Danielle Duran
Ms. Zinke
English 6
February 6th, 2015
The Lullaby In the play Blood Wedding, the lullaby in act I scene ii discusses the stallion who wouldn’t drink the water. The lullaby contains numerous literary elements which help enhance the rest of the play. Federico Garcia Lorca uses characterization, symbolism, and foreshadowing to convey the meaning of the lullaby. First, the characterization in the lullaby is characterizing the child. Earlier in the play it implies that the bridegroom is rich, the singing between the wife and the mother-in-law quotes ‘stallion, my child has a soft pillow. Steel for his cradle. Lace for his covers’ (act II scene ii); here indicating that this child they keep singing about is rich like the bridegroom. Proving that the characterization of the child helps display the meaning of the lullaby. Second, the symbols of the play help to reveal the meaning of the lullaby. In the play it discusses the stallion; a stallion is a male horse. Usually in literature a horse can represent freedom. In the society at the time men had the freedom. The stallion in the lullaby represents Leonardo because of the similarities of being both male and having freedom. After the lullaby there is a discussion about Leonardo’s horse which the mother-in-law says “So who’s been racing that horse? It’s down there, lathered, its eyes rolling in its head, as if it’s come from the ends of the earth.” Leonardo replies “Me” (act II scene ii). This implying that Leonardo rides his horse too hard; indicating that the Leonardo is running out of freedom. The stallion in the lullaby represents Leonardo because of the similarities of being both male and having freedom. In the quote “Ay, proud stallion that wouldn’t drink the water” (Act II scene ii). The stallion being Leonardo it states that Leonardo wouldn’t drink the water. In the play water is usually symbolizes good blood or good people. The bridegroom was considered good blood and the wife was also like in the quote said by the bride speaking to the mother she cries “your son was like a child born of water” (scene III act ii). Implying that he was of good blood contrary of Leonardo and the Bride herself because of the “bad” actions they both created earlier in the play. So in the lullaby the repeating line “the stallion who wouldn’t drink the water.” the water symbolizes the wife; the whole line meaning Leonardo who won’t love his wife. The understanding of the symbolization will show the events to occur in the rest of the play. Lastly, the foreshadowing used in the lullaby shares the fate of Leonardo, the Bride, and the Bridegroom. The mother-in-law sings the following line “his legs are wounded, his mane is frozen, in his eyes, there’s a blade of silver. They went to the river.” (Act I scene ii). Here a blade silver is a knife and a mane belongs to a horse and in this lullaby Leonardo is the horse; Articulating that Leonardo can see a knife in