstances, reinforcing the universality and significance of these ideas

Examining Motifs

• Examining motifs involves identifying the recurring elements in a play, analyzing the contexts in which they appear, and interpreting their cumulative effect on the audience's perception of the characters and themes
• Motifs often develop and intensify over the course of a play, building in significance and emotional resonance as they are repeated in different situations (the increasing presence of illness and death in Wit)
• Contrasting or conflicting motifs can be used to create tension, ambiguity or irony, challenging the audience's expectations and inviting more complex interpretations (the juxtaposition of love and violence in Romeo and Juliet)
• Skillful use of motifs can create a sense of resonance and depth in a play, inviting the audience to make connections, anticipate developments, and arrive at a more complex and memorable understanding of the work's meaning

Contextual Themes and Symbols

The Influence of Context

• Plays are products of the specific time, place and circumstances in which they were created, and their themes and symbols often reflect and respond to the prevailing values, conflicts and issues of their context
• Playwrights are influenced by the social norms, hierarchies, and expectations of their culture, and their works may reinforce, question or subvert these dominant ideologies through their choice of themes and symbols (the critique of gender roles in A Doll's House, the exploration of racial identity in A Raisin in the Sun)
• The historical moment in which a play is written shapes the playwright's perspective and priorities, as well as the references, allusions and associations they draw upon to create meaning
• Plays may engage with specific political, economic or cultural events and movements of their time, using themes and symbols to comment on, critique or memorialize these historical realities (the representation of the AIDS crisis in Angels in America, the reflection on the aftermath of slavery in The Piano Lesson)

Evaluating Contextual Resonance

• Evaluating the contextual resonance of a play's themes and symbols involves researching the relevant background information, considering how the work reflects and departs from the dominant trends of its time, and analyzing its potential impact and significance for its original audience
• Themes and symbols that are closely tied to a specific context may require more explanation and interpretation for later audiences, while those that tap into more universal human experiences may resonate across time and cultures
• The enduring power of a play's themes and symbols often lies in its ability to balance specificity and universality, using the concrete realities of its context to illuminate more timeless and transcendent truths about the human condition
• Plays that grapple with the pressing issues and questions of their time can offer valuable insights and perspectives for later audiences, inviting reflection on how societies change and persist, and how the struggles and aspirations of the past continue to shape the present