Wine and Water
When Amorphus is asked why he drinks water instead of wine, he explains how the water he drinks is not normal but rather extraordinary. Amorphus compares the water to the wine that the orator Demosthenes drank before every speech he gave. Many believed that the wine possessed some supernatural qualities which made Demosthenes such a successful rhetorician. Thus, through this comparison, Amorphus alludes to the fact that the water he consumes is imbued with divine, albeit dangerous, power.
Nymphs
Amorphous stops to have a drink from the fountain before deciding to chase after Echo. When he takes the water in his palm, he is so entranced by it that he compares it to a nymph. In the Greek mythology, nymphs were known for their beauty and their ability to seduce men. Amorphus's comparison of the water to a seductive power underscores the hold that the water – the fountain of self-love – has on him and will have on other courtiers who drink from it.
Twins
When Echo comes on stage, she talks about her love for Narcissus and how his disappearance affected her. Echo compares herself and Narcissus to twin sisters who are linked in ways that cannot be described. Through this comparison, Echo attempts to showcase how bonded she and Narcissues were before he drank from the fountain and became bonded only with himself. Echo's lament foreshadows the courtiers' own indulgence in the water from the fountain.
A Foundered Nag
When Cupid and Mercury meet for the first time in the play, Cupid attempts to avoid speaking with Mercury and tries to leave the scene as soon as possed.. When Cupid is asked why he wants to leave, he compares Mercury to the "foot of a foundered nag" (1.1). Through this simile, Cupid suggests that Mercury is both unpleasant and dangerous, lodging insults at his fellow god before the two put aside their differences and disguise themselves as pages.
A Satirical Crown
The play starts with three pages on stage, arguing over who will be the one to speak the Prologue. More specifically, they are arguing over who gets to wear the black cloak that denotes the speaker. The cloak is compared to a crown, a metaphor that suggests that the cloak gives one of the pages power over the other. In this way, the cloak is an ironic symbol as it is a lowly garment that the lowly pages value as if it is a true emblem of power.
