Symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols to represent something above a literal meaning. These symbols could be words, people, animals, location, marks, abstract ideas etc.
The general concept of symbolism is not confined to works of literature but goes beyond our daily existence. An example is; the colours of all national flags symbolises something historic or an important event in history. In America, colours like white, red and blue symbolise patriotism.
In Ghana, the red on the Ghana flag symbolises the blood of our forefathers who fought through the battle for independence. The yellow also stands for the mineral wealth of the nation, green also stands for the agricultural wealth of Ghana and the black star in the middle of the yellow symbolises the hope for Africa.
Additionally, orange as a colour also connotes fall, that is why they are used at most Thanksgiving decorations.
Some other examples of symbolism are emojis, road signs, logos etc. All of these correspond to ideas, mood, an individual or an entity.
Large-scale Symbolism: Large-scale Symbolism refers to the use of weather events or physical descriptions of bigger entities (buildings or cities) to convey ideas, moods, statements or themes such as power, death, love and abuse.
Small-scale Symbolism: Simply, small-scale symbolism refers to the physical description of how a person dresses, walks, acts or the type of music he or she listens to.
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Table of Contents
3 Major Types Of Symbolism In English Literature
All symbolisms are generally grouped by the concept of an object or word that is represented by something beyond literary meaning. Even though the idea or subject matter of literature has changed in so many ways over the years but symbolism holds its spot firmly.
Throughout the ages of literature, certain types of symbolism have earned spots in writers, poets, painters, lyricists and playwrights’ pieces of works.
Romantic Symbolism
The swift introduction of romantic symbolism has really helped literature in so many ways. It has pervaded a wide swift of world literature. From sonnets (Shakespearean Sonnet and Petrarchan Sonnet) to the modernization of stanzas of Edna St Vincent Millay has been a specific great medium for romantic symbolism.
Emotional Symbolism
Throughout the years of literature writings, most writers and poets have used physical symbols to describe metaphysical emotions through their works.
Stéphane Mallarmé, a French language symbolist and Paul Verlaine are popularly known for this form of symbolism. In the English Language too, Seamus Heaney and William Butler Yeats are also known for this kind of symbolism.
Religious Symbolism
This has become one of the most acceptable and consistent forms of symbolism throughout the ages of literature. Religious symbolism traces back to the earliest human civilization and the like of John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
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How Symbolism Was Used Throughout History
Throughout the outburst of literature, most authors have featured symbolism in their works to express the meaning of many things they couldn’t write in lengthy statements.
Example
William Shakespeare during his prime used symbols to represent inner thought (blood in Macbeth). Edgar Allen also used symbols to convey dread and mortality (the eponymous bird in The Raven) and William Blake also used some religious symbols which include Jesus Christ himself to represent human desire and emotion(The Everlasting Gospel).
Before the early ancient days recorded forms of the human way of telling stories, hieroglyphics and cave paintings which are generally literary symbols that represents complex beliefs and narratives.
An Ancient Greek theatre, which is the basis for most narrative art forms were known to use symbolic props which includes phallic objects to represent Dionysus, the God of fertility.
In the Middle Ages, symbolism was widely used by writers and artists to convey their message to the people. From the Renaissance period to this day, symbolism has been in use in so many different ways.
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How To Use Symbolism
Narrating an experience using symbolism can help paint a perfect picture. However, symbols can give words a double meaning, both figurative and literal. With symbolism, writers can say lots of things in a few words using the symbols. It can also be used in a form of secret language to communicate with the reader. Some ways symbolism can be used are;
Imagery
Symbolism adds visual elements to difficult themes and writings. In Seamus Heaney’s poem A Dog Was Crying To-Night In Wicklow Also, Seamus used the image of ‘burnt wood disappearing into smoke’ to describe the concept of dead humans coming out of people’s thoughts. Using symbols can help you, as a writer send imaginary pictures into your readers’ minds while deciphering your piece of art.
Emotion
Also, symbolism adds an emotional feeling to a piece of art. This symbolism can create a lasting impression on anyone reading. An example is Macbeth, Shakespeare’s piece of art; the guilt-ridden Lady Macbeth was seen to be tortured by a spot of blood on her hands that seems to not wash out after King Duncan was killed by her. In this case, symbolism can be used to express a common thought to mix up emotion.
Define Characters
Character attributes can also be expressed through the use of symbols. An example is the Harry Potter series of books, Harry’s lightning bolt-shaped scar symbolises the attempt on his life by Lord Voldemort and the adoration that saved him.
Connect Themes
For example, the colour ‘green’ which was entirely used in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald symbolises the money and materialism that defines life on the North Shore of Long Island.
Suppress Deeper Meaning
Symbolism can be used to keep the secret or darker meaning of messages in a literary work. In The Scarlet Letter which was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s feral daughter Pearl symbolises the sin that too her to excogitation.
Her complex conduct represents the secret at the heart of her existence; that her father, Arthur Dimmesdale is an important reverend. Only when her father’s paternity is unveiled does she transition into a positive symbol; the freeing spirit of the natural world.
Examples of Symbolisms
- An olive branch is used to symbolise a truce. I offered her an olive branch after our big fight as I did not want to be at odds with her.
- Black is the symbol of death or grieve or extreme sorrow. The funeral was full of people wearing black suits.
- A dove symbolises peace. The countries declared a peace treaty by the releasing of a hundred doves.
- A red rose is used to symbolise love and romance. He handed her a red rose and she knew at the moment how he felt.
- A broken mirror represents bad luck or separation. The mirror broke and he knew that things would not be good from there on.
- A cloud with a silver lining represents hope or something good in a bad situation. Every cloud has a silver lining so I knew that getting fired from my job could only mean something better was coming along for me.
- An ox represents hardwork and strength. He works as hard as an ox.
- An owl is also represented by wisdom and being sage. My grandfather is just like an owl, he always knows the right thing to advise me when I am struggling in life.
- The colour green is associated with envy and jealousy. I turned into a green eyed monster when I saw my friends expensive new car.
- The colour red is used to symbolise danger. When I saw how she was behaving it was like a red flag, I knew she was going to get hurt.
- The colour white is used to represents purity. It is common for brides to wear a white wedding gown.
- A chain can symbolise the idea of being imprisoned or ensared in something. He was in chains when he got caught for his crimes.
- A chain can also represents a union. The workers formed a chain to show their bosses that they were not going to stand for the current working conditions.
- A butterfly can symbolise a transformation. She was like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon after she took the meditation course.
- A snake is used to represent slyness or deceitfulness. Her lies only served to lead me down the wrong path in life, she was just like a snake.
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End Part
Factually, you mustn’t understand all meanings of every symbol found within a piece of art. Some are best explained in commentaries, reviews etc. or are better understood from writers’ point of view and analysis from pros.
The best symbolism in a literary piece of art should support your structure (poem, story etc). Focus primarily on your motive and create compelling scenes and instances to reflect your writing.
Rest your attention on the piece, add texture, life, environment and understanding to your work with symbols that could generally be related to society. You can also use it to convey moods, statements, feeling and themes such as love, hate, power, death etc.
