A. You’re always saying more than you know. So, make sure you’re saying what you mean. 'Symbolism' refers generally to metonymy, one way or another, one thing howsoever suggesting if not signifying another, however similar or different, the systematic utilization of symbols in order to represent or allude to something or anything else, particularly as a rhetorical device central to the meaning of a written work, and especially including the revelation or suggestion or Objective Correlative of intangible conditions or truths by just such artistic invention.

Indeed, the range of art ever extends from the sensory to the cognitive, the prosaic to poetical, and the concrete to the abstract.

Yet the poetical sensibility of art often entails pondering and reflecting upon ideas and problems but via the unique conceptual medium of images, visualizations, sense memories and the like, as opposed to rhetoric, conceptualizations and linguistic abstractions otherwise. Indeed, imagery may be employed to remind us, by approximation, of whatever meaning said imagery may represent, either conventionally within a culture, intentionally by the invention of the writer or even quite surprisingly in reception by an audience, depending upon one one asks, because in delving subtext, The Problem of Meaning in Literature begins with the age old conundrum of layered text, context and subtext, of whether meaning is in simply recognizing what is intended by the author, contained in the text itself , or even created by the reader in response, all along with the Pathetic Fallacy respectably rejected as THE 4 DEADLY FALLACIES in favor, instead, of an hypothesis of reciprocal creative misunderstanding from ambiguity.

Zen  in rejection of explanation as such, likewise strives for clarity and preciseness of allegorical imagery, pointing to that which defies direct description, all in the ardent cultivation of immediacy and awakening to mindful heightened awareness of experience, and thence the rejection of conceptualization as burdensome self-conscious encumbrance and suffering, wherein the Zen quests for the complete abandonment of understanding as such. Indeed, the draw of cult initiation into the quest for enlightenment and the snares exploitation alike, is in the hope that with perseverance all that is nebulous, obscure and even dubious, will become intelligible and important later on.

The truth remains, however, that imagery is hardly actually necessary to begin with for abstract thought, and indeed even seemingly somewhat unwieldy, indeed perhaps among the least practical of intellectual tools, but actually only the more challenging. And so, where is any advantage therein thereby? The answer is, emphatically, that the entire point of employing imagery symbolically or evocatively nevertheless remains in howsoever greater economy, stronger impression or greater familiarity with whatever selected images, than with whatever more difficult and as yet indistinct ideas represented for examination in order to be clarified.

Moreover, an image may be rendered so specifically in its focus and particular selected descriptive detail as to render all other broader aspects vague and alien, indeed, to increase the difficulty, effort and length of imaginative perception as an aesthetic end in itself in order thereby prolonged, all in quest of unfamiliar new recognition even of the most familiar and thereby to express anything more.

For in art for it's own sake, in authorship no less than performance or presentation, and beyond howsoever polemic, the experience of the process of construction may be the salient motivating goal ever put forth the more so than whatever finished product or end impression.

• Examples of Art as Technique  
• analogy vs. Metaphor

As another artful way to show, don't tell, symbols arise and enrich from analogy, allegory and imagery, events even foreshadowed by anticipatory imagery, even to the point of Pathetic Fallacy.  Hence, the symbolist movement sought to convey very personal, irrational, and dream-like states of consciousness, relying heavily on metaphorical language, and the interpretation of symbols and metaphorical association also plays an important role in psychoanalysis, especially as envisioned by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Of course, all such subtexting does also run the risk of somewhat questionable free association and projection, actual creativity rather than wholly reliable deduction, perhaps occasionally somewhat far fetched.

Not only is symbolism employed in the euphemistic description of sex, but sex, likewise and conversely, is often symbolic euphemism, deftly sublime or tastelessly inept, and for all manner of other relations and phenomena, sacred and profane. Moreover, waking or dreaming, every aspect or nuance of human relations, sex especially, is often imbued with any range of extrinsic significance, even far short of fetish and paraphilia.

Advertising didn't mix sex up with our daily lives. The great Marketeer in the sky did that.

