Symbolism was an artistic and literary movement that embraced individualism where artists were free to express their emotions through their art. Symbolism art had more lines, shapes, forms, and colors. It rejected the conventionalism of Classicism and played a significant role in paving the way for Modernism. Chapter 15 is titled ‘Symbolism and the Dialects of Retreat’; it discusses the common themes as well as the dissimilarities between Symbolism and Modernism. This paper reviews the works of the various artists presented in the chapter.