Symbolism is widely used in many mature literary works with the possible functions of plot development, character portraying and theme revelation. To achieve the better understanding of a literary work, it is of great importance to explore various symbolic meanings of an image. Based on The Merchant of Venice of Shakespeare, the paper provides a deep insight into the symbolic meaning of the image “the ring”, which appears throughout the whole drama, from two different perspectives. Those are the restraint of morality and the flash of humanity.