Sons and Lovers is an excellent example of a realism heightened by poetic intensification, such as a symbolic identification of character with animals and nature. Of Miriam, for example, Lawrence writes that "It could never be mentioned [around her] that the mare was in foal," and he symbolically identifies her with the madonna lily. Flower imagery is frequently used to identify the nature of a character. In addition, Lawrence used organic metaphors to define character; he particularly favored the image of a plant which either grows to full bloom and then naturally decays, or,...
Source: Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction, ©2001 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 372 words.)
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