What is Symbolism in Literature? (Definition)
Symbolism is the use of concrete objects, characters, images, or events to represent abstract ideas or concepts beyond their literal meaning. A symbol is both itself and something more: a green light is literally a green light, but in The Great Gatsby it also represents Gatsby's longing for an unattainable future.
Symbols differ from motifs in that a symbol carries meaning in a single instance, while a motif gains meaning through repetition. They differ from allegory in that symbols add a layer of meaning to an otherwise realistic story, while allegory replaces realistic meaning entirely with symbolic equivalence.
Examples of Symbolism
Example 1: Symbolism in Romeo and Juliet
Juliet calls the dagger 'happy' and turns her own body into its sheath—the weapon becomes a symbol of the play's argument that love and violence cannot be separated in Verona. Romeo has just died by poison (the apothecary's secret commerce); Juliet dies by the blade (the feud's signature instrument). The same hand that embraces becomes the hand that kills, because the city has left no third option.
Example 2: Symbolism in The Great Gatsby
The green light symbolises Gatsby's yearning—for Daisy, for the past, for the American Dream itself. Fitzgerald places it across the water, minute and far away, so the symbol embodies its own meaning: visible but unreachable. Nick watches Gatsby reaching for something that is by definition out of reach, and the gesture defines the whole novel.
Example 3: Symbolism in Animal Farm
The windmill the animals slave for symbolises the ideals that leaders use to motivate followers: always under construction, always requiring sacrifice, always benefiting those in charge more than those who do the work. Orwell lets the animals' touching belief that they labour for themselves stand without comment, knowing the reader can see what they cannot—the windmill keeps falling down, the pigs keep collecting the gain, and the cycle of hope and betrayal will not stop until they do.