What is an Allegory?

"A man's life of any worth is a continual allegory - and very few eyes can see the mystery of his life - a life like the scriptures - figurative". ~ John Keats

English language is replete with many literary devices that make the language more attractive and self-explanatory. An allegory is one such figure of speech of the English language which signifies a meaning that is rhetoric and not literal.

A Brief Overview on Allegory

The origin of the word 'allegory' is from the Greek word 'allos' which means to speak. According to another theory, this term was first coined in the year 1382 and was taken from the Latin word 'allegoria', meaning veiled language. This literary technique is mainly used to portray a plot or story in an elaborative and imaginative manner rather than just sticking to the plain facts. It also emphasizes more on the moral of the stories, instead of the narrative details of the story. This literary device is used in a number of narrative works like poetry (or verse), prose and drama, etc. Allegory can be categorized as political or historical allegory and allegory of abstract themes. Works of spiritual development usually make use of the allegory of abstract themes and emotions like hatred, hope and malice, etc. are portrayed by the characters in these works.

Probably one of the best examples of allegory till date is considered to be Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Several references of allegory can also be found in the Holy Bible, particularly in the Old Testament and The Book of Revelation. In The Book of Revelation, the future is predicted in a number of hidden meanings. Even the parables of Jesus Christ were believed to be allegorical in nature. Allegory is actually an extended metaphor that makes the use of characters, locations and other components of a story that reveal the in-depth meaning rather than the superficial words. There are also many allegory poems that reveal the innermost feelings of the poet. A few of the poetic allegories worth a mention are Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser and John Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel. These poetic works are excellent portrayals of allegory.

Examples of Allegory

There are many allegorical references in a number of works of literature. The first declared purely allegorical work was believed to Psychomachia written by Prudentius in 400 CE. These literary works that are classified according to the era in which they were published and gained popularity. Given below are a few examples of allegory taken from all the three eras - classic, medieval and modern era.

• Aesop's Fables - Aesop
• De nuptiis philologiæ et Mercurii - Martianus Capella
• Encountering Trouble - Qu Yuan
• Phaedrus (Chariot Allegory) - Plato
• Roman de la Rose (The Romance of the Rose) - Guillame de Lorris
• The Trojan Women - Euripides
• Piers Plowman - William Langland
• Psychomachia - Prudentius
• The Book of the City of Ladies - Christine de Pizan
• The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
• The Pearl - John Steinbeck
• A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
• A Tale of a Tub - Jonathan Swift
• Animal Farm - George Orwell
• Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
• Moby Dick - Herman Melville
• Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
• The Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
• The Lord of the Flies - William Golding
• The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allan Poe

Many authors use allegory in writing to give the reader a different outlook of the world and allowing him to interpret things in a deeper meaning and also in a broader perspective.