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Color Symbolism in Literature: What Do Colors Mean in Literature and Poetry?
Color Symbolism in Literature: What Do Colors Mean in Literature and Poetry?
Colors have been
used in stories since as early as the first story was told. Writers and poets
use colors to create concrete images of their characters, scenes and events. Language
itself uses a system of symbols, either verbal or written. Therefore, color
symbolism in literature imparts a deeper meaning to the words which, in turn,
help transform the written content into a more powerful instrument. However, writers
and poets have the poetic license to use different colors in a manner that
create different meanings in their work.
Let us
study different colors and what they mean in different forms of literature
across the world.
Color
symbolism in fairy tales
The
best places in literature to study color symbolism are the Fairy tales which
used colors richly: examples include: As red as blood, as white as snow, as
black as the crow etc-all of which evoke emotional responses and help develop a
connection to the story.
The
tale of Snow White is one of the best examples that depicts color symbolism: it
uses Red, White and Black dominantly where White represents Heaven, Red
represents spilling of blood and an enticing-yet-poisoned apple while Black
shows regeneration.
Color
symbolism in Gothic literature
Gothic
Literature is known for its use of Red and Black as the symbolism associated
with these colors really draw the readers in to evoke an emotional response
while creating an atmosphere.
·
Red color meaning in Gothic literature- According
to a study published in 2004 by psychology majors in Alabama, red is a
very dominant color which can have an exciting and stimulating effect. Based on
circumstances, Gothic writers use it for drawing both positive and negative
emotions. These include, typically, passion and warmth and aggression or
intensity. Red is also the color of fire and blood and can symbolize energy,
war, danger, strength, determination, passion, as well as love. Red is known to
trigger and enhance appetite and metabolism, raise the rate of respiration and
also increase blood pressure. It has high visibility and is used to symbolize
danger.
·
Black color meaning in Gothic literature–
Black, on the other hand, is used in Gothic literature to symbolize evil,
death, power, formality, elegance, mystery and fear. Black also has negative
connotations especially in poetry, and when combined with red or orange can
create a highly aggressive color scheme.
With
these emotions attached to red and black, Gothic literature uses these as
staple colors for literary needs.
Symbolism
of green color in literature and poems
As per
the 2004 color study, green in literature and poems is used for symbolizing
both a ‘riveting’ and ‘relaxing’ effect. Green represents feelings of
refreshment and is also associated with feelings of hope. Green (in poetry) is
used for representing nature, harmony, freshness, fertility but also ambition,
greed and jealousy.
Symbolism
of the color yellow in literature
Yellow
is associated with joy, happiness, intellect and energy. It is a stimulating
color that represents honor, loyalty, and stimulates mental activity. It is
also an unstable color associated with cowardice and mental illness. Avoid
using this color if you want to portray stability and safety in your work.
Symbolism
of blue color in literature
Blue
color in literature is mainly used to draw a positive emotional response and is
typically associated with the feeling of calmness, peace, happiness,
relaxation, comfort. On the negative side, it may be used to represent
depression, sadness and gloominess.
According
to the color theory, writers and poets use Blue to depict trust, loyalty,
wisdom, faith, confidence, truth and heaven.
Symbolism
of the color pink
Pink,
which is a shade of red, is used in literature to denote romance, love,
friendship, possessiveness as well as feminine or girly qualities.
Other
colors in literature
·
White-Innocence, virginity, purity
·
Purple-Royalty, wealth
·
Orange-Fiery or lust
·
Aqua-Coolness, water
·
Brown-Poverty, earth
And
finally, we leave you with a few examples to help you better understand color
symbolism in poems and literature.
1. The
devil with its fiery eyes emerged from the dark pit, its evil eyes and
terrifying red horns enough to scare the living lights of the viewer.
Naturally, you must have imagined a black devil with red horns and tongue,
since red and black are often used to portray evil and negative characters.
2. I lay
upon the crisp green grass and watched the white wispy clouds as they floated
across the serene blue skies. This scene must have
naturally brought images of summer, a beautiful meadow or grassy yard, and you
were also probably left with a feeling of tranquility and peace.
As is
evident, color symbolism in literature does not just serve as character
information but is also a way of informing a reader about a scene without going
into too many details. With basic understanding of what a color represents, a
reader can even create a stronger bond with the characters for a richer reading
experience.
-What prominent
colors have we seen so far in our reading of The Great Gastby? (hint: think about the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg &
the light at the end of Daisy’s dock). After reading this article what might
these various colors symbolize in the text?
-If you were to
write your autobiography using heavy color symbolism, what colors do you think
would show up most often? Why?
-Did this
article help you understand the ways that authors use colors symbolically in
their writing? Explain why or why not.
