Bergman's The Seventh Seal example essay topic

Symbols in The Seventh Seal In Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, the apocalyptic mood of the film necessitates rich symbolism throughout. That the film opens with the Biblical passage from Revelations depicting the four horsemen of the apocalypse and all of the signs that follow after -- including the opening of the seals of heaven -- sets the stage for a film outside of the constraints of time. The struggles of the characters throughout are timeless, beginning with that of the Knight. He is the seeker, the purist who would sacrifice everything of himself in his quest after truth and knowledge. It is his thirst for the secrets of God and the universe that drives him to risk his life in a game of chess with Death, while the world surrounding them is ablaze with the plague. In one particularly poignant scene, the Knight even approaches a woman condemned to burn for witchcraft; though she is said to be possessed by the Devil, the Knight approaches her nonetheless, ever seeking an answer from the forces behind the realities that plague man and beast.

The only sacrifice he is ultimately not willing to make is that of the life of the family who welcomed him into their hearts and became, for a short time, his companion on the road to knowledge. The wise fool -- the visionary poet -- is present, as is the case in Fellini's La Strada. He and his wife are the only characters spared from the consequences of the Knight's game with Death, because the husband's insight allows him a glimpse of their chess game. He, his wife, and infant son escape because they seem to be ultimately pure.

The symbols and images associated with the Fool are that of the martyr (as in the scene where he is persecuted by others in the bar, simply for being an artist) and the poet. Though each character is certainly symbolic in his or her role throughout the film, The Seventh Seal is also rich in symbolic imagery: the skull laughing behind a picturesque scene of friends picnicking upon the grass, the seas that surround the characters' travels throughout the film -- creating island imagery in the setting, the wild strawberries (a recurring symbol of Bergman's), fire, smoke, gluttony and famine combine as familiar images that have been, and will continue to be recycled for as long as mankind creates art. This realm in which Bergman's characters exist resembles that of the kingdom of the Fisher King, the legendary king who, having received a wound to the groin, must lie wounded in wait for a knight to complete a saving quest. The Fisher King's kingdom, in the meantime, is plagued by chaos, despair, and sickness until one man appears possessed of the experience and insight necessary to understand the symbols of the bleeding lance and the grail.

Perhaps, had Bergman's Knight won his game of chess with death, the kingdom would have been redeemed.