— Barry Brooks

And whereas a word seeks for definition and disambiguation, as professor of British literature William York Tindall observes, a symbol, rather, by it's nature and usage, strives for expansion in reflection of the ambiguity and and often value loaded abstraction out of memory association and personal constructs of social cognition built from successive red herrings, innate naturally flawed Epistemological Methodology, the ambiguous diffŽrance of symbolic condensation allows for a host of potential responses depending upon context, textual, cultural or entirely personal and individual to the reader. Integrative symbolic compositions are often evocative rather than merely indicative, abstract rather than concrete, to encompass both thesis and antithesis as in the Zen dualistic opposition of Yin and Yang, often somewhat vague in sheer expansiveness even of the fragmentary, religious modes of being and transcendent mystical connection or associations including mythic magical rhythms of existence, powers and influences of similarity and contiguity as exposited in 'The Golden Bough' A Study in Magic and Religion by the noted Anthropologist Sir James George Frazer in 1922.

Q. What is meaning?

• The meaning of meaning

"Man is the measure of all things." - Protagoras

Nevertheless, meaning in the poetical, philosophical and literary deepest sense vests the dharmic neutrality of the indefinable and classifications of merely physical and implicit consequence of mechanistic causality, grappling with the dharmic and karmic indefinable classifications of causality, and ever best achieving "unity of action", Sequence and plot logic with relevant karmic value, point, the meaning of life, inspiration in the motivational sense of howsoever pleasurable and even euphoric engagement, susceptibility and stimulation of the mind or exaltation of the emotions to a high level of feeling or activity even to sudden exciting thought and spontaneous creativity, with purpose, interest, engagement and satisfaction howsoever in the doing instead of the dreary and painfully meaningless and futile drudgery, empty diversion, interpersonal superficiality and sheer boredom so many endure; perhaps such as beyond self, connection and contribution, even Altruism in service to others.  Because meaning, including value, none the least morality and even esthetics, are Phenomenal and contingent experience no less than comprehension and reflection.

Moreover, Plot situation and character motivation, together equal dramatic destiny, because the literal oxymoron of inherent meaning as a poetical figure is inherent only dharmicly implicit in causal consequence, the function and importance of plot logic in drama, while, dualistically, simultaneously, as a matter of POV, subjectivity, reflection and Representation of Consciousness, also alluding to purpose of personal fulfillment, Perceiving What's at Stake in Your Story along with the six core motivations for dialogue, all relevant value, what matters deeply, none the least of which being classic reversals as in the estrangement of the bullied idealistic whistle blower, pressing positive disintegration and growth if not towards the highest self-actualization then at least to realer freedom and autonomy, all without which life itself threatens Zen futile Ecclesiastical vanity! and such literal meaning, only then, as may be expressed, also, in the intention of deeds, including that which is most broadly signified in the act of communication of message, TEXT and subtext all in CONTEXT, information content, ideas, indeed conveying Phenomenal subjective experience or understanding, unless, most narrowly, scientifically, literally and precisely, denotatively or referentially, that which is signified and thus conjectured, is simply and clearly whatever corresponding objective reality, Ontologically, hence, also, implication, inference of evidence, and logically inherent and implicit consequence and Deterministic inescapable causal effect, that inspires bleak fatalism but also liberation, optimistic hope in better knowledge and even wisdom, for discovering better choices, autonomously.  

Q. What is Active Reading?

"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."

- Simone Weil   

A. Reading comprehension frequently demands that much more than simply decoding of the very words and then parsing of phraseology.

In an experiment with the formatting of text, it was discovered that some prefer shorter line length facilitating “faster” reading, easier because it requires less eye movement, while those preferring longer line length appreciate having more information readily available on a page all at once.

And in all likelihood, the same principle applies even to sentence structure:
Short sentences in succession may seem more readily digestible, but longer compound sentences help relate more ideas at a glance.

Indeed, one common impediment to speed reading, either skimming quickly for an overview or scanning briefly for specific information, is sub vocalization while another is the tendency for the eye to scan every word. And remedies include actually passing ones finger over a line of text faster than one can sound out the words. Also try looking slightly above the line in order to focus upon grammatical clusters of words. With practice one can accustom oneself to see and understand phrases simply even by glancing over them. But that requires practice and may find only somewhat limited application to complex materials. Instead, deciding what seems useful or not, "Key Ideas" to ferret out include causal connection, as in plot, but also theme.

For the techniques of  Active Reading no less than Effective Active Listening, is reading such as involves active cognition and comprehension, indeed, reading with purpose. -Conscious effort to hear, observe or read, then analyze, assign meaning to and respond, as applicable, to what is being communicated.

Tip: In case of incomplete comprehension, Improv, actually pretend, play-act understanding and then explain, either to another or to yourself, out loud, silently in your own mind or most productively, in writing.