In the reading so far we have seen pink which like the article says is a shade of red, this color signifies love, romance and more things along those lines. We see the color pink in this book because of the feelings that gatsby feels for daisy, he feels a lot of love for her and wishes she felt the same back for him- which she does, maybe not as much or as prominent as him, but she does. Another color that we see in this story is purple and this color comes up with gatsby since the color purple signifies royalty and wealth. Since gatsby is rich this color goes well with his character. Now if i were to write an autobiography, more of the relaxing and laid back kind of colors would show up in mine, like blue and green. The blue color in literature is usually used to show calmness, peaceful and happiness. As for the green color, it shows relaxation and the natury effect. Yes this article helped me understand the ways authors use colors symbolically in their writing to show or express different emotions or feelings. It kind of obvious that colors do make humans feel certain emotions, the way authors use colors in their writing is incredibly smart and an easy way to make the reader feel certain emotions.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, there are many colors mentioned. At one point, there was a green light at the end of the dock that Nick saw. Green symbolizes a riveting or relaxing effect in a story. The color green can represent feelings of refreshment and is also associated with the feelings of hope. It may also represent hope, nature, harmony, freshness, fertility but also ambition, greed, and jealousy. This could mean that Daisy envies Myrtle because Tom is cheating on her with Myrtle. Another color would be white because of the flashbacks Daisy has. She’s all dressed in white and everything is white. She seemed very pure in the flashbacks. This symbolizes purity or virginity. Also Gatsby’s tux was white. That could mean very rich and proper. The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg were blue. Blue means calmness, peace, relaxation, happiness, and comfort. The Valley of Ashes was all dark and gloomy. It would remind me of brown meaning poverty and earth. It’s also very dark. If I were writing my autobiography, I would probably choose yellow, blue, white, pink, and green. Yellow because it’s happy and it’s my favorite color. It symbolizes happiness and I am a pretty happy, bubbly person. Yellow can also mean cowardice. I can be a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to it. It also represents loyalty. I guess you can say, at times, I can be a very loyal person, or friend. I do tend to keep secrets. I also don’t switch up on my friends. Blue because my life is very relaxing and comforting. I don’t usually worry about anything. I would choose white because I am a very innocent person. I don’t really do any bad things that would get me in trouble and I kinda keep to myself. Pink because I also like that color and I like to talk about girl stuff with my friends and I love my friends very much. It also symbolizes feminine and girly qualities which I possess. Lastly, green because I am a very jealous person. I don’t really know why, but I tend to get jealous a lot depending on the situation. You would definitely see all of the colors I mentioned because they relate to my life a lot.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel so far, there has been many colors that were mentioned. Some of the colors that have been mentioned so far are gold and silver. I think that these colors mean money and wealth because Gatsby is rich. The light at the end of daisy’s dock was green. This color symbolizes a riveting and relaxing effect, it represents feelings of refreshment and is also associated with feelings of hope. The color green also represents nature, harmony, freshness, fertility but also ambition, greed and jealousy. After reading the article, I think that this color in the novel represents that they would start fresh again, new start and everything. The eye color of Dr Eckleburg is blue. This color is mainly used to draw a positive emotional response and is typically associated with the feeling of calmness, peace, happiness, relaxation, comfort but it can also mean depression, sadness and gloominess. If i were to write my autobiography, some of the colors I would use are yellow, blue and pink. I would use yellow because it is associated with joy, happiness, intellect and energy. I think that i’m a really happy person and the color is bright and happy. I would use blue because it is associated with calmness, peace, relaxation, and comfort. I think that i’m a really calm person that just goes with the flow on whatever happens. Lastly, I would use pink because the color is girly and can be symbolized for love or a friendship. I think that i am more of a girly girly and I like this color also. This article did help me understand because i learned about the meaning of many colors that I didn’t know about.
ReplyDeleteSo far in the book of Great Gatsby we’ve seen colors like White, silver, and gold. Even purples too which were the color of TJ eckleburg's eyes at the end of the dock. The White, Silver, and Gold was the combination of Jay Gatsby’s suit. It really embraced the wealthiness of himself so he can be presentable to Daisy. The purplish color was used to be a resemblance of royalty since it was a unique/rare color. Which gave a special part of symbolism in the text. If I wrote an autobiography, the colors that would show up in mine the most would be blue, red, white, and gray. I chose those colors for different reasons. I think blue has a chill feeling that goes along with it and can represent a calm person. Blue can put used as a hot day on a beach with bright blue water. Or even on a nice sunny day with no clouds in sight. Red has a very powering effect on people depending on how its used. If I were to use it i’d use it as an anger type of symbolism. And use it as a symbol to represent me when I'm pissed off at times. White and gray were chosen because i feel those are colors that can represent fresh and not overpowering. Can be put into peoples outfits and make them look fresh but subtle. I think the Great Gatsby changed my view on author symbolism a lot. I never understood why or even how the authors would include certain types of colors in the books to show different types of symbolism. Now I understand how and why they can do it. Doing so adds a different aspect to the story because it makes you think and realize how colors can be used in so many different ways, especially in symbolism.
ReplyDeletei really agree with you. this was a great entry. i think you might have had some same opinions as me . but like i also didnt read that much of it
DeleteWe have seen many color in this book. Purple eye of for the Doc. purple was a color of royalty. The Doc was a royal man. Whites and gold on Gatsby's suite to represent wealth. The reason of him wearing those colors was to prove to Daisy he is a wealthy man. I think if i wrote a autobiography yellow and grey would represent me. Yellow for happiness and gray for mysterious. I think the use of colors for symbolism is pretty clever. It makes the reader interested in revealing the true meaning of the color about the other person.
ReplyDeleteSome prominent colors we have seen so far are the blue eyes of Dr. Eckleburg, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, and the silver, gold, and white suit Gatsby wears when meeting Daisy. The blue of Dr. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolize heaven, because it’s a set of eyes watching over the city like god. The green light on Daisy’s dock is used for a feeling of hope. Which Gatsby has hope of seeing Daisy one day soon and see the light reassures him. Lastly, Gatsby’s silver, white, and gold suit are symbolizing wealth which is what he tries to show Daisy when they meet. If i were to write an autobiography the colors that would pop up most would be blues, greens and purples. Using color symbolism is very clever. It’s like a secret way of explaining emotions and character without actually having to say it.
ReplyDelete