Recap
A symbol is a concrete thing that, in the way a poem uses it, stands for something beyond itself. It is built by the poem (through repetition, position, surrounding words and the speaker’s treatment of it), not looked up in a dictionary of symbols. Symbols often imply the speaker’s attitude or perspective: how a speaker treats an object shows what the speaker feels about what the object represents. The full explanation, with worked examples from Blake, is in the study guide.
Key relationships
| Idea | In one line | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Image | Appeals to the senses; may be only descriptive | Do not call every image a symbol |
| Symbol | A concrete thing with weight beyond its literal role | Say what this poem makes it suggest |
| Metaphor | A comparison | Ask what is compared to what |
| One-to-one code | “Rose equals love” | Avoid; it ignores the poem |
| Attitude | What the speaker’s treatment of the symbol implies | Link symbol to speaker |
| Whole | How the symbol changes the poem’s meaning | End every explanation here |
The five questions: spot it, track it, say what it suggests, name the attitude, link to the whole.
Conditions to remember
- A symbol needs evidence of weight: repetition, position, emotional charge, or an unusual treatment.
- State the meaning as a sentence about the poem, not as a single word.
- Two layers of meaning are fine if the context supports both; label which is primary.
- A symbol can interact with others in the poem; explain each first, then the interaction.
Mistakes to avoid
- “The X symbolises Y” with nothing else.
- Treating all objects as symbols.
- Importing meanings from outside the poem (biography, a symbol dictionary).
- Forgetting the speaker: say what the treatment of the symbol implies about the speaker’s perspective.
- Stopping at what the symbol means without saying what it does to the poem.
Worked mini-example
Take the “invisible worm” in Blake’s “The Sick Rose”. Spot: the rose is addressed directly and the worm “flies”. Track: the poem surrounds them with “night”, “secret” and “dark”. Suggest: a hidden, corrupting force that destroys a vulnerable joy. Attitude: horrified pity, in “O rose, thou art sick!”. Whole: a joy can be destroyed from within by something unseen. The explanation is a sentence about this poem, not a dictionary entry.
Quick self-check
- What is the difference between an image and a symbol?
- Why is “the rose means love” a weak explanation?
- In “London”, what two meanings does “blackening” support?
- What does the speaker’s attitude toward the “invisible worm” in “The Sick Rose” seem to be?
- Name the five questions for explaining a symbol.
Answers.
- An image appeals to the senses and may only describe; a symbol also stands for something beyond itself.
- It is a fixed code that ignores how this poem uses the rose; a good explanation says what this poem makes it suggest.
- Literal soot on the church and a figurative darkening of its moral standing.
- Horrified pity: he sees what the rose cannot but can only describe the destruction.
- Spot, track, suggest, attitude, whole.
Next: the practice questions.