Panther Symbol
The panther is a symbol of Tariel's wild nature and the fact that he has an animal like tendency to be either passionately and unreservedly loving, or wildly angry and brutal. He can be exceptionally sensitive but can also kill without thinking about it when enraged. He is the knight in the tiger skin that is the title of the poem.
Queen Tamar of Georgia Allegory
The events of the poem that take place during the reign of Queen Tamar, Georgia's first female monarch. Tamar was celebrated for her beauty and her intelligence. The exploits that take place in the fictional kingdoms of India and Arabia are all allegorical of triumphs enjoyed in the Kingdom of Georgia by a Queen who repelled attacks and annexed both Christian and Islamic nations on either side.
The Georgia of Rustaveli's Time Allegory
There are many different ways in which it is possible to see that the settings in the poem are allegorical of the settings of Rustaveli's time; for one, there is a reference to the wine culture of the mystical land, which is something that Georgia had in times that are contemporaneous to the poet.There were also several references to battles that are allegories of battles that Rustaveli himself had participated in.
Female Monarch Symbol
Queen Tamar is a symbol of female empowerment. She is the first female monarch in Georgian history and she is an independent and free-thinking woman who makes her own choices.
Passionate Love Symbol
Being able to experience and give passionate love is a symbol of a person's depth of character. According to the poem everyone is able to feel, give and take physical love, but only a person who is courageous and upstanding is able to understand and experience passionate love, which is as much about the emotions of love as it is about the physicality or attraction involved in love.The fact that both Tariel and Avtandil are capable of understanding passionate love is a testament to their strength of character and the fact that they are knightly people.
