allegory
Metaphor as story
An allegory is an extended metaphor.
While a metaphor represents one thing in terms of another, an allegory is a narrative in which abstract ideas (often relating to human existence) are represented with concrete or physical entities.
A statue of Justice, depicted as a blindfolded woman holding scales, is an allegory.
Most people think of an allegory as being narrative (as in a fable or fairytale) but an allegory can also be visual or musical.
Instructive allegorical narrative
- fableMoral tale with animals
- narrativeAccount of events
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
symbolism · analogy · personification · archetype · motif · subtext · figurative · allusion
Ancient Greek fable writer
- tortoiseLand-dwelling shelled reptile
- hareLarge wild lagomorph
- foxCunning wild canine
- grapesClustered vine fruit
crow · ant · grasshopper · Plato · cave · Republic · Ovid · Metamorphoses
Moral goodness or merit
- viceBad habit or deputy
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
- sinViolation of divine law
- redemptionRecovery or moral restoration
justice · conscience · wisdom · folly · prudence · everyman · morality play · lesson
Allegorical journey to salvation
- BunyanFolklore's colossal woodcutter
- prodigal sonReturning repentant offspring
- sowerOne who plants seeds
- mustard seedSmall pungent spice grain
lost sheep · vineyard · talents · fig tree · exegesis · hermeneutics · scripture · sermon
Satirical novella about rebellion
- satireMockery exposing vice
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
Orwell · oppression · revolution · corruption · power · tyranny · 1984 · Gulliver's Travels
Fire-stealing benefactor of mortals
- OrpheusLegendary Greek musician
- IcarusMythical overreacher who fell
- PersephoneGreek underworld queen
- underworldRealm of the departed
descent · Narcissus · Pandora · labyrinth · Minotaur · hero's journey · transformation · hubris
parable
Instructive allegorical narrative
metaphor · symbolism · analogy · personification · archetype · motif · subtext · figurative · allusion · emblem
Aesop
Ancient Greek fable writer
grapes · crow · ant · grasshopper · Plato · cave · Republic · Ovid · Metamorphoses · Spenser
virtue
Moral goodness or merit
- viceBad habit or deputy
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
- sinViolation of divine law
redemption · justice · conscience · wisdom · folly · prudence · everyman · morality play · lesson · didactic
Pilgrim's Progress
Allegorical journey to salvation
- BunyanFolklore's colossal woodcutter
- prodigal sonReturning repentant offspring
- sowerOne who plants seeds
mustard seed · lost sheep · vineyard · talents · fig tree · exegesis · hermeneutics · scripture · sermon · prophetic
Animal Farm
Satirical novella about rebellion
- satireMockery exposing vice
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
- propagandaBiased information for influence
Orwell · dystopia · oppression · revolution · corruption · power · tyranny · 1984 · Gulliver's Travels · Swift
Prometheus
Fire-stealing benefactor of mortals
- OrpheusLegendary Greek musician
- IcarusMythical overreacher who fell
- PersephoneGreek underworld queen
underworld · descent · Narcissus · Pandora · labyrinth · Minotaur · hero's journey · transformation · hubris · fate
- animal fablesfable, fables, beast fables, beast fable, animal fable
- Italian LiteratureDante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri
- poetry termspoetry, rhyme, verse, rhythm, meter
- allegoriesfable, parable, Animal Farm, Pilgrim's Progress, Everyman
- ancient wisdomVedas, proverb, Upanishads, maxim, Epicureanism
- early prose fictionromance, fable, fables, tale, tales
allegoryplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
literal interpretation · reportage · nonfiction · documentary · realism
allegorynonfiction
Literature about real events
history · chronicle · journalism · documentary · true story
allegoryslice of life
Realistic everyday depiction
social realism · vérité · photorealism · true story · case study
- literary allegorySymbolic story representing ideas
- allegory of the caveParable about mistaking illusions for reality
- religious allegorySymbolic tale conveying faith
- political allegoryStory symbolizing governmental themes
- biblical allegorySymbolic religious narrative
- allegorical taleStory representing abstract ideas
allegorical, allegories, allegorize, allegorically, allegorized, allegoric, allegorizing