Blood Wedding Journal #1: Stylistic techniques

There is a definite nature motif seen within the first act of Blood Wedding. The author uses this nature motif to reveal how nature is a representation of the pleasant aspects of life, like people coming together and not being separated. When the father says, "I'm only sorry that our lands-you understand?-are separated. I like everything to be together. There's one thorn in my heart, and it's that little orchard stuck right in the middle of my property. They won't sell it to me for all the gold in the world" (30), it shows the importance of not neglecting the things most important to a person in life. Gold is something that is extremely valuable and he refers to it in regards to the land, which shows that he not only takes pride in his orchards, but also in his family and the affection he has for them. This also explains why it is so important that his daughter get married and have children. He places emphasis on the positives of being together in a relationships through the motif of nature and connecting two people's lands together and he does not want that to be any different for his daughter. Although there are positives to life, such as relationships, that are highlighted through nature, there are also negatives brought up as well. When Leonardo's mother-in-law is rocking the child, she says, "Go to sleep, my rose- The horse begins to cry. His wounded hooves, His frozen mane, And in his eyes A silver dagger. They went to the river, Down to the river! The blood was flowing Stronger than the water" (17-18). This reveals the sometimes negative aspects of life that a person must face. Because water is such an essential part of life, and blood often can represent decay and hardships, what the mother says here really reveals how they both are incorporated in one's life. The horse in this quote is drawn away from the vital parts of life and has been physically and emotionally harmed. By expressing that the blood was stronger than the water, it reveals that the difficulties in life often overpower the precious aspects of life because something that is used as a symbol of pain has more force than the replenishing factors of one's existence. It is clear that the motif of nature can be used to represent both the positive and negative features in a person's life.