• Introduction
• Character
• Plot
• Setting
• Point of View
• Style
• Poetry

Symbolism

Symbols stand for or suggest something else by their association. Symbols can often serve as a visible sign of something invisible (such as a “lion” to represent “courage”). In literature, symbols expand the content to universal rather than particular themes. “Conventional symbols” are those that are widely understood in a culture, and “literary symbols” are those within a work of literature that maintain their literal significance while suggesting other meanings. An effective use of symbols often can set great literature apart from ordinary works.