May 25, 2020 • 9 mins
Don't you just love some good symbols interwoven into writing? That little bit of extra complexity and food for thought? Well, today we're going to talk about using a bit of symbolism in your writing!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Symbols? Isn't that something you have to write about in English class?
(00:08):
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writers World.
(00:33):
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a symbol is, quote, a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract, end quote.
Another definition comes from masterclass, quote, symbolism is a literary device, wherein words, people, markings, locations, or abstract ideas represent something beyond their literal meaning, end quote.
(01:00):
Some common examples of symbols would be the cross in the Christian faith or how you wear black to a funeral.
A literary example of symbolism comes from novelwritinghelp.com, quote, a boy has just been dumped by his girlfriend and he has shut himself away in his bedroom to be by himself.
(01:21):
He is sitting by the window with his nose an inch from the glass, watching the sky turn blacker and blacker as a storm blows in.
When the rain starts, he watches the water streak down the window pane.
The symbolism here is obvious.
The heavy skies symbolize the boy's heavy heart and the raindrops symbolize his tears.
The boy's feelings are barely mentioned in the summary above, but the description of the weather, nevertheless, conveys precisely how he is feeling, end quote.
(01:50):
Ken, why use symbols in writing?
Well, there are a variety of reasons to use symbols in writing.
You can use them to help drive a theme home, to associate certain elements with one thing or another, just that kind of sort of thing.
I think usually symbols are used in writing to help convey a message or represent something.
(02:11):
I think the mockingjay and catness representing the rebellion in the Hunger Games.
They can also sometimes be accidentally included, but that's a whole other topic.
Basically, you use symbols to get a point across or represent something.
In David Matt's Masterclass, he lists four reasons why you should use symbols in your writing.
His number one reason is, quote, symbols help you show without telling.
(02:36):
Writers use symbolism to convey complex ideas without using a ton of words, end quote.
Novel writing help also had a great point to add to David's, quote, symbolism is not just about enabling a writer to say the same thing more concisely.
It is about allowing them to say something more effectively.
All good novels require input from readers.
(02:58):
If everything is spelled out for the audience and nothing is left to the imagination, reading becomes a passive exercise.
But if readers are required to interpret, to read behind the lines and fill in the gaps, reading becomes far more active and stimulating, end quote.
David continues with his next three reasons why you should use symbolism, saying, quote, symbols connect themes.
(03:21):
Figurative language and symbolism can be a connective thematic tissue that runs through a literary work.
The color green is used throughout F. Scott's Fitzgerald the Great Gatsby as a marker for the money and materialism that defined the life of J. Gatsby.
Symbols add imagery.
Symbols can add a visual element to complex themes.
(03:42):
One of the great symbolists is William Goldling, whose novel The Lord of the Flies is packed with good examples of symbolism as imagery.
A conch shell represents authority and order, a pig's head symbolizes pure evil, and an island stands in for the Garden of Eden.
Symbolisms hint at darker meanings, end quote.
(04:04):
Before we get any further, I would like to point out that symbolism is a literary device.
It is something to put in your toolbox and use at your decision.
We aren't telling you you have to do anything.
It's just a cool, deeper something you can do.
Now, symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
There are two types of symbolism.
(04:26):
Ken, why don't you explain what small scale symbolism is?
Well, I would say that small scale symbolism is kind of symbolism that is localized to a certain part of the story.
These would be the symbols that don't run through very long, maybe just a few chapters or for a part of the story.
Basically, just generally more localized and small scale.
(04:47):
Right. While large scale symbolism is a symbol that carries throughout the whole novel, in The Good Earth, throughout the whole story,
Wang Long, the main character, views this house in his town a certain way.
The house is a symbol of wealth and a social standing.
Wang Long doesn't feel he belongs to, even when eventually he more than qualifies.
(05:09):
And throughout the story, you get to see his relationship with the house and his feelings, which is really cool to read.
Ken, are you more likely to use small scale or large scale symbolism in your writing?
I think usually I at least tend to use symbolism more small scale, if at all.
However, I do have some examples of longer symbolism being present in my writing.
(05:31):
I think a lot of people are more inclined to use solely large or solely small scale and not really use both of them in a certain story.
Now we get to the question of how to use symbols in your writing. Ken, how do you use symbols in writing?
Well, you just kind of work them in.
If you're thinking consciously about what symbols you want to include, you want to make sure you know what symbols you're using and what they represent.
(05:59):
You sort of weave them into the story and take note whenever it would be appropriate to use a symbol.
For example, you could have a certain type of bird, say the killdeer bird.
Yes, that's a real bird.
Always seem to show up right before trouble in your story.
