Good examples are a lion representing courage and a cross representing Christianity. Basically, both symbols and metaphors stand for something else. An author can use a particular word, object or event as a representation of a more complex or abstract idea which is of special significance to his or her work. While a metaphor has a clear reference to the idea it represents, a symbol does not have such a reference. Symbols are therefore not as easy to ascertain as metaphors.
Symbols can either be conventional or of a more private nature.
Conventional symbols are those which authors often use to represent certain ideas or aspects of life. They are fixed symbols which most readers of literature know about and accept. A lion representing courage and a cross representing Christianity are good examples of conventional symbols. Private symbols, on the other hand, are an author s very own inventions which often have significance and meaning only to the individual literary work. There is, however, a danger with private symbols that one has to be aware of.