The Peril of Symbolism — Writing Prompt #4
The Swan, and a comment on re-reading old projects
It would be useless for anyone to describe the myriad of ways that swans are portrayed in art, they are so familiar. It is too obvious to mention Swan Lake. It is too obvious to describe what exactly the Swan symbolises. But it also isn’t at all obvious. All symbols however seemingly universal, vary in their meanings. As Oscar Wilde said,
‘Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.’
Interestingly it’s only adult swans that are portrayed in art (maybe with the exception of the Ugly Duckling!) so here I am shining the spotlight on a juvenile, just as graceful as the adult pictured below.
When I think of swans I recall the wingbeats of the swans suggested in Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. Sibelius’ music always evokes (for me) wide, cold, icy landscapes (he was Finnish) and this is one of the finest examples. Have a listen to the last three minutes of the third movement:
In Wagner’s opera Lohengrin, the Swan is associated with the knight of the title, so has connotations of loyalty and bravery, which are usually reserved for dogs and horses, demonstrating how flexible certain symbols can be.
LOHENGRIN: (bending down to the swan)
I thank you, my dear swan!
Go back across the waters
to whence your boat brought me,
return again only to bring us happiness!
Thus will you have carried out your duty faithfully!
Farewell, farewell, my dear swan!(The swan slowly turns the barque around and swims back up the river. Lohengrin gazes at it wistfully for a while)
However it must be remembered that there are many species of swan and some migrate huge distances, on long and dangerous journeys. Bewick’s swans migrate from Russia to winter in Britain. They are large, strong birds and will defend their young fiercely.
Last year I wrote a short play which was highly commended by the National Theatre in their ‘New Views’ writing competition; a swan was a key symbol in this play, of memory, loss and decay. When I’m writing, in the early stages, I write poetry as I find it a fairly easy way to condense the essence of what I want to write about. Then I read over it an look for recurring words and images.
One of the symbols was bird imagery, which seems straightforward enough; unless the writer happens to be a keen birder, so decides to include too many species (never mind…) Anyway, at the end of the play I utilised the imagery of Lohengrin — of saying farewell to the swan — to show a return to equilibrium, of letting go.
The journey of the swallow and the snail are the same length
The wing of the blackbird and the kingfisher are the same colour.
(All shall be well and
All manner of things shall be well.)
(to the audience) With the help of hand-made ripples (applause)
Help the departure of this dear swan.
Be free and go to the elements,
and we go with you —
To the fire and the water
And the wind that dances over the water
And the water over the earth
And over the rock
A spring
Overall I weakened the imagery by making it over-complicated because I had over-thought it, and was utilising too many other symbols (I had recently read The Wasteland and the play was, in part, my response to it).
So my advice is to let the symbols emerge naturally from preliminary writings, and be clear on how the symbolism will be used, and avoid adding too much to it. The symbols themselves will produce many interpretations, as the above examples demonstrate.
Another concern I had when writing the play was whether the symbolism is too ‘obvious’ or too ‘subtle’ as to go undetected. Having read (very briefly) over this project, I would say: if in doubt, be subtle!
I don’t like reading over old projects (there’s so much else to read than whatever drivel I was writing in 2022!!) but it is useful, and also (hopefully) motivates you improve, even if it feels like a case of writing ‘less badly’ rather than ‘improvement.’
In conclusion, this all goes to show how the swan — or any symbol — can symbolise whatever the artist requires within the particular work of art, and can mean multiple different things to different people, at different times. That’s the ‘peril’ of symbolism. That’s why it is vital.
Hope this was helpful, let me know about your opinions and writing processes in the comments!
Frou-Frou