Maybe even how your characters notice this and get a sense of dread and foreboding whenever they hear that bird's call.
This is a simple animal symbol of danger.
(06:22):
Basically, if you weave it in where needed to make an essential mental association with the symbol and what it means within your story.
I would like to note here that there are different kinds of symbols.
We have color symbols, for example, black meaning depression or darkness, green representing spring and new life, that sort of thing.
We also have like animal symbols like snakes representing tricksters or beguilement.
(06:45):
And of course, you can have shapes or weapons as symbols like two axes representing a Viking tribe of the like.
There are a lot of ways you could use symbolism and I'll list off some potential ways you could use this device.
You could use symbols to show how a character is feeling in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
The main character is introduced and he's wearing all black, showing the melancholy mood inside of him.
(07:11):
You could foreshadow using symbols.
The fifth sense every time there's a color red, you know that something with the boy is about to happen.
Symbols could show what is happening instead of explaining what is happening.
I came in on my sister watching White Collar and someone in the show pulled up their pant leg and showed their tracking anklet.
(07:33):
So without knowing the whole story, I knew that because there was an FBI agent that he was a bad guy or a questionable character.
You can use symbols to show a character's goal.
In novel writing help, they give the idea that a character really wants to make something of himself.
And becoming mayor, becoming a millionaire, marrying the most beautiful woman in town are all symbols to the character of making it.
(08:01):
They have a good point that I want to close on that.
Quote, the beauty of symbolism in a novel is that a reader can suggest without ever having to explain.
Do you use symbols in your writing, Ken?
Not as much as I would like to.
I have a good example, though, that's actually laid out in my next book, The Dark Hero.
In this book, we are introduced to the Order of Malevolence, basically one of the main villains groups of servient people.
(08:28):
They wear the symbol of their order, which is an eye surrounded by a two headed snake with a trident pointing down at the eye.
It's explained during a sort of cultist scene that the eye represents the all-seeing eye of the Malevolent One.
The two headed snake represents the consuming and rebirth of a better world.
And the trident represents the weapon which the Malevolent One will use to bring the world to its knees.
(08:51):
This is a kind of latent symbolism within the world of the story, something not everyone could pull off.
But it is possible and a good example of at least how I've used it.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(09:12):
And our Instagram is writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
If you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Melissa Faust.
And I've been Ken Mears.
With Writers World.
(09:33):
And keep on writing.
Symbols? Isn't that something you have to write about in English class?
(00:08):
My name is Ken Mears.
And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writers World.
(00:33):
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a symbol is, quote, a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract, end quote.
Another definition comes from masterclass, quote, symbolism is a literary device, wherein words, people, markings, locations, or abstract ideas represent something beyond their literal meaning, end quote.
(01:00):
Some common examples of symbols would be the cross in the Christian faith or how you wear black to a funeral.
A literary example of symbolism comes from novelwritinghelp.com, quote, a boy has just been dumped by his girlfriend and he has shut himself away in his bedroom to be by himself.
(01:21):
He is sitting by the window with his nose an inch from the glass, watching the sky turn blacker and blacker as a storm blows in.
When the rain starts, he watches the water streak down the window pane.
The symbolism here is obvious.
The heavy skies symbolize the boy's heavy heart and the raindrops symbolize his tears.
The boy's feelings are barely mentioned in the summary above, but the description of the weather, nevertheless, conveys precisely how he is feeling, end quote.
(01:50):
Ken, why use symbols in writing?
Well, there are a variety of reasons to use symbols in writing.
You can use them to help drive a theme home, to associate certain elements with one thing or another, just that kind of sort of thing.
I think usually symbols are used in writing to help convey a message or represent something.
(02:11):
I think the mockingjay and catness representing the rebellion in the Hunger Games.
They can also sometimes be accidentally included, but that's a whole other topic.
Basically, you use symbols to get a point across or represent something.
In David Matt's Masterclass, he lists four reasons why you should use symbols in your writing.
His number one reason is, quote, symbols help you show without telling.
(02:36):
Writers use symbolism to convey complex ideas without using a ton of words, end quote.
Novel writing help also had a great point to add to David's, quote, symbolism is not just about enabling a writer to say the same thing more concisely.
It is about allowing them to say something more effectively.
All good novels require input from readers.
(02:58):
If everything is spelled out for the audience and nothing is left to the imagination, reading becomes a passive exercise.
But if readers are required to interpret, to read behind the lines and fill in the gaps, reading becomes far more active and stimulating, end quote.
David continues with his next three reasons why you should use symbolism, saying, quote, symbols connect themes.
(03:21):
Figurative language and symbolism can be a connective thematic tissue that runs through a literary work.
