compare and contrast

Running head : Use of Symbols

The Use of Symbols in Novalis ' Henry Von Ofterdingen and Victor Hugo 's

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

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The Use of Symbols in Novalis ' Henry Von Ofterdingen and Victor Hugo 's

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

In literature , the use of objects to symbolize something else is considered as a writer 's way of concealing the general ideas he wanted to say . Throughout the years , since the birth of symbolism took place as a movement criticizing Realism

and Naturalism , numerous archetypes or recurring symbols are already free to access nowadays . Most of these symbols are actually products of the constant and continuous use of various in their works , making them appear as common- knowledge ones . For example , the crying of a new-born child symbolizes life , just like how a dove appears to be a symbol for peace and love , the color purple for royalty , the moon for femininity and womanhood , or perhaps the breaking of dawn for new hope . Symbols are important to the implied and hidden meanings that the artists wanted to portray

This importance was also seen by Novalis and Victor Hugo when they decided to write Henry Von Ofterdingen and the Hunchback of Notre Dame The two novelists , perhaps considered both as two of the best in literature , exposed the magic of their works through the use of symbolism in their stories . In Novalis ' Henry Von Ofterdingen , the author injected the image of a blue flower . In Hugo 's The Huncback of Notre Dame , however , he used the architecture of the Notre Dame Cathedral in to clearly present his views

About the Texts

Henry Von Ofterdingen

The novel is an unfinished work of Novalis , telling the story of a young poet named Henry who is searching for a blue flower he once saw in his dreams . The flower has a face of a woman , Mathilda , who is not yet known in the story . It is said that the novel is reflecting some parts of the author 's life . Novalis , on a certain pointof his life , also aspired for something relating on his being a poet . The book was printed in 1802 and had been translated from German to English

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

With original French title Notre-Dame de Paris , the Hunchback of Notre Dame was completed by Hugo in 1830 . The story was set during 1482 narrating about the cathedral of Notre Dame . Unlike what most people know , Victor Hugo 's main character in the story is the cathedra itself and not Quasimodo . The Hunchback of Notre Dame tells the social and cultural status of the cathedral , reflecting the conditions of Paris during that time

Symbolisms Used in the Stories

Like what was mentioned earlier , two images were used by Novalis and Hugo as symbolisms in their stories . In the Henry Von Ofterdingen , a blue flower was used in to symbolize something else . Hugo also employed symbolism through his applying of...