looks. In many places, other characters refer to Chance’s youthful good looks.

In act III, the Princess and Chance have a long conversation about time. Here, there is clear symbol of a clock, and Chance’s melancholic comments about time, futility, and death correspond to this symbol. He compares time to the trap in which rats get caught and compares futility to their efforts to escape by gnawing off their own legs.

Princess: I guess there is a clock in every room people live in.
Chance: . . . Time—who could beat it, who could defeat it ever?

In Chance’s case, he still has dreams of success but will not listen to people who (correctly) tell him that these dreams cannot be fulfilled. Ironically, Chance’s dreams will surely fail because he thinks small, not big. As a youth, he lost two opportunities to succeed—one when his play did not win the statewide competition, the other when he destroyed any possibility of marrying Heavenly when they had sex. Through the course of the play, he tries to put in motion a plan that is backward-looking—to regain Heavenly, to rectify his past errors. In this regard, Heavenly is a symbol of the impossibility of changing time and of going home.

The motif of belonging, finding one’s right place in the world, is connected with home. This is shown through Chance’s return home and his inability to stay there. When Aunt Nonnie urges him to go away, Chance says “To where? Where can I go? This is the home of my heart. Don’t make me homeless.” For the Princess, belonging means stardom, and at the end, she will return to it. Even though time has not been kind to her, she has taken an opportunity for a film role, which paid off. The dream in her case matched the opportunity, because she did not try to defeat time.

Easter functions as the central symbol in Tennessee Williams's play Sweet Bird of Youth. Easter marks the day of the resurrection of Jesus, an event that symbolizes the theme of redemption that is at the heart of Christian faith. The theme of sin runs throughout the play, and so redemption, the act of being saved from sin or evil, must play a role as well, as Chance tries to come to terms with his bad decisions and Alexandra tries to come to terms with the passage of time.

An analysis of the symbolic power of Easter must focus on the resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus was resurrected, or raised from the dead, his spirit transcended his physical body, rendering his physical body unnecessary. In this play, both Chance and Alexandra del Lago use their bodies in ways that compromise their self-respect; redemption for these two characters would involve a significant change to their own relationships with their physical bodies.

The body is a motif that can be traced throughout the play, as prostitution and castration both play important roles in the play. Chance's work as a gigolo and Alexandra's struggles with aging place their bodies at the forefront of their characters, while the three mentions of castration shine a light on the complications of masculine identity.

Williams' play Sweet Bird of Youth is highly symbolic. A play about redemption and second chances, it is set on Easter Sunday. This fact is discussed in the dialogue but also demonstrated in by the sound of the bells outside the hotel room. 

The bells connect with the "Lament" which is played at various moments in the work, creating a rather dirge-like sonic motif to accompany the dark themes of the material. 

Names of people and places are clearly symbolic as well, with the town called "St. Cloud" being closed to "Chance" and home to "Heavenly", the woman Chance desires but whom he cannot take away with him when fleeing St. Cloud. Furthermore, Chance's last name carries with it a specific connotation:

Chance Wayne’s chances in life are indeed on the wane. 

Another symbolic element can be found in the mirror in the hotel room, which is used to help the Princess put on her make-up as well as helping Chance realize the truth - his youth is now gone. The mirror then is a complex symbol of self-knowledge, akin to the character's own persepctives which are at times honest and at times intentionally avoid the truth.  

The "sweet bird of youth" always flies away. This inevitable reality stands at the heart of Williams' play. Chance and the Princess each seek to deny what they see as the nearly fatal implications of time and aging.

The Princess fears that her career is over. She can no longer take care of herself or even face life without drugs. Chance has returned home to reclaim the woman (Heavenly) who symbolizes his first and last chance at achieving success. 

This is just one layer of symbolism in a play that is heavy with symbols and double meanings. St. Cloud can be seen in its name to suggest that Chance and the Princess have already entered a state of death. However, they seek a new chance at life. 

All the action takes place on Easter Sunday....Some critics believe that Chance Wayne has undergone a compacted reversal of the Easter cycle, beginning with Chance’s resurrection in the morning and castration (crucifixion) at night.

The symbolic significance of the date is quite important in the play and worth commenting on as the notion of renewal and the possibility of renewal are central themes of the work. 

Renewal is Chance's aim and he is willing to risk everything to achieve it, willing to threaten the Princess, and willing to rish his own safety. However, Chance's desperation is matched by the reality of his history. The woman he has returned for feels she has been ruined. 

‘‘Scudder’s knife cut the youth out of my body, made me an old childless woman. Dry, cold, empty, like an old woman.’’

Heavenly becomes a symbol for lost youth as well as a symbol for hope (for Chance). This complexity serves to emphasize the psychological nature of the play, which relates to the insecurities of actors and actresses (roles that can be seen as symbolic as well). 

Another symbolic element in the play can be found in the Princess' drugs. She is dependent on them as a vehicle for her fantasy. Unable to face the notion that her career is over, she turns to drugs to keep reality at arms' length. 

This denial of reality is shared by Chance. When she is given an opportunity to return to her successful career, only Chance is left in a situation of defeat and denial. 

Aging and time are parts of life that cannot be avoided, but only Chance cannot accept that by the end of the play.

A desire to overturn history and find renewal connects the main characters in this play - desire for the impossible, for a symbolic life after death.