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Symbolism is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary work. A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else; it represents something beyond literal meaning. In literature, a symbol can be a word, object, action, character, or concept that embodies and evokes a range of additional meaning and ...
Learn the definition of symbolism and analyze famous symbolism examples from literature, including The Great Gatsby and Lord of the Flies.
20 Examples of Symbolism That’ll Enrich Your Writing. Symbolism is easiest to understand through examples. Let’s take a look at how symbolism is used in literature, poetry, movies, and even in everyday life and language.
Symbolism is a literary device in which a writer uses one thing—usually a physical object or phenomenon—to represent something more abstract. A strong symbol usually shares a set of key characteristics with whatever it is meant to symbolize, or is related to it in some other way.
Symbolism (SIM-buh-liz-uhm) is when an object, person, or place represents an abstract idea beyond its literal meaning. Symbolism in literature can be as obvious as a storm representing a character’s internal turmoil or as subtle as a character’s yellow shirt foreshadowing a pending friendship.
They accomplish that by using symbolism to attach additional meaning to an action, object or name, or to create several levels of meaning. Symbolism associates something concrete with something abstract, like love, death, courage, violence, in order to give it a new, more significant, meaning.
Symbolism in Literature: Novels and Plays. No doubt, you’ve come across symbolism in some of your favorite books, poems and other works of art. From the great classic novelists to contemporary artists, symbolism enriches the text and paints a picture for the reader.
Symbolism was introduced into the English-speaking world by Verlaine’s friend Arthur Symons (1865-1945). In The Symbolist Movement in Literature (1899) Symons argues that symbolism is the essence of language and literature: our first words were symbolic, and all truly imaginative writers have been symbolists.
Symbolism has played a large role in the history of literature. Symbols have been used in cultures all around the world, evident in ancient legends, fables, and religious texts. One famous example of symbolism is the story of the Garden of Eden, in which the serpent persuades Eve to eat an apple from the tree of knowledge.
In literature, symbols are often characters, settings, images, or other motifs that stand in for bigger ideas. Authors often use symbols (or “symbolism”) to give their work with more meaning and to make a story be about more than the events it describes.