Abeer Ali Allam Symbolism The symbolist movement in literature originated during the 1850s in France and lasted

until about 1900. Symbolism exerted a profound influence on twentieth-century literature, bridging the transition from realism to modernism. Symbolism also exerted a strong influence on the arts, including theatre, painting, and music. The symbolists wanted to convey very personal, irrational, and dream-like states of consciousness, relying heavily on metaphorical language to approximate, or symbolize, an eternal essence of being that, they believed, was abstracted from the scope of the five senses. These literary ideals developed as a reaction against the dominance of positivism, which emphasized rational thought, objectivity, and scientific method. Symbolism also represented a reaction against realism and naturalism in literature, which required to accurately represent the external world of nature and human society through descriptions of objective reality. Stylistically, the symbolists emphasized the natural musicality of language, developed the use of vers libre (free verse), and modernized the existing form of the prose poem. ("Symbolism") Symbolist works also had a strong and lasting influence on much British and American literature in the 20th century. However, their experimental techniques greatly enriched the technical collection of modern poetry and symbolist theories bore fruit both in poetry of W.B Yeats and T.S. Eliot and in the modern novel as represented by James Joyce, Virginia Wolf, Hart Crane, Wallace Stevens and William Faulkner. ("Symbolist Movement") Symbolists employed many themes in their writings. First, "the Inner life of the individual", they focus on subjective mental impressions, internal moods, delicate emotional states, and spiritual sentiments in reaction against the nineteenth-century that focused on objective, external, concrete realities as perceived through rational scientific methods. Second, "The Journey" The Symbolists described various journeys, voyages, or quests as metaphors for internal explorations into the inner consciousness of the individual. Third, "Sensual and Spiritual Love" since most major symbolist were men, their works explored the tension in their lives between the sensual love of women and the spiritual idealization of women. Fourth, "Religion and Spirituality" symbolist literature is often preoccupied with spiritual exploration and religious questions. Finally, "Urban Life", the modern urban life is an important element and central theme of symbolist literature that inaugurated the transition to modern literature in the twentieth century. ("Symbolism: Themes.") William Faulkner was one the novelists affected by the symbolist movement and most of the Symbolists major themes are evident in his writings. William Faulkner was born in September. 25th, 1897, in New Albany, Mississippi. He spent most of his life in Oxford. Faulkner worked occasionally in Hollywood as a motion-picture scriptwriter from 1932 to 1954. He died on July 6, 1962. He belonged to "the lost generation of writers", writers who were active immediately after World War I. Twain directly influenced him. Faulkner's work is characterized by a remarkable range of technique, theme, and tone. Faulkner was skilful in

creating complicated situations that involved a variety of characters, each with a different reaction to the situation. He used this technique to dramatize the complexity of life and the difficulty of arriving at truth. The traditions and history of the south were a favourite Faulkner theme which is evident in his short story "A Rose for Emily." William Faulkner ranks among the leading authors in American literature. Faulkner received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949. He also won two Pulitzer prizes in 1955 and in 1963. Many early critics of Faulkner denounced his books for their emphasis on violence and abnormality. Later however, many critics recognized that Faulkner had been criticizing the faults in society by showing them in contrast to what he called the "eternal verities." these verities are universal values such as love, honour, pity, pride, compassion, and sacrifice. Faulkner said it is the writer's duty to remind readers of these values. ("The American novel") "A Rose for Emily" is one of Faulkner's works where the characteristic and major themes of the Symbolists movement are very clear. The story begins at the huge funeral for Miss Emily Grierson. Nobody has been to her house in ten years, except for her servant. Her house is old, but was once the best house around. The town had a special relationship with Miss Emily ever since it decided to stop billing her for taxes in 1894. But, the "newer generation" wasn't happy with this arrangement, and so they paid a visit to Miss Emily and tried to get her to pay the debt. She refused to acknowledge that the old arrangement might not work anymore, and flatly refused to pay. Thirty years before, the tax collecting townspeople had a strange encounter with Miss Emily about a bad smell at her place. This was about two years after her father died, and a short time after her lover disappeared from her life. Anyhow, the stink got stronger and complaints were made, but the authorities didn't want to confront Emily about the problem. So, they sprinkled lime around the house and the smell was eventually gone. Everybody felt sorry for Emily when her father died. He left her with the house, but no money. When he died, Emily refused to admit it for three whole days. The town didn't think she was "crazy then," but assumed that she just didn't want to let go of her dad, (even though you could argue that he had stolen her youth from her). Next, the story doubles back and tells us that not too long after her father died Emily begins dating Homer Barron, who is in town on a sidewalk-building project. The town heavily disapproves of the affair and brings Emily's cousins to town to stop the relationship. One day, Emily is seen buying arsenic at the drugstore, and the town thinks that Homer is giving her the shaft, and that she plans to kill herself. When she buys a bunch of men's items, they think that she and Homer are going to get married. Homer leaves town, then the cousins leave town, and then Homer comes back. He is last seen entering Miss Emily's house. Emily herself rarely leaves the home after that, except for a period of half a dozen years when she gives painting lessons.

