animal symbolism
Bestiary of metaphors
Animal symbolism is the use of animals to represent abstract ideas, qualities, or concepts.
A lion may symbolize courage, an owl wisdom, a snake temptation or rebirth.
The practice spans literature, religion, heraldry, and visual art: The novel's animal symbolism draws on Native American traditions.
Different cultures assign different meanings to the same animal.
- anthropomorphismAttributing personality to things
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- creation mythsTraditional origin-of-everything tales
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
allegory · zodiac · animism · spirit animals · sacred animals · heraldry · bestiary · mythology · mythical creatures · fable · emblem · coat of arms · divine messenger · dream interpretation · iconography · archetype · deity · beast
- symbolism types
- animal sayings
- literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
- animal behavior storiesfable, fables, beast fable, talking animals, Aesop
- animal folklorebeast fables, folklore creatures, mythical creatures, legendary beasts, mythic beasts
- nature writingnature writing, Walden, nature poems, wilderness, nature journal
animal symbolismscientific classification
Systematic organism categorization
animal biology · natural history · ethology · empirical observation · species identification
animal symbolismscientific illustration
Accurate visual for research