%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
A sanctuary for weary writers, inky wretches, and aspiring professional novelists. |
Um, I'm kinda confused. What definition for symbol are you using? Because that's the only definition I've ever heard of, "something that represents something else." I did a quick search and found this definition for the literary symbol: 1. The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically - symbols nearly always signal their existence by emphasis, repetition, or position. 2. The meaning of a literary symbol must be established and supported by the entire context of the story. A symbol has its meaning inside not outside a story. 3. To be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning. 4. A symbol has a cluster of meanings. [Source: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/AXH.HTML] This one is also a decent definition: "A symbol is something that is itself and also stands for something else…In a literary sense a symbol combines a literal and sensuous quality with an abstract or suggestive aspect…Literary symbols are of two broad types: One includes those embodying universal suggestions of meaning, as flowing water suggests time and eternity, a voyage suggests life. Such symbols are used widely (and sometimes unconsciously) in literature. The other type of symbol acquires its suggestiveness not from qualities inherent in itself but from the way in which it is used in a given work. Thus, in Moby-Dick the voyage, the land the ocean are objects pregnant with meanings that seem almost independent of Melville's use of them in his story; on the other hand, the white whale is invested with meaning—and differing meanings for different crew members—through the handling of materials in the novel" (Source : Harmon & Holman, 507). [Source: http://www.notesinthemargin.org/glossary.html] |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
