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Symbol is one of the most frequently used artistic techniques in literary works.InWebster’s Dictionary,symbol is defined as“something that stands for something else byreason of relationship,association,convention,or accidental resemblance...a visiblesign of something invisible”(Lin Liuchen,2009:174).The word symbol originatesfrom the Greek verb“symballein”.Its meaning is“to throw together”.And the nounform of this word is“symbolon’,the meaning of which is“sign,emblem or token”.

In some literary works,symbols are often in the form of specific images,characters,objects,settings,plots,etc.And writers often use the concrete and vivid things toindicate some specific characters or express some special meanings,thus conveying toreaders sincere emotions and profound connotation.And the manifested effects ofsymbol can be summarized as follows:first,it has a profound meaning and is able toenrich people’s association;second,it can render readers the feeling of conciseness andvividness and express genuine affection.

Generally speaking,symbols are often classified into two different types:universal symbols and contextual symbols.Universal symbols refer to those symbols“whoseassociations are the common property of a society or culture and are so widelyrecognized and accepted that they can be said to be almost universal”(Lin Liuchen,2009:175).In most cases,universal symbols convey ideas or emotions that the writersand the readers share in common because of the fact that their social and culturalheritage is commonly recognized.As a result,universal symbols are also referred to ascultural symbols.By virtue of employing this kind of symbols,the author is able to havethe belief that readers already have a very good knowledge of what these symbolsrepresent or what implied meanings these symbols are aimed to convey.

1.2 The Significance of the Study on Symbol of Humanism inTimon of Athens

The study on symbol of humanism in Timon of Athens is significant in somedifferent aspects.It can help diversify the study of Timon of Athens,make people betterunderstand this play,and offer some guidance to people who are eager enough and ambitious enough to make the world a better place.

First,this study can be conductive to diversifying the study of Timon of Athens.Studiesconcerning the symbol of humanism in Timon of Athens are lacking.Though there is someliterature that focuses on clarifying the symbols in Timon of Athens,it is too limited.Aside fromthe fact that the amount of the literature in relation to symbols in Timon of Athens is small,therelative literature fails to illustrate the symbols in Timon of Athens in a very detailed andcomplete way.To be more specific,the contents are not rich enough.Moreover,logic andsystematicness,to some extent,are missing in the research of Timon of Athens.Therefore,studying the symbol of humanism in Timon of Athens is not without its significance.By carryingon this research,the quantity of the studies concerning Timon of Athens can be increased;thesymbolic meanings of more characters,objects,places and plots can be clarified so that theresearch can become more complete and more detailed;by本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。