For Allegory we have terms and definitions in 6 topics. The topics are Art, Drama, Etymology, Jewish History, Judaism and Poetry.

Allegory (Art)

An imaginative device used in literature and the visual arts whereby a work takes on a secondary meaning conveyed by SYMBOLS and allusions. Specialized knowledge may be required to interpret the secondary meaning.

Allegory (Drama)

A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning. Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities. The most famous example in English is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in which the name of the central character, Pilgrim, epitomizes the book's allegorical nature. Kay Boyle's story "Astronomer's Wife" and Christina Rossetti's poem "Up-Hill" both contain allegorical elements.

Allegory (Etymology)

From Greek allos meaning "other" and agora meaning gathering place (especially the marketplace). In times past, it was common to do one's chatting at the marketplace. Some of the topics discussed were clandestine in nature and when people spoke about them, for fear of being punished, they would speak indirectly. That is to say, they would speak about one thing in such a way as to intimate the actual information to the listener. Thus, the persons discussing clandestine matters were said to be speaking of "other things" in the marketplace. Eventually the words joined and became associated with the act of speaking about one thing while meaning another.

Allegory (Jewish History)

(Greek, adj. allegorical, vb. allegorize). Usually used in reference to symbolic interpretation of scriptures or other authoritative materials, in Judaism and Islam as well as in Christianity. See midrash, tafsir.

Allegory (Judaism)

(Greek, adj. allegorical, vb. allegorize). Usually used in reference to symbolic interpretation of scriptures or other authoritative materials, in Judaism and Islam as well as in Christianity. See midrash, tafsir.

Allegory (Poetry)

A figurative illustration of truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience in a narrative or description by the use of symbolic fictional figures and actions which the reader can interpret as a resemblance to the subject's properties and circumstances.
Sidelight: Though similar to both a series of symbols and an extended metaphor, the meaning of an allegory is more direct and less subject to ambiguity than a symbol; it is distinguishable from an extended metaphor in that the literal equivalent of an allegory's figurative comparison is not usually expressed.
Sidelight: The term, allegoresis, means the interpretation of a work on the part of a reader; since, by definition, the interpretation of an allegory is an essential factor, the two terms function together in a complementary fashion.
Sidelight: Probably the best-known allegory in English literature is Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
(Compare Aphorism, Apologue, Didactic Poetry, Epigram, Fable, Gnome, Proverb)
(See also Allusion, Metaphor, Personification)

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