Horns
In The White Devil, and in the English Renaissance period more broadly, a ram’s horns were a symbol of a “cuckold”—a man who had been cheated on by his wife. Being cuckolded…
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Poison
Poison, a common cause of death for the play’s characters, is also a symbol of deception—what looks safe or familiar, the play warns, might actually be toxic and deadly. There are two major uses of…
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Trees
Throughout The White Devil, many characters use the image of a tree to symbolize Vittoria and Brachiano’s adulterous relationship. Crucially, however, just as the characters disagree about the nature of the relationship itself—is…
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