Blood
Alexandra asserts, “That made him me of sire and son deprive,/ He ever thirsts for blood, and blood is red./ Weep’st thou because his love to thee was bent,/ And read’st thou love in crimson characters?/ Slew he thy friends to work thy heart’s content?” (Act 1, Scene 2, lines 105-109). Blood is emblematic of Herod’s inherent antagonism, which heartened him to assassinate Aristobulus and his father. The shading of blood terminated in unwarranted deaths and assured Herod the throne.
Embers
Mariam asserts, “Doris! Alas, her time of love was past,/Those coals were raked in embers long ago/In Mariam’s love and she was now disgraced.” (Act 1, Scene 2, lines, 131-133).The emblematic coal represents Herod’s passion for Doris. Mariam insists that Herod’ passion for Doris is no longer existent; otherwise he would not have wedded her (Mariam).
Head versus Foot
After a confrontation between Mariam and Salome, Alexandra tells Mariam, “ Come, Mariam, let us go: it is no boot/To let the head contend against the foot” (Act 3, Scene 1, lines 259-260). The head signifies Mariam who is a characteristic royalty whereas the foot denotes Salome who is not actually Jewish. Alexandra uses the two contradictory symbols to accentuate the manifest class variances.
