Songs (Motif)
Over the course of the play, several songs are performed. In fact, before any substantial scene has taken place, Doralice sings a song that lay out the themes of the play: the fact that marriage can make relationships stale and that couples should be encouraged to play outside their marriage. Later, at the masquerade, another song occurs, one that tells the tale of a doomed love. In this instance, the song serves to underscore the dramatic and doomed love affair between Palmyra and Leonidas, who are sure to die if they stay together. In both of these instances, song serves to highlight the thematic weight of what is occurring.
French (Motif)
One of Melantha's defining traits is her preoccupation with the French language. She loves nothing more than to pepper her sentences with French phrases, often butchering their pronunciation or misusing them. Melantha's use of French becomes a comic motif in the play, a sign of her pretensions and the fact that she wants to appear more genteel than she really is.
Masks (Motif)
The masquerade takes up most of the fourth act. Melantha and Doralice both dress up as boys: Melantha wishes to meet her wooer, and Doralice wishes to spy on hers. Meanwhile, Leonidas is wearing a mask to sneak into the Court and speak to Palmyra. The masks are a motif that represents the ways the characters have hidden desires and are trying to assume different identities in order to achieve their goals.
Male Disguise (Symbol)
During the masquerade, Melantha and Doralice both dress up as men and meet up with their respective lovers. The masculine disguise is a means to an end, a way for them to each get something that they want, but it also symbolizes greater social freedom. When they are dressed as men, Melantha and Doralice are granted an audience to the social patterns of the male world. In this way, their costumes become symbols for social flexibility and a widened perspective.
Swords (Symbols)
At several moments in the play, characters draw their swords and prepare to fight. Leonidas draws his sword to fight Argaleon in order to threaten him. Then later, as the tension between Palamede and Rhodophil builds, they touch their swords as if preparing to fight. The swords represent not only an aggressive tension between characters, but also their desire to preserve and protect their honor.
