Weekly Reflection - Week 3

I have never been a fan of symbolism. In photography class in college, everyone was always searching for a deeper meaning behind the photo. In literature, we were taught to look for the symbolism behind what the author was trying to say. The problem is, I think we try to read too much into things. Sometimes, a photograph of a tree can be simply be a great photo of a tree. A red dress in a book could occur simply because the author liked the color. Most of the time, I don’t think the meaning that we glisten from these sources is even what the artist intended, we simply project our own thoughts onto their works. Not everything has to have a greater meaning behind it, and we look so hard for that hidden message, we forget how to take things at face value, and we end up projecting our own ideas onto their works.

While we were learning about the symbolism at the cemetery this week, I learned that markings on monuments have a different purpose. Monument markings are deliberate. The people that chose these markings did so trying to convey what was important to them in a very limited amount of space. While some of them are easy to decipher, others take some work. These are a few that I found the most interesting. 

                                                   Weeping Willow - Symbolizes Eternal Life

                                         All-seeing eye, and three-link chain - The eye of God, and the Trinity

             Wheat - sybolizes a long and fruitful life - usually someone who has lived more than seventy years.

               Ivy and Beer Brewing Utensils - person most likely brewed beer, and the ivy signifies eternal life.

 Lyre with broken string - A lyre usually represents heavenly music, but from my research, a lyre with a broken string represents disharmony in the world.

               Shield with stars and stripes - perhaps a military career? Or simply patriotic?

                                         Heart in Hand - symbolic of charity

                                            Masonic symbol - on the opposite side

                                          A star, with letters beneath, believed to be a masonic award