Book Review: The art of fiction by David Lodge (Penguin) - Part 11

Here are my favourite quotes/notes. I also added videos and/or links. This should not deter you from reading the whole book which is made up of texts and explanations and is fascinating and engaging.

30 - Symbolism

Roughly speaking, anything that "stands for" something else is a symbol, but the process operates in many different ways. A cross may symbolize Christianity in one context, by association with the Crucifixion, and a road intersection in another, by diagrammatic resemblance. Literary symbolism is less easily decoded than these examples, because it tries to be original and tends towards a rich plurality, even ambiguity, of meaning (all qualities that would be undesirable in traffic signs or religious icons, especially the former). 

31 - Allegory
Allegory is a specialized form of symbolic narrative, which does not merely suggest something beyond its literal meaning, but insists on being decoded in terms of another meaning. 

32 - Epiphany

An epiphany is, literally, a showing.
In modern fiction an epiphany often has the function performed by a decisive action in traditional narrative, providing a climax or resolution to a story or episode.