/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11034211]

What are some of the best resources for learning symbolism and its analysis in literature? It would be impossible to appreciate the entirety of a given scholar's ability to reference in oftentimes obscure ways, so how would I best understand common and uncommon patterns so that I may at least have some grasp of the symbolism that is in some of my favorite literature?

[Anonymous No.11034223]

There is a sort of encyclopedia or dictionary of symbols. I forget what it is called but it's probably not too hard to find. It was pretty interesting desu

[Anonymous No.11034242]

>>11034223
I guess direct symbols aren't necessarily what I mean, more along the lines of the monomyth, for example? Typical patterns that I might be able to see that I once did not? I recall listening to a lecture that spoke of the monomyth, and it was as though a floodgate broke in my mind, and I was better able to analyze what an author or other artist was doing from that simple bit of information. I was essentially wondering if there was a resource for such information, such patterns that seem so obvious in retrospect, that they may as well have been known to me, but were sadly not.

[Anonymous No.11035286]

>>11034242
>monomyth
>I was better able to analyze what an author or other artist was doing from that simple bit of information
then you've been misconstruing their intent and process more often than not
forget about that shit, there isn't a magical gnostic key to unlocking literature, find something you like and try checking some specific lit crit works on it in general or aspects of it you're interested in (don't give up after a single author because they might be shit, and avoid contemporary publications for starters)

[Anonymous No.11035736]

>>11034242
image how much time went into perfectly sculpting that thing