Symbolism—Day 7

I’ll be away for a few days, but want to continue exploring symbol, so here are some thoughts for you to ponder from Rebecca McClanahan’s Word Painting. First a little info about the metaphor:

A metaphor always requires two parts, two sides, to complete its equation. The critic I.A. Richards calls these two sides the “tenor” and the “vehicle.” The tenor, the main subject or the “general drift,” is usually a thing but can also be an idea, an emotion or some other abstraction. The vehicle is the concrete image that embodies the main subject, supplying it with weight, shape and substance. For instance, in “He carried his guilt like a heavy suitcase,” guiltis the tenor and suitcase is the vehicle.

Connecting this explanation with symbolism, McClanahan says:

The tenor is the general idea that requires concreteness before it can be fully understood; the vehicle is the embodiment of the tenor. In both metaphor and simile, the tenor is stated. In symbolism, it is not. In symbolism, only the vehicle shows itself. A symbol is a visible sign—an object or action—that points to a world of meaning beyond itself.

McClanahan gives some examples from classic literature:

a raven symbolizing death in “The Raven,” Poe

blood symbolizing courage in The Red Badge of Courage, Crane

a necklace symbolizing human vanity in Guy de Maupassant’s story

laundry representing angels in “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World,” Wilbur

I think recognizing symbols might be the starting place for an author to consider using them. But obviously there’s more.