Blackness (Symbol)
In this masque, blackness is used as a symbol of perversion and imperfection. The daughters of Niger were once considered beautiful, but once they realized that the dark tone of their skin is considered a blemish by those in the West, they desire to purge themselves of it, becoming beautiful again by becoming white-skinned. This symbolism is particularly clear in Aethiopia's speech: when she speaks of the king's sun-like radiance, she says it can "salve the rude defects of every creature," which is why she is sending Niger's daughters to him.
The Sun King (Symbol)
Jonson, subscribing to early modern conventions of masque-writing, shamelessly flatters the king, who was originally in the audience watching the play. He compares James I to a sun, which is a symbol of light, warmth, goodness, and power; this image of James as a "sun king" thus conveys a sense of glory and praise upon him. As the bringer of light, he is the antithesis to the stain of darkness that Niger's daughters are plagued with, and he has the power to redeem their darkness and turn it light.
Britain (Symbol)
Britain, as seen in the play's dialogue, is a magical, far-off land of wonders and magnificence. It becomes a symbol for Niger's daughters, a tangible representation of their hopes for the future. It also symbolizes everything glorious about civilization: Aethiopia's lavish descriptions of its majesty evoke images of long-lost legends of forgotten kingdoms and natural wonders, which is clearly hyperbole, but not an unwelcome one for the play's audience of British aristocrats.
The Niger (Symbol)
In the play, the Niger River (embodied by the character Niger) is flowing westward into the Atlantic Ocean in an attempt to find a way to rid his daughters of their blackness. This westward movement symbolizes theoretical British ideas about the salvation of what were considered primitive nations: only by adopting the civilization of the West and shaping themselves in the image of the advanced and dignified white cultures can African civilizations be redeemed from barbarity.
Aethiopia (Symbol)
Aethiopia, the moon goddess, appears to Niger's daughters as a prophetic vision of hope, showing the way to the land of their salvation. She appears as symbol of hope in the midst of darkness: just as the moon is the source of light that exists even in the darkness of night, Aethiopia is the hope that the daughters of Niger follow in the time of their black despair.
