The non-verbal elements of a play are crucial in setting the mood and tone of the production. These features subtly provide the audience with important information about the setting of the play and gives insight into the backgrounds and personalities of the characters. The House of Bernarda Alba by Frederica Garcia Lorca is full of vivid nonverbal elements that are essential in portraying exactly what life was like within this household.
             Colour is very important in The House of Bernarda Alba. The walls of the house are all painted white. This is characteristic of homes in Spain, since white reflects the scorching sun. There is, however, a deeper meaning than the simple practicality of white in the play. White is symbolic of purity and cleanliness along with lifelessness, pallor and emptiness. All of these features are descriptive of the life the daughters of Bernarda are forced to lead. In fact, the family name Alba means white. This colour is shown to be in sharp contrast to the black dress of the women in mourning as they enter the stage. The white of the walls serves to exaggerate the black of their dresses. Black is indeed the colour of death and may not only indicate the death that has occurred but also allude to the death that is to come. By all wearing the same lifeless colour the women also lose their individuality. This is very important in this work since Bernarda does not want her girls to be noticed and refuses to let them show their true colours. They appear as nuns, not as eligible young women. It is also interesting to note that black is the colour representative of the fascist regime of the time. Not only was fascism the political situation but it was also alive and well in Bernarda's home, with her as the ultimate dictator. Her cane is also symbolic of her role as the ruler of the home.
             The colour in the play makes a dramatic twist when Adela removes her black clothes of mourning and opts ...