Blood Wedding Analysis Essay Example

through the Mother's exposition of its backstory.

After her Husband and Son were killed and the murderers were sent to jail, the Mother remains fearful of losing her loved ones. Her mistrust runs so deep that she forbids her son from using even a knife, cursing its inventor. In the first scene, she learns of a prior romantic relationship between the Bride and Leonardo. Although Leonardo wasn't directly involved in the family's tragedy, the Mother still loathes the Felix family, stating that their name elicits disgust and causes her to spit. Another storyline follows the relationship between Leonardo and his Wife.

Upon first meeting Leonardo and his wife, it is evident that their relationship is not one of love and affection. An example of this is seen when he says, "Are you going to cry now? Stop it!". Interestingly, although Leonardo portrays a powerful character in this scene, he becomes powerless later on in the play. During the wedding procession, Leonardo rides ahead of his wife but she insists that he accompanies her in the carriage on their way to the church. Eventually, Leonardo deserts his wife who is left alone after his untimely death. Another subplot involves the Bride's relationship with her parents. Despite her mother not being a character in Blood Wedding, the neighbor mentions her dislike for her.

Lorca may have given a major clue when he suggested that the Bride did not love her husband, as she lived with her father in the Dry Lands, a couple of hours away from the Bridegroom's home. The Father had a strong desire to unite the families and shared his plans with the Mother and Bridegroom.

Blood Wedding contains many glimpses of past events among the characters that add depth and complexity to the story. Throughout the play, Lorca's use of language – including metaphors and similes – enhances both the characters and the action, in a manner similar to how Salvador Dali used colors and lines to create his surrealist paintings.

Within the play, Lorca employs realistic imagery to form a contradiction with the characters' situations. This is merged with his surreal style and fondness for metaphor and symbolism. The Mother states in Act One Scene One, "My dead ones full of weeds, silent, turned to dust", illustrating her profound grief. Additionally, in Act One Scene Two, Leonardo's Wife and Mother In Law comfort the baby using a Nursery Rhyme.

Upon close examination, Lorca's play reveals a darker interpretation. The Horse, used by Lorca as a metaphor for the Bride's lingering affections towards Leonardo, meets its tragic end in the rhyme "For the Horse now starts to weep, Horsey's hooves are red with blood, Horsey's mane is frozen, Deep inside his staring eyes, A silver dagger broken". This foretells Leonardo's eventual death due to his overwhelming passion. Lorca masterfully weaves the Horse metaphor throughout the play, even referencing it in conversations between the Wife and Leonardo. In Act Two Scene One, the Servant warns Leonardo that he will 'kill the animal racing him like that', to which Leonardo responds nonchalantly 'If it dies, it dies'. Lorca also employs the Orange Blossom, often given from a Groom to his Bride, as another symbolic representation.

In the lead-up to the wedding, Leonardo offers suggestions to the Bride that hint at the marriage between her and

the Bridegroom. One such suggestion involves the Orange Blossom, traditionally associated with weddings, which Leonardo asks if the Bridegroom brought for her to wear on her heart. Lorca uses this flower as a metaphor for the love shown by the Bridegroom rather than its typical meaning. As the Bride grows angry at Leonardo's insinuations, one might hear a voice saying "Methinks the lady does protest too much". Throughout the text, Lorca combines both straightforward language and poetic passages.

The lullaby sung for Leonardo's son is the first example of Lorca's talent. He was renowned not only as a poet, publishing volumes such as Gypsy Ballads, but also as a playwright. The depth of his poetic passages is a testament to his skills in both arenas. Act Three Scene Two of Blood Wedding contains perhaps Lorca's most effective use of language as the women are left mourning. The Mother starts with what could almost be a prayer, "It's the same/The Cross, The Cross." Her words quickly develop and become like pre-conscious writing, ultimately turning into an oratory on the knife, "A fish without scales or river." The haunting last lines are almost a self-fulfilling prophecy and summarize the tragedy, "That barely fits the hand/But that slides in clean/Through startled flesh/And stops there, at the place/Where trembles enmeshed/The dark root of a scream." Blood Wedding is written in a basic structure, but Lorca utilizes language to its fullest extent throughout the play.

The play is divided into Three Acts with skilfully split action in each. Lorca expertly juxtaposes scenes, as demonstrated in the following breakdown: Act 1 Scene 1 features the Bridegroom and his Mother, while Act 1

Scene 2 showcases Leonardo's family.

Act 1 Scene 3 showcases the Bridegroom and his Bride, while Act 2 Scene 1 sees the Bride making preparations for her upcoming wedding and professing her love for the Bridegroom to Leonardo. However, in Act 2 Scene 2, the Bride decides to elope with Leonardo, prompting the Bridegroom to embark on a pursuit.

In Act 3 Scene 1, the Bride and Leonardo flee to the forest where they are caught by the Bridegroom and all three characters meet their demise. Act 3 Scene 2 portrays the women in mourning. A significant contrast between the scenes lies in the escape of the Bride and Leonardo in Scene One.

The stage is full of constant character movement and high tension in an extremely busy and dramatic scene, where Lorca introduces new themes. The focus is on action rather than the characters. In contrast, Act Three Scene Two presents a completely different scene.

The second scene of Blood Wedding presents a tranquil setting, yet the use of vivid imagery, particularly with the red wool, creates a powerful impact. Even though the action may seem subdued compared to Scene One, it is equally intense. While Scene One marks the apex of the play and plot, Scene Two can be seen as the culmination of the underlying themes and messages that Lorca imbues in Blood Wedding. As previously noted, the final poetic lines succinctly capture the core message that Lorca strives to convey throughout the entire play. Nevertheless, this contrast is not limited to inter-scene comparisons.

In Act One Scene One, Lorca cleverly portrays the Mother as a traditional Spanish woman through the entrance of the

Neighbour, as evidenced by the neighbor's statement "You and Me, we have to keep quiet." The play's unique structure dictates that it must be performed in its entirety to fully capture Lorca's sentiments and achieve complete comprehension. This highlights Lorca's belief that the themes and events in Blood Wedding are inevitable and cannot be only partially depicted; they will inevitably lead to a heart-wrenching climax.

Lorca's directorial notes in Blood Wedding emphasize the importance of Visual, Aural, and Spatial Elements. These elements align with his surrealist ideas and serve as a counterpoint to the play's language. The playwright specifically emphasizes the significance of the set's color as an illustration of his vision.

Similarly to surrealist painters, Lorca utilizes colors and light to craft his works of art. In Act 1 Scene 1's directorial notes, he specifies "Room painted yellow". Numerous theories have been proposed regarding this choice, including references to wheat's fertility (which aligns with the Mothers' dialogue "Men to be men; wheat wheat."). Lorca believes that the play's visual elements complement the action present throughout.

Although he does not solely rely on it, the Aural and Spatial aspects of Blood Wedding are robust. For instance, in Act Three Scene One, he mentions "A gloomy atmosphere. Two Violins can be heard." The scene is highly stylised to match the heavily stylised characters like the Moon and Death.

The Forest is not meant to be a realistic representation of an actual forest, but instead serves as a surreal environment.