Allegory is a story or poem which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Abstract ideas and concepts, political or historical situations are represented through the characters , events and the setting of the story. Although the story in an allegory appears to be simple, it always has a more serious, deeper meaning; the characters and the events of the story may also stand for something larger than what they literally stand for.
Therefore, the story and characters are multidimensional. In this story, Plato describes a group of people who have been chained to the wall of the cave their whole lives.
He then goes on to describe how an escaped person would find the reality outside the cave. Symbolism is essential to allegory, but it can also be found in any literary work that is not considered an allegory. As a literary device, allegory functions as a means of expressing abstract and complex ideas in a way that is understandable and approachable for the reader.
This is effective for readers in that allegory is often a simple narrative that represents a much larger moral or meaning about society, human nature, and even religion. Allegorical characters may represent historical or well-known persons and plot situations may represent actual events.
However, allegory just alludes to these interpretations; the connections are not stated explicitly. First, the narrative itself must feature enough material and literary elements to stand alone as a story. Second, the allegorical symbols must be somewhat accessible to the reader for interpretation. If the allegory features symbols that are extremely obscure or if the surface narrative is inadequate, then the allegory is ineffective.
The distance created by allegory between the writer and the subject allows controversial topics to be addressed. This is effective for readers as well in that the subject matter of an allegory is symbolic, not literally referenced.
Through symbolism, allegory can more comfortably address topics such as war, religion, human nature, etc, for both the writer and reader. It takes great literary skill to write effective allegory. This is due to the necessity of the surface story being able to stand by itself while the symbolic narrative must be accessible and understandable for the reader at the same time. Allegory is therefore a very artistic use of literary skill. Certain abstract concepts can be difficult for readers to fully grasp.
This is particularly true when it comes to philosophical theories and higher-level reasoning. Allegory is a very effective literary device. Here are some examples of allegory and how it adds to the significance of well-known literary works:. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves.
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Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Editions can help. Allegory Definition What is an allegory? Some additional key details about allegory: Some allegories have morals that are easy to discern, such as the example of "The Tortoise and The Hare," but others can be so subtle that it becomes unclear whether the author intended for the story to have a double meaning or be an allegory at all.
Although all allegories use symbolism heavily, not all writing that uses symbolism qualifies as allegory. Allegories are characterized by a use of symbolism that permeates the entire story, to the extent that essentially all major characters and their actions can be understood as having symbolic significance. An allegory can be long and extend over an entire book or even a series of books, or it can be short or a part of a longer work such as the Allegory of the Cave in Book 7 of Plato's Republic.
Allegory Pronunciation Here's how to pronounce allegory: al -ih-gore-ee Allegory vs. Symbolism Allegory and symbolism are often confused, but they are not the same thing. Symbolism is the use of symbols, usually physical objects, to represent abstract ideas or qualities.
For instance, in To Kill a Mockingbird the mockingbird symbolizes innocence and beauty. Allegory is a work that makes extensive use of symbolism in order to communicate a broader moral or meaning. Nearly every aspect of an allegory—from characters, to objects, to dialogue, to settings, to major plot events—can typically be interpreted as having a secondary, symbolic meaning that fits into the allegory's broader meaning.
For instance, in the 17th-century allegory Pilgrim's Progress , the protagonist named "Christian" and his journey, as well as every other character, object, and location he interacts with along the way, symbolically fit into a larger moral or lesson about the proper "path" to reach heaven.
How Allegories Use Symbolism Allegories use symbolism in all sorts of ways. Characters, events, locations, and objects in allegories usually symbolize: Virtues, vices, or other abstract ideas. For instance, a crooked banker might symbolize greed, while the character of Mr. Legality in the allegory Pilgrim's Progress symbolizes a viewpoint that prioritizes the law over faith in Jesus Christ.
Real people and specific historical events. For example, one character might symbolize Queen Elizabeth I, or two characters might symbolize opposing sides in the American Civil War. Not All Symbolism is Allegory While allegories do involve a lot of symbolism, the presence of symbolism in a work does not automatically make that work an allegory. Its characters are not very complex or deep: they're meant to embody virtues or ideas more than they are meant to resemble real people.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter contains lots of symbolism, but it is not an allegory. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, as well as every other significant character exhibit a great deal of psychological and emotional complexity and individuality. While the novel is full of symbols, the complexity of the characters mean that it wouldn't really make sense to say that The Scarlet Letter is an allegory about adultery.
Rather, it's a novel that is literally about characters in Puritan times who are affected by adultery, and the novel also has symbolic aspects to deepen and intensify its various themes. In short, all allegories are highly symbolic, but not all symbolic writing is allegorical. Types of Allegory There are two main types of allegory. Historical allegories: Writing in this category allegorizes historical figures and events. Writers of this kind of allegory may be using symbols to mask the true subject of their writing for instance, to avoid censorship or punishment , or to effectively distill a complex history into a more simplified and vivid story that will engage readers on an emotional and aesthetic level.
A good example of this type of allegory is George Orwell's Animal Farm , which corresponds pretty closely to the events of the Russian revolution. Conceptual allegories: This kind of allegory uses characters and events to symbolize abstract things rather than actual events or people. For example, it's common for writers of conceptual allegories to use characters that embody particular moral qualities, such as purity or love. Most religious and social allegories fall under this category, since they usually don't have to do with a specific person or historical event, but rather some virtue or vice more generally.
In "The Pardoner's Tale," a story in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales , a character known as the Pardoner asserts that greed is the root of all evil, and illustrates the point using an allegory in which three drunken men set out to find a character known as "Death," but find a small fortune in gold instead. They end up killing each other in an attempt to secure the entire treasure. The three men can be said to embody greed. Allegory vs. Parable People often confuse allegories with parables—another, similar type of story that makes heavy use of symbolism to convey meaning.
Here are some of the key differences between allegory and parable: Morality: Parables are didactic, meaning that they are intended to teach the listener something. Therefore, parables always have a moral or a lesson. For instance, religious figures like Jesus and Buddha constantly used parables to impart their beliefs to others.
Allegories, by contrast, do not always have a moral: they may simply be concerned with retelling a historical event from a certain perspective, or with conveying a complex idea about the world without turning it into a lesson. Length: Parables are always short, whereas an allegory can be as long as a entire book or film.
Subtlety: Since the purpose of parables is to teach a moral lesson, the symbolic meaning of a parable is almost always immediately clear.
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