Black Apparel and Color Symbolism in A Game at Chess

Abstract Colors play an important role in understanding sixteenth-century clothing, their rich symbolism being part of the conventional code that established who should wear what. A symbol of melancholy and meditation, black was a very popular color in Elizabethan England, worn by both queen and subjects. As a reflection of the real world, theater also used clothing and colors to help the audience understand the plot of plays performed, and their characters’ personalities. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, color interpretation came to rely not only on tradition, but took on increasingly political overtones and black was more and more used in contrast with white. Thomas Middleton’s A Game at Chess is clear evidence of how the clash between white and black pawns on the chessboard can actually be taken as a representation of the political and religious clash between England and Spain.