Message 1737:
Symbolism
AngelPie_Mouse
10/07/1999 02:21 pm EDT
Symbolism
"Sun! Blinding on our seven city gates; our rivers red with blood."
[English translation of the opening line of the Chorus in Antigone]
This is symbolism. It is describing the aftermath of civil war. The chorus, itself, is a symbol in this play. While frequently this device of Greek theater was employed as the voices of the gods, in this play the Chorus is the populace, the people of the city-state and the line represents their anguish from the sacrifice of war which polutes everything. How stale would the line above have been if the writer had said instead: "the smoke of war has cleared; we can see that much blood has been spilled?" And would such a phrasing as this last have carried the same emotion impact as the line above?
Haiku, as we have mentioned before, is a highly symbolic Japanese poetic form wherein objects named frequently vibrate with culturally recognized symantic interpretations. The cherry blossom is not merely the thing itself but is symbolic of Spring, of beginning, of rebirth and renewal as well as what it is--and here I barely touch the possible interpretations. It can also encompass many more ideas that I am not equipped by cultural exposure to understand. I mention Haiku, however, because it represents a far more set practice in symbols than Western literature employs and yet far broader.
Symbolism in the West tends to be specific to a single idea, e.g.: the open door represents opportunity, the closed door represents an obstacle; the glass containing liquid is either partially filled or nearly empty. Yet, how would you interpret the glass in shards sitting in a pool of liquid? A fresh symbol.
The real question is not whether we use symbols and understand them, we do. Rather, it is whether we use fresh symbols, fresh language to embody them; whether they are trite and over-used and stale, or fresh and surprising and truer than any other language we could have used. We can make them culturally specific, that is: to use symbols that resonnate to ethnic heritage, religious, or regional considerations. Example: a "Santana wind" may mean something different to someone of Hispanic heritage born on the East coast than it does to those of us of either Hispanic or non-Hispanic origins living on the West. The Easterner sees "devil wind," the Westerner "Winter wind." And even "Winter wind" means something different--the Easterner feels cold and sterile; the Westerner feels hot and dry and airless.
I am reaching for examples here and not comfortable with it. The main point is that the use of symbols goes back to an idea I spoke about in earlier discussions, knowing your audience, knowing who you are attempting to communicate with. It isn't necessarily a good thing to use the broadest symbols possible to reach the broadest audience. If the symbol is true, however, it will transcend of its own accord.
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