In works of

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, and

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

, a symbol is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

element like an object, character, image, situation, or action that suggests or hints at abstract, deeper, or non-literal meanings or ideas.Johnson, Greg; Arp, Thomas R. (2018). ''Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, Third Edition''. Cengage Learning. pp. 286-7: "A literary symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. It may be an object, a person, a situation, an action, or some other element that has a literal meaning in the story but that suggests or represents other meanings as well."Kennedy, X. J.; Gioia, Dana (2007). ''Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Tenth Edition''. Pearson Longman. p. 292: " a symbol: in literature, a thing that suggests more than its literal meaning. Symbols generally do not 'stand for' any one meaning, nor for anything absolutely definite; they point, they hint, or, as Henry James put it, they cast long shadows". The use of

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

s artistically is symbolism. In literature, such as novels, plays, and poems, symbolism goes beyond just the literal written words on a page, since writing itself is also inherently a system of symbols. Artistic symbols may be intentionally built into a work by its creator, which in the case of narratives can make symbolism a deliberate

narrative device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...

. However, it also may be decided upon by the audience or by a consensus of scholars through their interpretation of the work. Various

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

s exist for this type of symbol, based on specific

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

artistic medium Media, or mediums, are the core types of material (or related other tools) used by an artist, composer, designer, etc. to create a work of art. For example, a visual artist may broadly use the media of painting or sculpting, which themselves have ...

, or domain: visual symbol, literary symbol, poetic symbol, etc.

Examples

Some symbolism appears commonly in works of poetry, fiction, or visual art. For instance, often, a rose symbolizes beauty; a lion symbolizes strength; and certain colors symbolize

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

s and thus, by extension, certain nations.Cuddon, J. A. (2012).
Symbol and Symbolism
. ''A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory''. Wiley. The latter is specifically an example of

color symbolism Color symbolism in art, literature, and anthropology is the use of color as a symbol in various cultures and in storytelling. There is great diversity in the use of colors and their associations between cultures and even within the same culture i ...

. While symbols can recur within or even across cultures, other symbols recur only in the context of one particular work. For instance, scholars widely consider references to blood in the play ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

to be symbolism for the main character's violent behavior and his accompanying guilt. In the novel ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the image of huge bespectacled eyes on a billboard may be interpreted as symbolizing the gaze of God.

References

External links

In Defense of Symbolic Aesthetics
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JSTOR JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...

The Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology: An Inquiry
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Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Artistic techniques Iconography Narrative techniques Concepts in aesthetics {{Art-stub