The use of symbolism in poetry is common. It takes a poem with a literal meaning and adds a figurative meaning to it. One can look at something with symbolism, see either the literal understanding or the figurative interpretation, and get something out of the poem. In any example of symbolism, a reader can look at the literal meaning and the figurative meaning in different degrees to make the poem as deep as they would like.
If they read the poem Curiosity with the literal translation in mind, they will see a comparison of dogs vs. cats and their individual behaviors that characterize each species. The speaker talks about cats in a way that makes them sound noble and audacious, whereas the dogs just seem like drooling creatures of habit. Cats go out and do a variety of things that may put them in danger, but if they get hurt from an incident, they always learn from it. They never tend to get hurt from the same things; it is always something new and unknown. Cats want to continue learning new things throughout their lives.
They wander to far off places, make love to all different types of lovers, make new human friends and just explore where they can. When the speaker talks of cats dying time and time again, he isnt meaning that they literally die. Instead, the speaker simply means that different things are continuously hurting the cats, they learn from it, and live to tell the tales. If a cat died because of curiosity it was only because the cat wanted to know what death was like and chose purposely to die and to experience something new. Dogs are very much creatures of habit. They stay with the same families in the same yard; get the same paper everyday and play with the same children. There is no risk in their lifestyle and therefore they rarely ever think or even live. If one chooses to never try something new, never try to feel something more than is expected, they will have never truly lived at all.
If they choose to look at the figurative side of the poem, they can relate the literal tale to human nature, diverse lifestyles of different people, and the different ways people look at love and pain. Some people are so terrified of feeling pain and having to go through losing someone that they will avoid love at all costs. To do this they will fill their lives with excess amounts of menial things to help them take their minds off of their loneliness. They will work as much as possible, join different social groups and spread themselves so thin with all their acquaintances that there wouldnt be any time or possibility of them falling in love. If they decide they dont want to meet new people because in doing that, they risk exposing themselves as well, then they will tend to stay with family and only those that they know well and know wont put them at risk of falling in love.
On the other hand, there are the people who take chances, knowing full well that they are at risk of being hurt at anytime. These people try not to look at the negative aspects of life, but instead look at love and how so many people share it everyday. They see the positive side of life so they can experience all the good that comes along with the bad. They work but they dont let it consume their entire being. They may know a lot of people, but they also have that special small group of friends that they share very special things with. They get to enjoy life by embracing it and giving love to those who need it.
Although they take chances and get hurt, they try to learn from their mistakes and grow with each new event. They are the people who truly live their lives and learn and grow from things instead of hiding. Pain is a given, but with all the joys they have the privilege to experience on their journey through life, pain is a very small price to pay. Living is growing and experiencing both love and pain. Without all of that, one will never know what life is really like.
