ELEMENTAL VISION: THE SYMBOLISM OF FIRE, WATER, EARTH, AND AIR IN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LITERATURE FROM MYTH TO MODERNITY

Abstract

The article explores the evolution of elemental symbology (fire, water, land, and air) in English-language literature, tracing their transformation from mythological origins to their nuanced roles in contemporary texts.The article’s primary aim is to investigate how these four classical elements have served as potent symbols, evolving in tandem with humanity’s shifting relationship to nature, identity, and the metaphysical realm. By examining works from ancient myths to modern novels, the article demonstrates how elemental imagery functions as a universal and adaptable metaphor, reflecting a culture’s changing concerns regarding history, existence, and the human condition. Fire, once depicted as a symbol of divine knowledge and destruction in mythological traditions, transforms into revolutionary power in Romantic poetry and a fragile beacon of hope in dystopian fiction. Water, in turn, which is traditionally linked to life and purity in mythological contexts, becomes a symbol of emotional depth, chaos, and psychological exploration in contemporary literature. Similarly, air, once associated with spirituality in early mythologies, evolves in modern texts to represent both freedom and the impermanence of human life. The land, initially a symbol of stability and fertility, takes on ecological and political significance in contemporary works, serving as a repository of trauma, history, and identity. It has been proved that the most significant symbolic stability and replication in the European literature is provided by the Biblical range of symbols and their meanings.Classical philosophic aureole and mythological connotation appear in the age of Renaissance and Romanticism. The contemporary literature stresses both the environmental and invective aspects. This study underscores the enduring significance of the four elements (fire, water, land, and air) in literature, highlighting their dual role as reflections of humanity’s changing perceptions of its place in the world and as responses to the evolving understanding of nature, existence, and the cosmos. Through these elemental symbols, literature engages with fundamental questions of life, meaning, and the natural world.