n.1. the use of symbols, which is a necessary component of thinking, language use, and numeracy and therefore a fundamental feature in human culture generally (see semiotics; symbolic thinking). In particular, symbolism is central to the literary and visual arts. A specific, early modernist movement, referred to as Symbolism, developed in France in the mid- to late 19th century as a reaction to realism and naturalism. The writing, primarily poetry and drama, was highly evocative and made extensive use of indirect symbolic language to represent character, situation, and action. Leading exponents were the French poets Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867), Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891), and Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898) and the Belgian dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck (1862–1949). 2.
see symbolization.