Dictionary of Symbols: Myths, Dreams, Customs, Gestures, Shapes

This is the first dictionary of symbols to be based on literature, rather than "universal" pyschological archetypes, myths or esoterica. Michael Ferber has assembled nearly two hundred main entries clearly explaining and illustrating the literary symbols that we all encounter (such as swan, rose, moon, gold), along with hundreds of cross-references and quotations. The dictionary concentrates on English literature, but its entries range widely from the Bible and classical authors to the twentieth century, taking in American and European literatures. Its informed style and rich references will make this book an essential tool not only for literary and classical scholars, but for all students of literature.

Michael Ferber - A Dictionary of Literary Symbols 2nd Edition
Cambridge University Press | 2007 | ISBN: 0521690544 | Pages: 272 | PDF | 2 MB

Humans, it's said, are symbolizing animals. At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression, and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence on symbols. The language of symbols is considered a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in the study of symbology. It can be used as a reference or simply browsed for pleasure. Many of its entries — those on architecture, mandala, numbers, serpent, water, and zodiac, for example — can be read as independent essays.

This Dictionary is designed for people who have just started studying mechanical engineering terms in a foreign language, particularly for those who have little or no knowledge of either the terms or their meaning. The latter category of readers may find it useful, in addition to the translation of the term, to have an explanation of its meaning as well. In the Dictionary, such explanation is provided by means of internationally accepted symbols, formulas, charts, diagrams, plans and drawings. In this way, illustrations serve as a universal intermediary between languages. As a rule, the illustration for a term consists of that graphic representation which is most frequently used in explaining the term concerned in instructional and technical literature (conventional graphic representation of the term).