Have you ever wondered if authors really meant all the symbolism that English teachers seem to beat out of books? I certainly have. And when I began writing, I wondered even more.

Recently Mental Floss unearthed authors’ responses to high school student Bruce McAllister’s symbolism questions that he mailed to 150 authors in 1963. They revealed a few responses in the article titled “Famous Novelists on Symbolism in Their Work and Whether It Was Intentional.” Long name, but interesting responses. Some of the authors agreed with each other; others gave the opposite response, like Joseph Heller and Ralph Ellison to question 3.

After reading this article, I didn’t have an answer to what the albatross symbolizes, if anything at all, in Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, but I did decide that, as a writer, what I write has to come naturally. If I stumble upon a wonderful symbol to include in a story, I’ll use it! But if not, no problem. It is better to have an excellent, symbol-less work than one with a see-through plot, poor dialogue, clinging to that sickly thought of a symbol unnecessary to create good literature.