1 / 7

Unit 4

Symbolism & Allegory. Unit 4. C.P. 9 Lecture Notes. Symbolism. What is a symbol? Often an ordinary object, event, person, or animal to which we attach unusual meaning and significance. For example: Skull and crossbones represents a symbol of danger or poison Red roses

harrison-barton
Download Presentation

Unit 4

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Symbolism & Allegory Unit 4 C.P. 9 Lecture Notes

  2. Symbolism • What is a symbol? • Often an ordinary object, event, person, or animal to which we attach unusual meaning and significance. • For example: • Skull and crossbones • represents a symbol of danger or poison • Red roses • represents a symbol of love • Lion • represents a symbol of power and courage • Crown • represents a symbol of royalty

  3. Symbolism • Where do symbols come from? • handed down or inherited over time • invented by someone or something • For example: our school symbol – dawg print / Scottie head • However, we may not know the origin of many symbols, including common ones. • Writers often take a new object, character, or event and make it the embodiment of some human concern.

  4. Why use symbols? • Why don’t writers just come right out and say what they mean rather than using symbols? • Symbols allow writers to suggest various types of meanings. • Sometimes, literal statements can’t explain what something means on the same level that a symbol can. • Symbols may also allow for creativity and imagination. • You may remember the symbols, even long after forgetting parts of the story.

  5. Allegory • What is an allegory? • An allegory is a story in which characters, settings, and actions stand for something beyond themselves. • There is a literal meaning AND a figurative or symbolic meaning. • Allegories are often intended to teach a moral lesson or to make a comment about goodness. • For example: George Orwell’s Animal Farm • For example: Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death” • Characters and situations stand for something bigger • Seven colored rooms = seven deadly sins, stages of life, etc. • The Red Death = The Bubonic Plague / Black Death • Can have symbols inside an allegory: • Prince Prospero = represents wealth or greed

  6. Symbolism Practice… 1.) Identify what you think the items below stand for, symbolically. 2.) Then, explain: why is this symbol appropriate for what it stands for? • A snake • An eagle • Spring • An owl • A white flag • A heart • The color green • The American flag 3.) Be prepared to discuss your answers.

  7. Allegory Practice… • Read the following poem and answer the question below. I May, I Might, I Must If you will tell me why the fen appears impassable, I then will tell you why I think that I can get across it if I try. – Marianne Moore • Literal meaning of a fen: A fen is a swampy place. • What do you believe the fen symbolizes in this poem? • Be prepared to discuss your answer.

More Related