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More about Symbolism
The way that powerful symbols can create internal mental imagery is one of the most miraculous aspects of the writing process. Some symbols are so powerful and all-pervasive that we can begin to define them. As you read these short definitions, you will be amazed at how many of them you are familiar with, even if you have not consciously thought about them before. We will start with nature, and natural cycles.
Dark to Light (Day to night), spring to winter, young to old. Typically, the first of the pair is 'good' i.e. desirable, and the second is the less good of the two.
Evil is usually portrayed as being in darkness, and the very phrase 'winter of despair' gives you some idea of how common these themes are. In the same way, the young are usually innocent, and the villains are usually old (or older, at least). In fact, if you are experienced, you can often get some fun by subverting these commonly held themes - making the young beautiful person the villain, and so on.
Next we have human society versus the natural order. These symbolic writing plays are based around the dichotomy between order and chaos, the garden versus the jungle, or town versus woods. At www.GetPlotted.com we believe that there is often a meta theme in play here - the journey from innocence to worldly-wise experience itself is symbolic, but can be further symbolized by a physical journey from the small pastoral village to the dark, foreboding town. Think Eden to Sodom!
A related symbolic theme is the return to Eden - the hero somehow manages to bring the downfallen urbanized society back into harmony with nature. This, as mentioned previously, is popular in disaster stories of all kinds.
The Quest. Often, a quest type of story will begin with something unusual about the hero - perhaps the circumstances of his birth, or a prophecy tied to him / her. Another common symbol is a hero who doesn't recognize his own powers - brought up in humble surroundings, the hero who begins a herculean quest symbolizes the inherent potential for growth in all people. Such quests tend to follow a growth path symbolism - the hero faces increasingly difficult challenges right up to the climax of the story.
Plots such as the Quest can be randomly generated at www.GetPlotted.com using the 'Plot Factory' toolset.
Closely allied to the natural cycle are birth and death symbols. Often death itself is symbolically represented, which allows the opportunity for what would be physically impossible - i.e. a rebirth. Recognition is usually used as a symbol for this rebirth - the hero is recognized and accepted into society, perhaps as leader. Death is often represented by failure of some kind - the hero fails early on, only to recover and win the final challenge (the rebirth). Symbols are context dependent, and culture-specific too - one man's tree of life is another man's lynching.
By manipulating the context, you, as the writer, gain the power to mold the symbols, at least slightly.
Common symbols include:- the Garden, which represents nature ordered by man. The Wilderness, which is raw nature, and dangerous to man. The River is often used as a symbol for life itself, with death being the delta into the sea. The Sea, likewise is both death and the source of new life. Bridges tend to represent change or cusps of adventure. Flowers tend to represent sexuality, youth, with the exception of red flowers which tend to symbolize war, and young warriors dying. Farms and farm animals represent order, and the rule of society. Predators, in contrast, are chaotic by their very nature. Fire tends to be used to represent passions such as lust, or culture-specific ideas such as hell. Common to most societies is the idea of the Sky being heaven, and representing fate or freedom.
Common character types can be manipulated in shorthand thanks to symbolism. Everyone is familiar with the following types of character, and they need very little introduction:- The Hero, the Imposter, the Wily SLave (such as Gollum in Lord of the Rings), the Wise Man (Gandalf), the Helpful Giant (Chewbacca), the Fool (Sam Gamgee) who is often the Sidekick, The Straight Man, the Beautiful Princess, the Dark Queen and the Hero's Nemesis. The character generator at www.GetPlotted.com can fill in the blanks for you at the click of a button, as long as you can decide what kind of character you are describing. Some of these characters are so old that they predate modern attitudes to political correctness, and must therefore be used carefully if you don't want to alienate large subsections of your potential audience for you novel.
Extending Symbolism. It's an extensible mark up language - when you write you can create your own symbolism as long as you remain consistent and build it gradually. For example, you may write a novel in which sheep don't represent placidity, and following the herd, but death, or disaster, but you have to explain to your reader why, or keep stressing the theme till it becomes accepted. A lot of what is now commonly held to be 'traditional' in the theme of 'elves' was, in fact, created out of thin air by Tolkein in his Lord of the Rings novels. You should never try too hard to be symbolic - if the symbolism is there it will express itself through your writing. Trying too hard can reduce your work to farce, and you should be on your guard against this.
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