The Fox, the Donkey and the Mole: Animal Symbols

in English Renaissance Drama

Bernáth András

Szegedi Tudományegyetem Juhász Gyula Pedagógusképző Kar

Modern Nyelvek és Kultúrák Tanszék Angol Szakcsoport

bernath@jgypk.szte.hu

The paper discusses three plays by two authors to highlight the significance of animal symbols in English Renaissance drama. In Ben Jonson’s comedy Volpone, or the Fox, an animal appears already in the title, and several others are also included in the list of roles to describe the dramatic characters. In Jonson’s work, animal symbols are thus prominent, and their meanings are quite clear: they indicate the key feature of the given character in the comedy of humours, so as to highlight their negative role in the satire. In Shakespeare’s work, by contrast, animal symbols are not so prominent: they tend to appear only later and briefly in relation to the characters. Moreover, the plays themselves are more complex; therefore these symbols are also more difficult to interpret. Why does Bottom the weaver and amateur actor turn into a donkey in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? And why does Hamlet refer to the Ghost as a mole in Hamlet? These elements may seem as merely comic episodes, but these animal symbols may also have a deeper significance. Hegel, Marx and Derrida commented on the Ghost too, and they all saw a positive symbol in the mole that strives to reach light in the darkness. In the play’s Christian context, however, the mole can also be a symbol of the devil, which does not actually represent advancement, but the destruction of Hamlet and Denmark. The donkey can also be interpreted in various ways, particularly if we also take into account the references to the supernatural, and consider the play’s philosophical and religious significance.