The color green is used throughout F. Scott's Fitzgerald the Great Gatsby as a marker for the money and materialism that defined the life of J. Gatsby.
Symbols add imagery.
Symbols can add a visual element to complex themes.
(03:42):
One of the great symbolists is William Goldling, whose novel The Lord of the Flies is packed with good examples of symbolism as imagery.
A conch shell represents authority and order, a pig's head symbolizes pure evil, and an island stands in for the Garden of Eden.
Symbolisms hint at darker meanings, end quote.
(04:04):
Before we get any further, I would like to point out that symbolism is a literary device.
It is something to put in your toolbox and use at your decision.
We aren't telling you you have to do anything.
It's just a cool, deeper something you can do.
Now, symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
There are two types of symbolism.
(04:26):
Ken, why don't you explain what small scale symbolism is?
Well, I would say that small scale symbolism is kind of symbolism that is localized to a certain part of the story.
These would be the symbols that don't run through very long, maybe just a few chapters or for a part of the story.
Basically, just generally more localized and small scale.
(04:47):
Right. While large scale symbolism is a symbol that carries throughout the whole novel, in The Good Earth, throughout the whole story,
Wang Long, the main character, views this house in his town a certain way.
The house is a symbol of wealth and a social standing.
Wang Long doesn't feel he belongs to, even when eventually he more than qualifies.
(05:09):
And throughout the story, you get to see his relationship with the house and his feelings, which is really cool to read.
Ken, are you more likely to use small scale or large scale symbolism in your writing?
I think usually I at least tend to use symbolism more small scale, if at all.
However, I do have some examples of longer symbolism being present in my writing.
(05:31):
I think a lot of people are more inclined to use solely large or solely small scale and not really use both of them in a certain story.
Now we get to the question of how to use symbols in your writing. Ken, how do you use symbols in writing?
Well, you just kind of work them in.
If you're thinking consciously about what symbols you want to include, you want to make sure you know what symbols you're using and what they represent.
(05:59):
You sort of weave them into the story and take note whenever it would be appropriate to use a symbol.
For example, you could have a certain type of bird, say the killdeer bird.
Yes, that's a real bird.
Always seem to show up right before trouble in your story.
Maybe even how your characters notice this and get a sense of dread and foreboding whenever they hear that bird's call.
This is a simple animal symbol of danger.
(06:22):
Basically, if you weave it in where needed to make an essential mental association with the symbol and what it means within your story.
I would like to note here that there are different kinds of symbols.
We have color symbols, for example, black meaning depression or darkness, green representing spring and new life, that sort of thing.
We also have like animal symbols like snakes representing tricksters or beguilement.
(06:45):
And of course, you can have shapes or weapons as symbols like two axes representing a Viking tribe of the like.
There are a lot of ways you could use symbolism and I'll list off some potential ways you could use this device.
You could use symbols to show how a character is feeling in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
The main character is introduced and he's wearing all black, showing the melancholy mood inside of him.
(07:11):
You could foreshadow using symbols.
The fifth sense every time there's a color red, you know that something with the boy is about to happen.
Symbols could show what is happening instead of explaining what is happening.
I came in on my sister watching White Collar and someone in the show pulled up their pant leg and showed their tracking anklet.
(07:33):
So without knowing the whole story, I knew that because there was an FBI agent that he was a bad guy or a questionable character.
You can use symbols to show a character's goal.
In novel writing help, they give the idea that a character really wants to make something of himself.
And becoming mayor, becoming a millionaire, marrying the most beautiful woman in town are all symbols to the character of making it.
(08:01):
They have a good point that I want to close on that.
Quote, the beauty of symbolism in a novel is that a reader can suggest without ever having to explain.
Do you use symbols in your writing, Ken?
Not as much as I would like to.
I have a good example, though, that's actually laid out in my next book, The Dark Hero.
In this book, we are introduced to the Order of Malevolence, basically one of the main villains groups of servient people.
(08:28):
They wear the symbol of their order, which is an eye surrounded by a two headed snake with a trident pointing down at the eye.
It's explained during a sort of cultist scene that the eye represents the all-seeing eye of the Malevolent One.
The two headed snake represents the consuming and rebirth of a better world.
And the trident represents the weapon which the Malevolent One will use to bring the world to its knees.
(08:51):
This is a kind of latent symbolism within the world of the story, something not everyone could pull off.
But it is possible and a good example of at least how I've used it.
We hope today's episode was helpful.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
(09:12):
And our Instagram is writersworldpodcastofficial.
Our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
If you want your questions answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I've been Melissa Faust.
And I've been Ken Mears.
With Writers World.
(09:33):
And keep on writing.
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