A graphic of the United States Flag, ‘Old Glory’

Source: Statue-of-liberty tysto, Tysto, Wikimedia

A photograph of an adult Bald Eagle at rest

Source: Weisskopf Seeadler haliaeetus leucocephalus 8 amk, AngMoKio, Wikimedia

A photograph of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA. It is a large bell with a crack in it.

Source: LibertyBell, Serguey, Wikimedia

A photograph of the Statue of Liberty and the base upon which the statue stands

Source: Statue-of-liberty tysto, Tysto, Wikimedia

A painting of ‘Uncle Sam’, and older man with longish white hair, a white goatee, wearing a top hat, jacket, and bow tie. He is looking straight out and pointing the index finger of his right hand at the viewer.

Source: RobertFrost, USGov, Wikimedia

The images above are symbols associated with the Unites States. They are things you can see or touch. At the same time, they represent or symbolize the abstract ideas of freedom, liberty, and independence.

Symbols are a method of communicating. For example, what idea is communicated by each of the following symbols below?

A handicapped accessible sign. It is an icon of a person seated in a wheelchair.

Source: Handicapped Accessible sign, Ltljltlj, Wikimedia

A no smoking sign that shows a lit cigarette with a bar through it indicating do not do this.

Source: No Smoking, AIGA, Wikimedia 

A road sign warning drivers that the road ahead is curvy. It is upward pointing arrow that has left to right curves in it.

Source: MUTCD W1-5L, Wikimedia

You probably guessed that the wheelchair communicates the idea that something (perhaps a parking space) is reserved for people with disabilities. The second symbol warns that smoking is not allowed. The traffic sign informs drivers that the road ahead curves.

You probably didn’t have any trouble guessing what the symbols meant. In fact, symbols are all around us.

Religious symbols
An image of a seven candle menorah. It is Judaic religious symbol.

Source: Menorah7a, Daniel G., Wikimedia
A graphic of symbols related to the Christian faith: A a cross

Source: Simple Fancy Cross, Ramchand, Open Clip Art library
Political symbols
Republican party elephant symbol on it

Source: Republican Elephant – Icon, DH, Flickr
An image of the Democratic party donkey. The shape of the symbol is that of a donkey with stars and stripes on it.

Source: RWB-donkey, David Ball, Wikimedia
Medical symbols
An image of the ‘star of life– that is found throughout hospitals and emergency vehicles. It is a six pointed star icon with the rod of Asclepius in the center. The rod is a staff with a snake climbing up it.

Source: Star of life3, MAC13, Wikimedia
a graphic of the Prescription/Pharmacy symbol; an ‘R’ and an ‘X’ combined

Source: Pharmacy mortar and pestle 2, J_Alves, Open Clip Art library
A painting representing the “Three Little Pigs” from the children’s story. Shown are the mother sow, and her three piglets. All are smiling and happy.

Source: Three little pigs and mother sow - Project Gutenberg eText 15661, L. Leslie Brooke, Wikimedia

Symbols function as a kind of shorthand in communication. In literature, symbols are descriptions of persons, objects, places, actions, and situations that stand for something else. For example, you may have read the story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst. The main symbol in this story is a tropical bird called a Scarlet Ibis. Soon after being discovered by Brother, the story’s narrator, and his sickly sibling Doodle, the bird dies. Through Brother, the author implies that Doodle is like the bird. At the end of the story, Brother tells us that Doodle looked just like the sad, lifeless Scarlet Ibis.

An allegory, which can be told as a fairy tale, is a memorable account that conveys a specific truth. As children, we begin to learn about the world through these symbolic and allegorical stories.

The Three Little Pigs, for example, is a well-known fairy tale in which the main characters are sent into the world by their mother to find their own way. Each pig builds a house out of different materials (hay, sticks, and brick). A “big, bad wolf” comes along and destroys the houses constructed of straw and wood. The brothers who built these houses must run to the third brother’s brick house for refuge.

On a literal level, this is a simple child’s story in which the pigs and the wolf can speak. It even includes a happy, fairy-tale ending. On a deeper, symbolic level, it attempts to teach a lesson about hard work and other abstract concepts. This is a great example of how allegories both entertain and teach.

In this lesson, you will learn to explain the function of symbolism and allegory in a literary text such as a poem. The ability to recognize symbolism and allegory will enhance your understanding of poetry and prose.