symbolism

noun

• 1the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities:he has always believed in the importance of symbolism in garden art
• symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts:the old-fashioned symbolism of flowers

• 2 (also Symbolism) an artistic and poetic movement or style using symbolic images and indirect suggestion to express mystical ideas, emotions, and states of mind. It originated in late 19th-century France and Belgium, with important figures including Mallarmé, Maeterlinck, Verlaine, Rimbaud, and Redon.