Allegory: A Literary Form

Allegory: A Literary Form

Introduction

Allegory is a powerful literary form. It is a narrative in prose or verse that carries two levels of meaning. On the surface, it tells a simple story. But underneath, it gives a deeper moral, political, religious, or philosophical message. Writers use allegory to explain big truths through simple characters, events, and settings. This double meaning makes allegory both enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Types of Allegory

There are mainly two types of allegory. The first is historical and political allegory. In this type, real historical people and events are represented through symbolic characters and actions. For example, in John Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel, the biblical figure King David stands for Charles II of England, while Absalom represents the Duke of Monmouth. The biblical story of rebellion becomes a way of showing the political conflict of Dryden’s own time.

The second type is the allegory of ideas. Here, characters and events represent abstract qualities or concepts like Faith, Hope, Despair, or Wisdom. John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress is a famous example of this kind. In the story, Christian, the main character, leaves the City of Destruction to reach the Celestial City. On his journey, he meets symbolic figures such as Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Faithful, Hopeful, and Giant Despair. He also passes through symbolic places like the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Every part of the story reflects a Christian’s spiritual journey toward salvation.

Allegory in Literature

Allegory has been used in all literary ages. In the Middle Ages, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Chaucer’s House of Fame, and Langland’s Piers Plowman are great allegorical works. These dream-vision poems present moral and spiritual truths through symbolic journeys. During the Renaissance, Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene combined moral, religious, political, and historical allegory in a single work. In the seventeenth century, John Milton’s Paradise Lost presented Sin and Death as allegorical figures, showing abstract ideas in human form.

In modern times, George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a well-known political allegory. The animals on the farm stand for leaders and groups from the Russian Revolution and later political history. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is also an allegorical satire, mocking the pride and foolishness of human society. Even poets like Keats used allegory, as seen in “To Autumn,” where the season is personified as a woman surrounded by harvest scenes. Writers such as Goethe, Shelley, and Franz Kafka also explored allegory in their works, showing that this form continues to be used across centuries.

Related Forms

Several related forms can also be seen as types of allegory. A fable is a short story, often with animals, that teaches a clear moral lesson. Aesop’s fables, Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s Tale, and Orwell’s Animal Farm belong to this tradition. A parable is a simple story about humans that has a hidden moral or spiritual lesson. The parables told by Jesus, like the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son, are famous examples. An exemplum is a short tale used in sermons to explain a moral point, as seen in Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Tale. Even many proverbs, such as “a stitch in time saves nine” or “people in glass houses should not throw stones,” work as mini-allegories.

Conclusion

Allegory is more than a way of telling stories. It is a method of expressing deeper truths through symbols, characters, and actions. It gives a double meaning: one simple and literal, the other hidden and significant. Allegory can be moral, religious, political, or social in nature. From ancient fables to modern novels, it has remained an important tool for writers. It makes literature more meaningful, thought-provoking, and memorable, because it allows readers to enjoy the story while also reflecting on the lessons behind it.

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