allegorize
Tell through symbols
To allegorize is to interpret or represent something as allegory—finding symbolic meaning beneath the surface narrative.
Medieval scholars allegorized scripture, reading Adam and Eve as figures for the soul's fall.
Writers allegorize when they encode abstract ideas in concrete stories: Orwell allegorized totalitarianism through a farmyard fable.
The practice can illuminate hidden meanings or impose them where none exist.
Instructive allegorical narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- epicImpressively grand in scope
tale · Pilgrim's Progress · Aesop · Dante · Bunyan · morality play · bestiary · apologue
Representational sign or device
- figurativeRepresenting through imagery
- typifyEmbody characteristic traits
- signifyTo convey meaning
- representStand in for
personify · archetype · embody · symbolize · encode · veil · mask · disguise
Critical textual interpretation
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- decodeConvert from cipher
- explicateClarify through detailed analysis
- elucidateTo make understood
commentary · construe · exposition · unpack · paraphrase · translate · discern · read
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- conceitExaggerated self-admiration
- extended metaphorFigurative comparison throughout text
allusion · imagery · trope · personification · metonymy · synecdoche · irony · satire
parable
Instructive allegorical narrative
epic · tale · Pilgrim's Progress · Aesop · Dante · Bunyan · morality play · bestiary · apologue · exemplum
emblem
Representational sign or device
- figurativeRepresenting through imagery
- typifyEmbody characteristic traits
- signifyTo convey meaning
represent · personify · archetype · embody · symbolize · encode · veil · mask · disguise · abstract
exegesis
Critical textual interpretation
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
- decodeConvert from cipher
- explicateClarify through detailed analysis
elucidate · commentary · construe · exposition · unpack · paraphrase · translate · discern · read · moralize
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- conceitExaggerated self-admiration
extended metaphor · allusion · imagery · trope · personification · metonymy · synecdoche · irony · satire · figurative language
allegorizeliteralize
Make figurative become actual
take at face value · demythologize · historicize · concretize
- allegorical taleStory representing abstract ideas
- religious allegoriesSymbolic narratives conveying faith
- allegorical novelExtended symbolic narrative work
- allegorical charactersFigures representing ideas
- allegorical literatureWriting with hidden meanings
allegorical, allegories, allegorically, allegorized, allegoric, allegorizing