/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.12638475]

What's the point of drawing parallels to another work in your own work? How does the symbolism add anything to the core abstraction that the story represents? For example if you're telling a tale that ponders what is good and bad, does adding symbolism to another work that pondered what is good and bad make it better? If your book has symbolism to religion because one of the many stories struggled with the same questions, why draw the lines there? What's the point? Why is it regarded so highly? Yes you're both telling the same story, that's cool

[Anonymous No.12638594]

I think, anon, you are confusing allusion with symbolism. Allusion is a great way to massage the reader’s interpretation in a certain direction by configuring it in “tradition.” That master of Allusion, T. S. Eliot, wrote a very good essay on the topic, called “Tradition and the Individual Talent.

[Anonymous No.12638687]

>>12638594
So allusion is a way to guide the readers interpretation. But wouldn't that make it sort of dishonest? As in, "this is how you should interpret this". Or does it matter? Is the beauty of art in how you express your thoughts, is leaving it open for interpretation unimportant? I always figured the difference between art and propaganda is intent; if you want to tell something and you show it in a way that leaves no room for interpretation, then that's propaganda right?