terminology - Is there a fine line between symbolism and metaphors in literature?


Assume we have a literary masterpiece that is abundant in symbolism and metaphors. Within this masterpiece, the author uses a brook running through a glade of trees to represent a couple of things within his novel. Here is where I get confused with the true difference between what is a symbol and what is a metaphor.


The brook supposedly represents a character within the book, so to me this means it's a symbol. Yet the path that the brook takes through the glade is also supposed to represent various aspects of the life of the character, which to me is a metaphor.


So here is my question: can an object be both a symbol and a metaphor at the same time? If not, then how does one determine which of the two it is?



Answer



They're related, but generally a metaphor is used to draw a comparison between two distinct objects, whereas a symbol is used a stand-in for a much more complex, and generally more abstract, idea. In literature, a metaphor would typically be used in a specific instance to compare two objects, but a symbol would be used throughout the work as a major part of the theme.


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