Learning Paths » 5A Interacting
MLenarduzzi - 5 A - Symbolic figures
by - (2012-03-07)
Up to 5 A - Modernist Fiction: V. Woolf and J. Joyce
SYMBOLIC FIGURE FOR THE LARK
The symbolism of the lark was inspired by his behavior: it sings in the early days of spring rising almost vertically to a height such that its little body almost disappears in the sky.
During this flight it makes a cascade of sounds similar to a crescendo.
Then, it closes its wings and falls straight down like a dead body right at the ground, and finally rises again singing outloud. Because of its fast flight upward and downward this bird is a metaphor for the correlation between heaven and earth and it becomes the messenger between the human and the divine.
In Greek tradition the lark was the emblem of Artemis.
Even among the Gauls was a sacred animal, a bird considered auspicious.
SYMBOLIC FIGURE FOR THE NIGHTINGALE
The nightingale announces spring time. It is the bird of the month of May and above all it is a symbol of love.
SYMBOLIC FIGURE FOR THE OWL
The owl represents clairvoyance.
Since they are nocturnal animals, they evoke the image of darkness that stands for death. The owl has a negative meaning because according to the traditional beliefs it reveals death, it announces the worst things to the spectator.
In the Aztec mythology, the owl stands for Techolotl who is the god of the underworld.
On the other hand in the Greek and Roman mythology the owl was a sacred animal forAthena-Minerva, the Goddes of wisdom.