1. Symbolism and Allegory
Feature Menu
Symbol
Identifying Symbols
Allegory
Practice

2. Symbol
A symbol is a person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself. Symbols may be
personal
public
literary

3. Symbol
Personal symbols have special meaning for an individual.

4. Symbol
Public symbols are widely recognized throughout a culture and sometimes even universally.
The cap and diploma represent the achievement of graduating from high school or college.
The flags represent nations.
The wedding bands represent the vows people make when they marry and their love for one another.
Note

5. Symbol
Literary symbols are created when writers assign a special, symbolic meaning to something. They appear in works of fiction, poetry, and drama.
The white whale from Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick represents the mystery of evil in the world and a quest for an unattainable goal, to which other important goals are sacrificed.
Little Red Riding Hood, of fairy-tale fame, represents the innocence and vulnerability of children.
The scarlet letter A, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, represents main character Hester Prynne’s sin and fall from grace in her community.
Each of these symbols has passed into common cultural usage.
Color symbolism

6. Symbol Symbols, whether public or literary, work by association.
red rose
apple on a desk
late night knock

7. Symbol
Authors can make use of well-known symbols, create their own symbols, or combine elements of both public and literary symbols.
Public Symbol
white
Private Symbol
whale
Literary Symbol
Moby Dick + =
[End of Section]

8. Characteristics of Symbols
Identifying Symbols
Not all literary works contain symbols. How do readers know when something is symbolic in a story and when it is not?
Characteristics of Symbols
Are often visual
Often reappear throughout the work
Are a form of figurative language and stand for something essentially different from themselves
Usually relate to the work’s theme

9. Identifying Symbols Quick Check What might the clock symbolize?
. . . there stood against the western wall a gigantic clock of ebony and when the minute hand had made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound of so peculiar a note and emphasis that while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest [dancer] grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows
from “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe
[End of Section]