The Symbolism Of Water

The Symbolism of Water

Many works of literature use symbols to represent abstract ideas. One symbol that is commonly used is water. Water is a viable symbol because it is versatile. It can be used to represent many different ideals because water in itself is ever changing. Water is used in many works to represent such ideals as death, life, love, betrayal, purity, holiness, and so on. Giglamesh, the Old Testament, Egyptian Poetry, and The Odyssey all have symbolized water to represent an idea portrayed in the work.

Giglamesh symbolizes water in two different meanings, as life and death. Giglamesh uses water to represent life is Gilgamesh's dreams. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel are on their quest to kill Humbaba, Gilgamesh has a series of dreams. In the first dream, he dreams that he is attacked and he is refreshed with water. He says, "It bellowed and beat up the dust till the whole sky was dark, my arm was seized and my tongue bitten. I fell back on my knee; then someone refreshed me with water from his water-skin (21)." The use of water in this dream could signify life. He was given life after he had been attacked. In another dream that he had, Giglamesh dreams of the mountain falling around him and a man takes him and gives him water to drink and his heart was comforted. He says, "We stood in a deep gorge of the mountain, and beside it we two were like the smallest of swamp flies; and suddenly the mountain fell, it struck me and caught my feet from under me. Then came an intolerable light blazing out, and in it was one whose grace and whose beauty were greater than the beauty of the world. He pulled me out from under the mountain, he gave me water to drink and my heart was comforted, and he sat my feet on the ground (21)." In this statement, water is once again portrayed as life. When he is given the water to drink, he is given life to drink and because of this his heart becomes comforted.

Giglamesh also symbolizes water as death. Towards the end of the epic, Giglamesh travels the world to seek eternal life. On this journey, he learns about the great flood. In this the gods, had become intolerable of man, and decided to exterminate mankind. They do this by a flood. "A stupor of despair went up to heaven when the god of the storm turned daylight to darkness, when he smashed the land like a cup. One whole day the tempest raged, gathering fury as it went, it poured over the people like the tides of battle; a man could not see his brother nor the people be seen from heaven. Even the gods were terrified at the flood... (36). In this example water is symbolized as death, a death to all mankind as punishment from the gods. Water is used to symbolize many different ideals, and in some works it is symbolized often for different ideals. As we can see from Gilgamesh water was used to symbolize to different ideals, life and death.

The Old Testament also used to water to symbolize ideals. There are many passages in the bible that use water to represent ideals. In our text we studied the passages Genesis books 6-9. This is the story of the Great Flood. In this passage water is used to symbolize death. Just like the story of the flood in Gilamesh, God was upset with mankind, so he decides to exterminate mankind by water. "And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth... And all the flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life... (61). In these passages, water symbolizes death of mankind, for their wicked ways.

Another work we studied that symbolizes water is Egyptian poetry. One poem that used water greatly as symbolism is an Egyptian Love Poem. In this particular poem, water symbolizes love, or even lust. This poem states, "Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond, bathe with you close by on the bank. Just for you I'd wear my new Memphis swimsuit made of sheer linen, fit for a queen--Come see how it looks in the water! (50). This poem is telling of a woman who is coaxing her over to the water to be with her. The use of water as a stimulant for the woman could by symbolism for lust, or could be symbolism for love. Love in itself is like water, easily fleeting, ever changing, and has the ability to engulf you. The woman in this poem is allowing herself to be engulfed by the pond, or water, and his trying