Question about [symbolism]

Question

symbolism is so far the most asked tag on the site. Its tag wiki says:

For questions concerning symbolic features in a work of literature. A symbol is used in a book to represent another concept. You should use this tag if the questions concerns a symbol.

However, I have taken it to be a tag that is more related to the meanings and themes of works in general. I thought of this question while debating whether to add symbolism to What does "The Edge of Doom" mean?.

Does the tag include "symbols" that are not physically talked about in the text? Can it include the meanings of passages or works as well as representation of objects, or is this definition too broad?

Answer 1

I'd say including the meanings of actual lines from the literature is too broad. Perhaps try the meaning tag? (Thanks to Rand al'Thor for pointing this out in the comments.)

My reasoning is this: symbolism and the meaning of a work or specific parts of the work are two entirely separate things. Symbolism concerns the symbolic value an object or concept discussed in the literature might have, while a question discussing the meaning of certain phrases in a work of literature concerns how the language is used in context to determine its meaning. Therefore, I'd say we should use two separate tags for these two separate types of questions.