 

Often we understand more than we think! Note what does and what else does not make sense. Subtext clues: Consider context and background. Articulate questions as to whatever remains unclear. And whenever you find yourself still really getting stuck, just mark or note the section and take a much needed breather.

 

The very opposite of Effective Active Listening might be Constructivist listening, a process of passively allowing a person to talk without being interrupted, with nary ever a care regarding Miscommunication Competence or Conversational Adequacy, indeed wherein listeners neither overtly respond nor interpret at all, neither to paraphrase, analyze, proffer advice nor seek to relate via personal stories, all because people are simply held to be capable of solving their own problems by thinking aloud.

 

Indeed, bearing in my mind that listening is to be for whatever the other's benefit, in Constructivist Listening one simply does not ask questions for one's own information at all, nor need much care. Constructivist listening, then, seeks the benefit of expression but without valuing communication. An applied Narcissistic Solipsistic Zen paradox of the intimately impersonalized.

 

And as much as genial good listeners may be pleasant to be acquainted with in real life, nevertheless, in dramatic writing, naturally all such characters must be poisonously dull.

 

Reading, no less than really listening, is hard work, the sustained effort born of concern and involvement, which takes a lot of time. 

However, true shaggy dog stories are very, very long drawn out allegedly humorous anecdotes building up to a punch line that distinctly fizzles, a groaner. Whereas, the emphasis in Minimalist stories is upon inner conflict, and the central characters are often reactive rather than proactive, so that Minimalist, open and unresolved vignettes, indeed, even aimlessly wandering anticlimactic shaggy dog stories that  do not affect change in the lives of the characters, who come away much the same as when the story or sequence began. For such is the flatness in Raymond Carver's blue-collar fiction, in which characters wander in and out of otherwise unoccupied rooms, houses, or apartments, failing to transcend the banality of their situations, affect their outcomes, or make their lives meaningful, all such conventional dramatic contrivance and cherished illusions abandoned perhaps in favor of local dexterity. Indeed, if any of the questions raised in the story are answered, others remain for the audience to ponder. Indeed, the Existential Zen-like, New Wave, Phildickian, Surreal Anti-drama or Anti-Structure deals in conflicting realities, delving into meaningless absurdity, likewise, effecting little change, however character development  or growth. Time frame is often broken up randomly, and coincidence seems more common than plot causality.

While beyond and distinct from drama yet still short of sheer Postmodern Nihilism, in Literature (As distinguished, narrowly defined and signified by the much vaunted capital "L"), all the indefinable and classifications of plot causality ever best achieving "unity of action", Sequence and logic, plus character development, tone and subtext are even the more thematic towards effect upon inner life, drama of a sort, but introverted, specifically requiring such sequence and relation of events as to cultivate meaning in the mind and experience of the characters and/or for the reader in the experience of reading the work, even so far as eliciting that extra added effort in active reading that is sometimes referred to as the reader's partnership with the author that can even go beyond simple information transmission and begin the creation of fresh Philosophical insight, narrative that not only challenges the reader's higher level interpretive and analytical faculties in processing but then evokes the construction, reflection and experience of differing individual emotional response and opinion and even subsequent debate, beyond simple assimilation of story information and all the more obvious sympathy triggers or pathos in time tested sequence.

Layers of subtext and ambiguity are richer and thought provoking. Of course, all such subtexting does also run the risk of somewhat questionable free association and projection, actual creativity rather than wholly reliable deduction, perhaps occasionally somewhat far fetched, no matter the various different Factors Affecting/Effecting the Reading of Texts, The Problem of Meaning in Literature that begins with the age old conundrum of layered text, context and subtext: whether meaning is gleaned by recognizing the writer’s purpose being, after all, no more than what is intended by the author, unless meaning is actually contained in the text itself , intentionally or otherwise, or else, even perhaps even created by the reader in response, all along with the Pathetic Fallacy respectably rejected as THE 4 DEADLY FALLACIES in favor, instead, of an hypothesis of reciprocal creative misunderstanding from ambiguity.

• Active Reading
• Active Listening
• Listen Long: Principles for Effective Listening.
• Representation of Consciousness

six core polemically purposeful

and dramatic motivations for written

expression or dialogue

• Understanding the rhetorical situation[ism]
• The Art of Reading

• poetry  

   

Q. What uniquely profound level of conflict is most intrinsically Literate?

For: Whereas, in dramatizing controversy, POV facilitating