What is an Allegory?
Allegory is a literary device that is used to express abstract ideas in the form of objects, actions, or events. The word “allegory” is derived from its Latin origin allegoria, which means implying something else.
An allegory usually has two parts: a surface narrative and a hidden, underlying meaning.
It is used to make complex topics like politics, philosophy, or religion simpler and more interesting for readers. It’s a well-known device found in all forms of art. Poets such as Dante, Spenser, and Poe have used allegories in their acclaimed works. Artists have also used allegories in their paintings to showcase complex ideas of love, life, and death. Let us look at a few examples of allegories found in literature.
Allegory Examples in Literature
Writers find it safe to use allegories in their works because they can distance themselves from sensitive or controversial issues. Allegories allow them to not discuss such issues explicitly. This way, they can critique societal or political realities without being directly held accountable.
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a clear political allegory. The story’s surface narrative is about farm animals overthrowing the farm owner; however, it is actually a veiled criticism of Soviet communism. It is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Golding’s Lord of the Flies has many allegories, including a moral allegory; the book showcases the conflict between the powers of democracy and communism, which is similar to the times of World War II. On the surface, the narrative is about a bunch of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis is a biblical allegory. This type of allegory involves biblical themes such as a conflict between good and evil. In the book, the character of the lion Aslan is a representation of Christ. There are instances of resurrection in the book, which run parallel to Jesus’s resurrection from the Bible. The main characters are referred to as the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.
The most well-known allegory is Plato’s Allegory of the Cave also known as Plato’s cave. In this classical allegory, Plato talks about how prisoners in a cave interpret objects only from their shadows. The cave is a symbolic representation of humans living in the world. Prisoners deduce conclusions from the shadows of objects instead of actual objects. This is an allegory for the contradiction between reality and one’s interpretation of it. The real world is different from what these prisoners see. These types of allegories are present in stories from the classics of Ancient Greece and Rome and are called classical allegories. They serve as philosophy lessons for humans.
There are some allegories that were created in recent times. J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is seen as an allegory for World War I; it depicts the battle between good and evil. It is a modern allegory. Works that were unintended for allegory but are subjected to interpretation are also included under this type of allegory.
The secular literary work Romance of the Rose was most influential in the Middle Ages and had medieval allegories. These allegories started as a Christian method for organizing the discrepancies between the Old and New Testaments and have a moral, religious, political, or philosophical meaning. This work later influenced many medieval writers.
Allegory vs Metaphor vs Symbolism
Allegories also use personification of abstract concepts and are often confused with metaphors and symbolism. But there are clear differences between the three.
A metaphor is a figure of speech and is a direct substitution of a person or an object by something that shares its characteristics. A simple sentence such as “Life is a highway” is a metaphor where life itself is compared to a highway. Symbolism is more complex than a metaphor and stands alone in a sentence without its comparative half. In the sentence “Everything was barren until the sun came up again,” the sun symbolizes life or new beginnings. Both metaphor and symbolism are simpler concepts and don’t have a deep significance.
An allegory is an extended narrative of a character, place, or event’s interpretation. It is more complex and deeper in meaning than both symbolism and metaphor. The idea presented in an allegory is usually of a moral, social, or religious significance.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is an allegorical representation of sin and how society punishes it. Superficially, the tale is about a character who wears the scarlet letter “A” because she committed adultery. It is actually a criticism of the hypocrisy within the Puritanical society. The abstract in this novel has greater significance and complexity, unlike a metaphor or symbolism.
Tips About Using Allegory
Allegories are intricate but by following these useful tips, one can effectively incorporate them into their writing.
- Pick a crucial idea that has relevance to society. It should be complex and can be of political, philosophical, or religious significance.
- Plan out the allegory based on the idea chosen. This is done by translating real-world abstract ideas into stories, scenes, and characters.
- Keep the characters of the story related and non-confusing for the readers; this will help readers understand the characters better.
- Leave clues between the lines; do not over-explain or be too subtle with the abstract. This way, the readers will not miss the point of the allegory.
- Keep the surface narrative independent and sensible; the underlying message can be abstract and subjected to readers’ interpretation.
Allegories allow for the expression of ideas in an intriguing manner. Using them can help writers indicate hidden meanings of moral significance through characters, events, and settings, creating an enriching experience for the reader.
