Spots
In the beginning of the poem, the narrator describes the Hind, a pure animal who wants nothing more than to live in peace. One of the things which characterizes the Hind it is its lack of spots, used here in a symbolic way. The spots are used in this context as a symbol to suggest the lack of sin which characterizes the Hind and its purity.
Symbol for obedience
When the narrator mentions the other religion which existed during the same time as the Catholic Church in England, he mentions how some of them bend the knee in front of the Anglican Church. This action is seen as a symbol for obedience and to suggest the lack of power the religions had in England when compared to the Catholic Church.
Superiority
One of the common motifs in the poem is the description of the way in which the panther, or rather the Anglican Church dominated the other animals, or rather the other forms of religious expression. To show the violence with which the panther dominated the other animals, the narrator uses vivid descriptions of violence coming from the panther’s side.
The woods
When the narrator mentions the other animals that live near the hind, he describes them as living deep in a forest, away from civilization. The forest is used here as a symbol, to suggest the primitive state in which those people who adhered to those beliefs were in. Thus, in many ways, the forest is also used as a symbol to suggest a lack of civility when it came to expressing their religious beliefs.
The nuptial bed
The nuptial bed is another term mentioned in the poem which has a symbolic meaning. The narrator mentions the nuptial bed when the mentions what he calls as being the true religion. The idea transmitted in the poem is that the nuptial bed stands for virginity and the association between the nuptial bed and religion makes the term a symbol used to suggest the purity of the Christian religion.
