Allegory
An extended metaphor in which characters or events stand for abstract ideas.
An allegory is an extended narrative in which the literal events represent abstract ideas, moral lessons, or historical situations. Plato's cave, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Orwell's Animal Farm, and Aesop's fables are classical and modern allegories at different scales.
Allegory is metaphor lengthened into story. Every element — character, setting, action — carries a parallel meaning. Reading an allegory is a double act: you follow the surface narrative while keeping the symbolic layer in view.
The form has fallen in and out of fashion. The medieval period prized allegory; modernism distrusted it; contemporary fiction often uses it ironically. Famous lines from allegorical works are some of the most-quoted in English.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Keep reading the glossary
A figure of speech that describes one thing as if it were another.
A short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson — most famously, the parables of Jesus.
An indirect reference to another text, person, event, or work — often quoted.
The art of persuasive speaking and writing — the discipline behind every great quoted line.