symbolism
Symbol: Something that stands for or represents something else beyond it. The term symbolism refers to the use of symbols, or to a set of related symbols.
Example: “Why, Petruchio is coming, in a new hat and an old jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turned; a pair of boots that have been candle cases, one buckled, another laced; an old rusty sword ta’en out of the town armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless; with two broken points: his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred; besides, possessed with the glanders and like to mose in the chine; troubled with the lampas, infected with the fashions, full of windgalls, sped with spavins,…(3.2.46)”
Function: In Wiiliam Shakespeares’ The Taming of The Shrew, symbolism plays a key role in helping the playwright create meaning. The wild and ridiculous outfit Petruchio wears to his wedding with Kate is an example of Shakespeares’ use of symbolism, in this case symbolizing Petruchios’ control over Kate. Simply by wearing the costume, Petruchio is able to humiliate Kate and exercise his control over her. However shameful it may be for Kate to be matched to someone in such attire, she knows she has no choice if she does not wish to become a lonely old maid. Petruchio declares that Kate is marrying him, not his clothes, arguing that the man beneath the attire is not the same as the attire itself even though his actions in the following parts of the play are well foreshadowed by this lowlife costume. She consents to let the ceremony proceed, even with Petruchio dressed like a clown, and thus yields to his authority before the wedding even begins.The outfit is the ultimate symbol of Petruchios’ power over Kate ,or better put, the entire taming process of which Katherine is undergoing at the mercy of Petruchio.
Example: “Why, Petruchio is coming, in a new hat and an old jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turned; a pair of boots that have been candle cases, one buckled, another laced; an old rusty sword ta’en out of the town armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless; with two broken points: his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred; besides, possessed with the glanders and like to mose in the chine; troubled with the lampas, infected with the fashions, full of windgalls, sped with spavins,…(3.2.46)”
Function: In Wiiliam Shakespeares’ The Taming of The Shrew, symbolism plays a key role in helping the playwright create meaning. The wild and ridiculous outfit Petruchio wears to his wedding with Kate is an example of Shakespeares’ use of symbolism, in this case symbolizing Petruchios’ control over Kate. Simply by wearing the costume, Petruchio is able to humiliate Kate and exercise his control over her. However shameful it may be for Kate to be matched to someone in such attire, she knows she has no choice if she does not wish to become a lonely old maid. Petruchio declares that Kate is marrying him, not his clothes, arguing that the man beneath the attire is not the same as the attire itself even though his actions in the following parts of the play are well foreshadowed by this lowlife costume. She consents to let the ceremony proceed, even with Petruchio dressed like a clown, and thus yields to his authority before the wedding even begins.The outfit is the ultimate symbol of Petruchios’ power over Kate ,or better put, the entire taming process of which Katherine is undergoing at the mercy of Petruchio.