Symbolism

From Harmon and Holmans A Handbook to Literature

Symbol: Something that is itself and also stands for something else . . . . It is an image that evokes an
objective, concrete reality and prompts that reality to suggest another level of meaning (4!"#$.
%Image"" &bject
'aisy(s love for )atsby"*he green light at the end of 'aisy(s pier
(abstract idea is represented by a concrete object$+
%*here are types of symbols. , universal symbol is one that reaches beyond one person(s e-perience,
carrying meaning for a .ide more universal audience. /ed as a symbol of danger and aggression represents
one such type of symbol. Cultural symbols are those referents that relate to a particular culture and hold little
to no similar meaning in other cultures. Snakes are a positive symbol in ancient 0esopotamia representing
rebirth but .ere reviled by their enemies the 1ebre.s .ho sa. it as a symbol of evil. Authorial symbols are
those that possess personal meaning to a particular author but holds little to no similar meaning to others22but
others can relate to that e-perience the symbol evokes in some .ay or recogni3e it easily through the body of
the author(s .orks. 4or 5oet 1ilda 'oolittle (1'$ the Italian city of 6enice symboli3es a combination of erotic
and motherly affection .omen can feel for others."
Metaphor: ,n analogy identifying one object .ith another and ascribing to the first object one or more of the
7ualities of the second (89#$.
%&bject" &bject
'ante(s journey to the Inferno 'ante(s spiritual journey
:iteral ;ourney metaphorical (spiritual$ ;ourney+
Allegory< , form of e-tended metaphor told as a story. It represents one thing in he guise of another (=>$.
'ante(s Inferno is a metaphorical story about his journey, and so since it is an entire, lengthy narrative about
this e-perience that maintains the metaphorical 7uality throughout, his story is an allegory.+
Fable< , brief tale told to point %to+ a moral. *he characters are fre7uently animals, but people and inanimate
objects are sometimes central (>98$.
%,esop(s fables, like *he ,nt and the )rasshopper, e-emplify this type of story.+
Parable< ,n illustrative story teaching a lesson (8?8$.
%5arables can be allegories but they generally e-plain in the end e-actly .hat lesson the reader@listener should
be learning. )enerally, these lessons are moral ones.+
Myth< ,n anonymous story that presents supernatural episodes as a means of interpreting natural events
(8>A$.
%*his definition is most unsatisfying. So, let(s turn to the father of the story of mythology, ;oseph Bampbell. In
The Power of Myth Bampbell says< C0yth is a manifestation in symbolic images, in metaphorical images, of
the energies of the organs of the body in conflict .ith each other. . . . , dream is a personal e-perience of that
deep, dark ground that is the support of our conscious lives, and a myth is the societyDs dream. *he myth is
the public dream and the dream is the private mythC (8"49$.
0y comment< /emember myth comes from the )reek .ord, mythos meaning C.ordC or Cstory.C 0yth
encompasses all stories dealing .ith the mystical, cosmological, sociological, and pedagogical aspect of
e-istence, our e-istence as .ell as that of the universe, including religious ones. /ollo 0ay tells us that
.ithout myths, society becomes dysfunctional and sick. *hus, not only do .e have myths but .e need them in
order to be healthy, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.
Allusion< , reference to historical event, literary .ork, or some other recogni3able person, event or object
(=4$. :orrie 0oore(s speaker in 1o. *o Eecome a Friter alludes to the novel Moby Dick .hen she mentions
her idea for a story about the mopey man name 'ick.