We all enjoy the symbolic story that makes our brain dig into various hidden signs. Today I will tell you more about symbolic storytelling and how to find the appropriate symbols for your story.
Sometimes the best stories we encounter speak to us on many levels and in ways that we cannot easily express. For a story to resonate, it helps to add deeper meaning than what is just on the surface, and one effective way to do this is to add symbolic meaning. By really underlining the feel of a story and initiating the message or mood, the use of symbolism can make all the difference. Today I will do my essay on the mysterious world of symbolism to help you write an outstanding piece of writing.
Basic tips for developing symbolism.
- Embrace a theatrical element to your story and engage with it.
First, take a close look at theatrical traditions and be willing to put these ideas into your story. For example, a villain in a story could be signified by a physical trait such as a tacky mustache. It is a simple way for the audience to identify that character on stage as the bad guy, and the same principle works for your written work. If handled correctly, whenever this character appears, and emphasis is on their cruel face and accompanying facial hair. You can then write any facial hair or body hair, in general, which can connect to feelings of fear and unease for this character.
- Giving a character a specific color can add meaning as long as that color is conjured.
Associate and use clothes or colors with a particular character, and this will also be symbolic and add resonance. Just as the previous example of a mustache might work for the antagonist, try identically using costume or color. If you draw attention to a sympathetic character's fingerless gloves and then repeat images and themes connected to the gloves, the character will be easily invoked. It can invoke the emotion of subtle suggestion. This device, made popular again in the theatre, can be applied to literature as well and is worth a lot of experimenting on the first drafts of your story until you get it down right.
- Study up on archetypes and apply what you learn from them to your story.
Essentially, archetypes are well-known character models and template recognizable throughout. What is telling and true about archetypes is that they exist in cultures worldwide and are universal. It would be wise to weave in elements of your favorite archetypes to your story. The symbolism connected to them and the familiarity they have will strengthen and legitimize your story. Some archetypes you are probably already familiar with include the perpetual child (Peter Pan), the ill-fated lovers (Romeo and Juliet), the trickster (Loki, Harpo Marx), the wise old man (Gandalf, Obi-Wan Kenobi), and so on. Any stories that appeal to most are likely with archetypal characters. The psychoanalyst Carl Jung made great strides in categorizing and detailing universal archetypes, American professor, mythologist, and writer Joseph Campbell equally as archetypes. Jung and Campbell offer a wealth of knowledge on the subject, and their works are populated with them and worth studying for any serious writer on symbolism in literature.
- Write assertively and clearly so that the symbols stand out.
In the same way that your dreams can seem vivid and meaningful, treat the fictional world of the story as well, too. When writing symbolically, your story should contain elements of magical realism so that your audience knows it is part of the story. So you will build your writing consistent with the believability of the world you are creating. This writing style may not come easy in the first place, but if you want your writing to be full of symbolism, you must be prepared to rewrite and rework your story until everything fits.
- Create your own symbols and your own cosmology and apply this to your story.
As the storyteller, you are essentially God to your creation, and the signs you create hold whatever meaning you choose to use to it. It is something you may not feel confident enough to do at first, depending on how much writing you do, but you hold all the cards when you are telling a story, and this is empowering. That your confidence builds, that can explain your cosmology. The 18th century English poet and painter William Blake, famous for his distinctive body of work, created his own cosmology and helped define the Romantic era. In the last century, American writer H.P. Lovecraft created his cosmology for his haunting supernatural stories and novels. Blake and Lovecraft, working for different purposes and themes, are connected by their distinct and robust visions, different from their contemporaries. What, as writers, is essential to glean from these men is that writers establish the worlds they write about; in the fantasy genre, it is done all the time. Be bold and daring in your use of symbolism, and anything that doesn't work can be easily cut out.
Worldwide religions or superstitions are also a great source of symbols.
- Use the proper symbols for your story. If your story is set in a religious or spiritual context, there is sure to be an abundance of symbolism at your disposal. All world religions use symbolism and symbolic gestures, such as the Christian use of bread and wine as symbols of the flesh and blood of Christ.
- Using the sun as a symbol. One of the most powerful symbols known to us is the sun, and solar imagery dominates many aspects of our culture, not only in our religions but in psychology, astrology, mythology, and mysticism. There are many ways that symbolism can be used effectively in your story, depending on your tale's nature.
- Rely on numbers as symbols, too, and you can add even more depth and understanding to your work. Numerals are symbols for the numbers they represent, and this is worth throwing into the literary stew you are preparing as an additional spice. Many people associate the number 13, for example, with bad luck, and it is a widespread belief that a four-leaf clover is lucky and that seven is a number of good fortune. Play on these notions and use them accordingly in your writing.
- Combine ideas from astrology into what you write. Granted, this may not work for everything you write. Still, since astrology is rich in imagery and is recognized worldwide, it stands to strengthen the appeal of your story through astrological symbols or by emphasizing certain aspects of it. Astrology's zodiac signs, for example, are familiar to Westerners and Chinese, Islamic and Hindu traditions, as well as psychology and the art world in general.
Look for symbolism in movies.
Research and study symbolism and keep learning. The more you learn, the better equipped you will become to insert powerful symbols into your work. An excellent place to look deeply into symbolism, apart from the literature section in your local library, is to visit the cinema. The most skilled and artistic filmmakers express themselves in images and use rich grammar to articulate their visions. Innovators in this area of film work include the German expressionists such as Fritz Lang ("M" "Metropolis"), F.W. Murnau ("Nosferatu," "Breaking Dawn") and others such as Orson Wells ("Citizen Kane," "Touch of Evil") and Alfred Hitchcock ("Rear Window," "Vertigo"). These filmmakers and scores more like them use literary devices and strong symbolic imagery to propel their stories forward, and there is much to be gained from seeing their masterpieces and the use of similar motifs in your work.
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