The Sorrows of Young Werther: Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Poetry

Throughout the book Werther’s choice of poetry either symbolizes the mood he seeks to achieve or foreshadows the one he will soon succumb to. In one of his earliest letters Werther mentions the calming nature of Homer’s poetry, and until he meets Charlotte, Werther is able to sustain this tranquil state. He is reading Homer when he enjoys his first pleasant encounter with the two young boys and their mother, but by the time Charlotte and Albert give him a volume of Homer for his birthday, he is already so addled that he has planned his departure to court. At the ball Charlotte’s spontaneous reference to Klopstock, a contemporary poet known for the religious aspects of his romantic poetry, is the first shared understanding between her and Werther. From that night on Werther will love Charlotte with a religious fervor.

Goethe and many of his peers felt that Ossian, a cycle of poems by the 18th-century Scottish poet James MacPherson, was one of the greatest works of literature. Ossian symbolizes Werther’s extreme emotions of desperation, hopelessness, passion, torment, grief, and rage. These are also the hallmarks of the “storm and stress” German literary movement, of which The Sorrows of Young Werther is a prime example.

Trees

Trees represent Werther’s deep feelings of love, loyalty, sorrow, and grief at various stages throughout the book. As an artist, trees inspire him and he sees venerable, older trees such as the walnut trees at the old vicar’s house as a symbol for all that is good, strong, loyal, and lasting between people who love each other. When he sees that the new vicar’s wife has cut them down, it foreshadows his demise, during which he compares himself to a tree in autumn that is losing its leaves. After he takes his own life, he receives his final wish and is buried beneath the lime trees that he loved.

Charlotte’s Ribbons

When Werther meets Charlotte for the first time she is wearing a dress with pink ribbons, and those ribbons are a symbol of Werther’s idealized view of the perfection of her young womanhood. Charlotte’s ribbons are fanciful and flirtatious but innocent, and the color pink is a symbol of her innocence and virtue. When she includes one of the ribbons in Werther’s birthday gift from her and Albert, however, she is still chaste but her intentions might not be innocent. An item of one’s own clothing is a very personal thing and giving Werther a piece of her garment is tantamount to giving him a piece of herself.

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