Allegory

Etymology and Meanings of Literary Device of Allegory

Originally, the literary device of allegory seems to have been derived from two Greek terms alos which means other, and agoria which means speaking. After entering Latin and French language, it appeared in late Middle English as an allegory.

It means a story in narrative or verse having double meanings.

In grammar, it is a noun with plural allegories.

Definition of Literary Device of Allegory

An allegory in literature is a story or a poem having specific political and social messages behind the lines or at least there is one other message besides the given literal story. It could be a movie, too. Some other literary devices/terms close to allegory are story, tale, myth, legend, parable, and myth.

Common Examples of Literary Device Allegory

1. Political stories in the shape of pygmies or animals such as Animal Farm by George Orwell
2. Religious stories of the people having moral or religious lessons such as The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
3. Social stories such as The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
4. Moral stories such as Aesop’s Fables

Literary Examples of Allegory

Example # 1

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

The story comprises the tale of a sailor, Ishmael, who takes the fancy of a giant whale that dodges them everywhere. However, when he meets Captain Ahab, both of them chase it despite having predictions of their bad luck. They meet several accidents and in the final battle, the captain loses his life, while Ishmael has a close shave. The story is, thus, not only a tale of man’s search for meanings, but also relates to the religious morality of avoiding revenge, arrogance, and self-centeredness. Therefore, it is a religious as well as metaphysical allegory.

Example # 2

The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser

The story of The Faerie Queene comprises a total of six books with each having a story of a knight about a specific virtue. For example, the first book relates the story of the Redcrosse Knight, the second relates the story of Sir Guyon, the third relates the story of a lady knight, Britomart, the fourth a friendship story, while the last two books are about Sir Artegall and Sir Calidore. As it relates to virtue, religion, and politics simultaneously, it is a religious as well as political and social allegory.

Example # 3

“Rapppaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The story of “Rappaccini’s Daughter” comprises the beautiful daughter of Dr. Rappaccini and his beautiful garden of poisonous herbs. The young man, Giovanni, becomes the victim of the alliance of the father and daughter though Beatrice dies by the end, clearing her position in this saga. The story seems to be a religious allegory as Giovanni and Beatrice bear a resemblance with Adam and Eve and the garden of Dr. Rappaccini seems to be the Garden of Eden. Therefore, it seems a religious allegory.

Example # 4

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Despite having some truths in the storyline, The Old Man and The Sea has been categorized as a religious allegory as Santiago has been termed a Christ-like figure having endurance and patience to undergo extreme suffering to the point that defeats the Marlin, a fish that symbolizes worldly obstacles. Although the old man is not virtuous or deeply religious, he vows to say hymns and prayers when the fish faces defeat. This leads to several allegorical interpretations of the storyline.

How to Create an Allegory

Creating an allegory is not a difficult task for students. A story could comprise animals, insects, birds, living things, or even ideas having names and titles to demonstrate a moral or social lesson by the end. However, the most difficult thing is to associate the storyline with some ethical framework, for every region in the world having a specific social structure has a separate ethical or moral framework. Therefore, the universally successful allegories are those which comprise universal ethical ideas such as honesty, justice, temperance, and wisdom.  Therefore, when creating an allegorical novel or short story, keep in mind the following points.

1. Create a plan having characters (animals, birds, human beings or ideas).
2. Create a narrative structure.
3. Beautify it with other devices using descriptive language.
4. Clearly leave a moral/social/ethical message for the readers.
5. Use universal morals such as courage, honesty or temperance, and justice.

Benefits of Using an Allegory

1. Using an allegory in stories, poems and events is beneficial for writers, thinkers, and poets as direct criticism was not possible in the old regal and dictatorial regimes. Therefore, the writers used animals and birds for stories.
2. They, using such characters, helped themselves to convey their messages and propagate their ideas to the public.
3. They also used to hide criticism and avoid conflicts. Even now, the writers use allegories to avoid religious backlash, political violence, and government restrictions to convey their messages to the readers and audiences.

Allegory in Literary Theory

1. Social, political, religious, and moral allegories have continued appearing on the scene such as Aesop’s Fables, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, morality plays, and travelogues of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. However, as it is written in a language understood differently, it means that the text presents another structural reality encoded in the story.
2. Therefore, in the interpretation of literature, allegory is an important element of Russian formalism as well as the New Criticism including Structuralism and Post-Structuralism. Yet, it has not lost its significance in postmodernism and post-truth theoretical lenses applied to interpret modern narratives.
3. Interestingly, Walter Benjamin has termed allegory as a proper theory having “pre-eminently a kind of experience.” He means that it exists and passes out having transitory nature having the experience of some event or incident as well as its intuition (Cowan 109-110). However, this theory is highly complex in aesthetic terms.

Suggesting Readings

Abrams, Meyer Howard, and Geoffrey Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.

Cowan, Bainard. “Walter Benjamin’s Theory of Allegory.” New German Critique, no. 22, 1981, pp. 109–122. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/487866. Accessed 15 June 2021.

Auger, Peter. The Anthem Dictionary of Literary Terms and Theory. Anthem Press, 2010. Print. Quilligan, Maureen. The Language of Allegory. Cornell University Press, 2018. Print.

Suggested read: Literary Device Blank Verse