Symbolism in Literature

Definition A symbol is the use of a concrete object to represent an abstract idea. The word symbol is derived from the Greek verb symballein which means to put together and the related noun symbolon which means mark, token or sign. In literary usage, symbol is a manner of representation in which what is shown (normally a reference to something material) means, by virtue of association, something more or something else. Symbolism is often found in names, objects, and/or actions.Such symbols exist by convention and tradition. A serpent may stand for evil or wisdom according to different conventions. Writers use these conventional symbols, but they also invent and create symbols of their own (Glossary of Literary Terms). Generally, a symbol, especially a non-conventional symbol, is open-ended; that is, we cannot give it one precise meaning. Much of the value of symbols in fiction lies in their open-endedness, their complexity, but also in their economy and in the emotional power of indirection, that is, of suggesting without saying.Identifying Symbols:Most stories operate almost wholly at the literal level, and, even in highly symbolic stories, most details are purely literal. Readers should be alert for symbolic meanings but should observe the following cautions:- The story itself must furnish a cluevia repetition, emphasis, or positionthat a detail is to be taken symbolically.- The meaning of a literary symbol must be established and supported by the entire context of the story.- A symbol may have more than one meaning; it may suggest a cluster of meanings. Symbol CategoriesUniversal or cultural symbols embody ideas and emotions that writers and readers share: snake as temptation and evil, water as life and sexuality, egg as rebirth, night as death, etc.Contextual symbols are those made by the author within individual works; there is no carry-over to other works.Symbol TypesI. Colours- Red: the colour of the life principle, blood, passion, emotion, danger, or daring; often associated with fire. Red is also the colour of war in Roman mythology.- Black: seen as a cold and negative aspect suggesting passivity, death and the underworld, ignorance, or evil; black hens are used in witchcraft as are black cats.- White: innocence, life, light, purity, or enlightenment, but it may also suggest the pallor of death. - Green: inexperience, hope; new life, immaturity; a combination of blue and yellow, it mediates between heat and cold and high and low; it is a comforting, refreshing human colour; it is the colour of plant life.- Yellow: rotting, decay, violence, old age, and the approach of death. It is also associated with faithlessness and betrayal.- Blue: it is the hue of the intellect, wisdom, peace and contemplation. It represents water and coolness, and symbolises the sky in its infinity.- Pink: innocence, femininity.- Violet: combining the authority of red with the sanctity and wisdom of blue, violet is the most mystical of colours. As a focus for meditation, it can raise consciousness to higher levels.II. Nature-Spring: birth, new beginning- Summer: maturity, knowledge- Autumn: decline, nearing death, growing old- Winter: death, sleep, hibernation, or stagnation- Light: truth, safety, warmth, knowledge- Darkness: evil, ignorance, danger Trees and plants:- Apple: temptation, loss of innocence- Pine: symbol of immortality because of its evergreen foliage- Flowers: beauty, youth, strength, gentleness- Rose: budding youth, romance, potential, fragility.III. Weather, Time- Snow: a blanket which obscures, covers or even smothers.- Fog/Mist: prevents clear vision or thinking; represents isolation; mist is often the symbol of the indeterminate phase in development when shapes have yet to be defined; they are preludes to important revelations or prologues to manifestations.- Rain: sadness, despair or purgation or new life. - Wind and Storms: violent human emotions.- Morning: the time of Gods blessings; the beginning of when all is still uncorrupted; a symbol of purity and promise.- Rainbows: also intermediaries and pathways between Heaven and Earth; are generally heralds of good and are linked with cycles of rebirth, they may also serve as prologues to disturbance.- Thunder: the voice of God.IV. Animals- Dove: peace, purity, simplicity- Raven: death, destruction; often plays a prophetic role or functions as a conductor of the soul- Lion: a solar symbol, power, pride- Peacock: pride, vanity- Serpent/Snake: temptation, evil- Owl: wisdom, rational knowledge; messenger of death- Cats: are often viewed as serpents of the underworld; they also symbolize cunning, forethought, and ingenuity- Lamb: serves as a manifestation of the power of spring and renewal, a sacrificial element.V. Objects- Chain: symbolizes the bond which connects Heaven and earth or ties together two extremes or beings.- Key: a key has the power and authority of letting in and shutting out. - Ladder: symbol of ascension and realization of potential.VI. Journey: may be a quest for truth, peace or immortality; a journey often serves as a metaphor for life. Identify a dominant symbol in this poem by Sandra van Riper:On the Wings of a DoveDo not come to my grave and cryLook up instead toward the skyFor wings of white as they fly by.Dont come to stand and weep or bringDying flowers. Instead please singA song or feel the autumn windAs it blows past your tender cheek.That is me. I am not asleep.Im in the rain on summer days.Im with the children as they play.I have not gone so far away.Look among stars shinning at night.See me riding on rays of lightGently brushing leaves. Watch a flightOf Snow White Doves. They always teaseMy soul, and then so softly weaveIt through clouds of white, over seas,Under the breeze, and far aboveThe trees, knitting like yarn my love.Im there on the wings of a dove.Do not visit my grave and weep.I am near. I am not asleep.Symbol vs. Allegory:A symbol is a word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it is on a literal level. Symbolism is the act of using a word, place, character, or object in such a way. An allegory involves using many interconnected symbols or allegorical figures in such as way that nearly every element of the narrative has a meaning beyond the literal level, i.e., everything in the narrative is a symbol that relates to other symbols within the story. The allegorical story, poem, or play can be read either literally or as a symbolic statement about a political, spiritual, or psychological truth. The word allegory derives from the Greek allegoria (speaking otherwise): The term loosely describes any story in verse or prose that has a double meaning. This narrative acts as an extended metaphor in which the plot or events reveal a meaning beyond what occurs in the text, creating a moral, spiritual, or even political meaning. The act of interpreting a story as if each object in it had an allegorical meaning is called allegoresis. If we wish to be more exact, an allegory is an act of interpretation--a way of understanding--rather than a genre in and of itself. Poems, novels, or plays can all be allegorical. These can be as short as a single sentence or as long as a ten-volume book. The label allegory comes from an interaction between symbols that creates a coherent meaning beyond that of the literal level of interpretation. Probably the most famous allegory in English literature is George Orwells Animal Farm (1945). Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The revolt of the animals against Farmer Jones is Orwells analogy with the October 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, and Joness attempt to regain control, with the aid of neighbouring farmers, parallels the Western powers efforts 1918-21 to crush the Bolsheviks. The pigs rise to pre-eminence mirrors the rise of a Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR, just as Napoleons emergence as the farms sole leader reflects Stalins emergence.ReferencesChevalier, Jean and Alain Gheerbrant. The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Penguin, 1996. Print.Fontana, David. The Secret Language of Symbols. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1993. Print.Hancock, Edward. Techniques for Understanding Literature. Belmont: CA, 1972. Print.

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