Symbolism

Ivanov’s Alpine Horn depicts an attempted communication with God on the mountain, as it describes blowing of a horn, the sound of which reverberates in the mountains as if coming from a group of spirits, forming a link between heaven and earth. What comes to mind would be humankind’s song of prayer to God, waiting for an answer. Then, the sound of horn, or the song of prayer for this matter, receives a reply which is merely a question to be answered by the shepherd himself or the humankind. The painting I choose is, Puberty, by Edvard Munch, which is meant to represent his dying sister in the context of subtle confusion in the pre-pubescent stage of sexual development against the backdrop of death in a form of a lurking shadow facing the opposite direction (“The Symbolist Movement: To Make the Invisible Visible”). Therefore, Ivanov’s poem and Munch’s painting are simple examples of literary work, at least, in the eyes of innocent beholders. In the realm of Symbolism, though, they may not be what the audience perceives or interprets them to be.

Symbolism wants to elicit a response that relates to imagination, dreams, or spirituality (“Symbolism”). Symbolists may employ one or a mixture of contradiction, perversion, eroticism, decadence, and religious mysticism (“Symbolism”). In Alpine Horn and Puberty, then, imagination and eroticism play a role, respectively. In the case of Alpine Horn, the audience is expected to interpret the poem beyond the confines of logical reasoning. This poem mirrors an element of Symbolist movement --- the shady or dark side of human experience (Nichols 3). The mountain of wastes signals an unnoticeable contradiction to what the setting appears to be, which complements the reply to the sound of horn, which is a question instead of a statement, although a mere echo is expected as the reply. When it comes to Puberty, the dying state or gruesomeness is overwhelmed by the picture of emerging sexuality, thereby exhibiting a contradiction between eroticism and horribleness. Nonetheless, both literary works invite an emotional response, as well as cognitive reaction, from the audience, either by tickling their fancy or galvanizing their mental faculty.

The resounding voice of the horn in Alpine Horn that echoes through the mountains signifies an ardent fervor of humans to communicate with God for unknown or undisclosed reason. The non-statement reply from God and the mere expectation of an echo appear to signify desperation from humankind. On the other