Her hair turns gray, she gains weight, and she eventually dies in a downstairs bedroom that hasn't seen light in many years. The story cycles back to where it began, at her funeral. Tobe, Miss Emily's servant, lets in the town women and then leaves by the backdoor forever. After the funeral, and after Emily is buried, the townspeople go upstairs to break into the room that they know has been closed for forty years. Inside, they find the corpse of Homer Barron, rotting in the bed. On the dust of the pillow next to Homer they find an indentation of a head, and there, in the indentation, a long, gray hair. (Shmoop Editorial Team) Looking at "A Rose for Emily" from a Symbolist point of view, we will find that the first theme of "the inner life of the individual" is obvious. The story concerns a woman who is isolated in her house, refusing contact with people, thus the focus of the story deals with Emily's emotional states, mental impression, and her isolation from the world around her. "A Rose for Emily" is a story about the extremes of isolation physical and emotional. This Faulkner classic shows us the process by which human beings become isolated by their families: As Emilys father isolated her from the outside world, by their community; as the town people considered Emily haughty and archaic and didnt want to communicate with her, by tradition; as Emily couldnt take a lover, by the past; as her father rigid ways prevented her from having a normal social life with the town people and by their own actions and choices and; as Emily broke all the rules to be with her love Homer and she decided to kill him so as not to live alone. In effect, this story takes a stand against such isolation, and against all those who isolate others. Emily wanted a house she could love someone in, and a house where she could be free. She thought she might have this with Homer Barron. She had nowhere else to go but home, and this home, with the corpse of Homer Barron rotting in an upstairs room, this home could never be shared with others. The house is a huge symbol of Miss Emily's isolation. (Shmoop Editorial Team) The Theme of "Urban life" is a central theme for Symbolists and "A Rose for Emily" uses different kinds of symbols to show how the modern life or urban life has changed and is changing people. Emily herself is a symbol of the past, the old ways. She was raised as an aristocrat; she doesn't mingle with people who are less than her. She refuses to pay Taxes which is a modern thing. Her physical description, the way she dresses; all symbolizes the past. As Osborne stated: "Faulkner attempts to paint a picture of the changing south. In the aftermath of slavery, the American South shown in the novel is in bad shape. The novel deals with the stubborn refusal of some southerners (Emily) to see that the America they believed in an America based on slavery was no more. Perhaps Faulkner wishes to honor and maintain the old southern traditions, rather than allowing them to decompose over time. The restructure of the South during the twentieth century changed the South in many ways. Some would say for the better, some for the worse, but either way it is looked at the south was changed. The way Faulkner writes A Rose for Emily with the coupled knowledge of his involvement with the South

throughout his life shows the deep symbolic elements of Southern culture in the story reveals that Faulkner, possibly believes that as they die others will look back on the day, just as the Confederate soldiers did when Miss Emily died. The picture is painted Miss Emilys death is like marking the death of ideals of generations that embraced those ideals before her. There is also the theme of "Love and Religion". "A Rose for Emily" is about a young girl who just wanted to love and be loved and to have a family. Since she was a young girl, her father refused all her suitors on the ground that they were not good enough for her. Thus he took away her right to marry, to be happy, and to be loved. When her father died, she couldn't let go of his body. She refused to acknowledge his death and kept his corpse at home. She loved her father and the thought of being alone was very difficult to bear. Later after his death, she meets the love of her life "Homer", whom she breaks with all the laws of her tradition: taking a lover, going out with him when she was raised not to take a lover but get married .Finally she breaks the laws of God and religion when she takes his life. She loved "Homer", but he wasn't the marrying type and for that she wasn't ready, so again the thought of losing another love was very difficult. Yet, she left his rotting corpse in their bridal room for forty years and she lied beside him. "A Rose for Emily" is a tragic story and Emily is a typical tragic hero yet the theme of love is evident even in the title. The "Rose" is a symbol of love. I believe that Faulkner pitied Emily and her life ,so he salutes her by giving her a rose. In conclusion, "A Rose for Emily" is a great production of Faulkner's. It is a story that shows how the Symbolists movement has affected many writers of the 20th century.

Reference list: "Symbolism: Introduction." Literary Movements for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 13 December 2011. <http://www.enotes.com/symbolism/introduction>. "Symbolist movement." 15th. 11. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 1995. Print. "Symbolism: Themes." Literary Movements for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 13 December 2011. <http://www.enotes.com/symbolism/themes>. "The American Novel. Literary Timeline. Authors. William Faulkner | PBS. "PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 13 December 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/faulkner.html>. Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Rose for Emily Summary" Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Osborne, Justin, ed. "Faulkners Vision of the South in A Rose for Emily." . N.p., 03/04/2006. Web. 13 Dec 2011. <http://www.revolutionreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/s Vision of the South in _A Rose for Emily_.pdf>