Dec 19, 2009

Buried Child | Style

Symbolism
In literature, a symbol is something that represents something else. Symbols are often used to communicate deeper levels of meaning. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel The Scarlet Letter, for example, the red letter “A” worn by Hester Prynne is a symbol not only of her supposed crime (adultery) but also of her neighbors' bigotry and her own courageous pride. Buried Child, like most of Shepard's plays, is suffused with symbolism, which he uses to communicate deeper, though sometimes ambiguous,...