The notion of the symbol is at the root of the Symbolist movement, but this symbol is different from the way it was used and understood in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In the Symbolist movement, a symbol is not an allegory. The Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck defined its essence in an article that appeared on April 24, 1887, in L'Art moderne. He wrote that the notion of a symbol in the Symbolist movement is the opposite of the notion of the symbol in classical usage: instead of going from the abstract to the concrete (Venus, incarnated in the statue, represents love), it goes from the concrete to the abstract, from "what is seen, heard, felt, tasted, and sensed to the evocation of the idea." This volume explores the complexity of the Symbolist movement, its origins and its influence on the art and literature of the twentieth century. The volume is divided in three major parts: Origins of the Symbolist Movement, the Symbolist Movement, and its Consequences, manifested in both visual arts and literature. It records the studies of a group of scholars, most of whom met and discussed these topics together for the first time in 2009. As such, it is not an encyclopedic treatment of topics in the area of Symbolism.

Many articles illuminate the issues of French and Belgian Symbolism in literature, painting, sculpture, and theater. There are also articles that address issues of Pre-Raphaelite art and of Italian Symbolism. The collection gives voice to Greek Symbolism in painting and literature and to Russian and Turkish Symbolism in literature. While illuminating the specificity of Symbolism in each respective country in art and literature, these articles also demonstrate the crucial role of French Symbolism in the development of the Symbolist movement in those countries. The volume attempts to give a glimpse into the power of the Symbolist movement and the nature of its fundamental and interdisciplinary role in the evolution of art and literature of the twentieth century. We hope that an expanding group, a society of Art, Literature and Music in Symbolism and Decadence (ALMSD), born out of the first meeting, will continue to further this discussion at future conferences and in the printed conference proceedings.