Symbolism is a representation to a deeper meaning in poetry, literature, and actually everyday life. People always look for symbolism in literature (which there's always something deeper in literature), but remember that symbolism isn't something that came out of the air. Personal experiences drive us to believe that when something occurs, that it happens for a reason. Thus symbolism was created. I absolutely love symbolism, and I actually search for it, and find myself asking questions. I hope that everyone might be able to agree with me, and if not, I'd really like to hear why.
Posted by The Gentle Giant at February 13, 2006 2:28 PMI agree with you about symbolism to a point, but wouldn't you say there can be too much of a good thing?
Posted by: Paul Crossman at March 9, 2006 1:57 PMI agree that symbolism isn't something that came out of the air, it does happen for a reason, and who ever thinks that there could be too much of a good thing, well, symbolism is somethign that our society today is absolutely rife with, and we all use it whether activly or passivly. Advertisers trust that we all have implicit understanding of some signs, and road signs are maybe the best example. that way if we go to another country and do not know what stop means in that language, generally if it is red you should stop, red isn't just a colour, its a signifier for many other things too. In literature however symbolism is great, it helps us to understand so much more, we can make connections and develop a better understanding of characters, settings, possesions etc. BUT sometimes i feel like its taken a bit too far, which may be what the other guy was saying, seriously i read a lot of books and analyse them all for university, and sometimes i look back on my notes and think maybe this thing i've circled doesn't actually mean anything, maybe, just maybe, the tangerine is just a tangerine. Its amazing what you can come up with sometimes though huh?
Posted by: rose at May 3, 2006 7:46 AM