Concept in Definition ABC

Allegory is a literary device and is based on the hidden meaning of words. In this way, a narration with an apparent message it hides a different parallel message. Allegorical stories usually tell simple stories about individuals and animals, but deep down it is a reflection on abstract ideas.

Universal allegorical symbols

The figure of the dove communicates a concrete idea, the peace. Similarly, the fox symbolizes cunning, the lion symbolizes force, the raven the doom and the serpent represents the concept of evil.

To the margin From the resource of animals as symbols, allegory also resorts to personification. In this way, a character is presented as the symbol of an abstract idea. Thus the female figure with a blindfold and a balance in the hand it is the representation of justice, a warrior can represent the idea of ​​bravery and a skeleton wielding a scythe is the best known image of death.

In literary creation

In the history of the literature Greek fables represent one of the first allegorical stories. In these stories there is a double reading, the real and the symbolic or metaphorical. Thus, the stories of animals are presented as an analogy with human reality. The famous fable of the grasshopper and the ant originally attributed to Aesop conveys a clear moralizing message: work and perseverance have their reward, while

conduct lazy is a very pernicious temptation.

In Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" the author tells in the first person that he is lost in a dark jungle. Throughout the narrative, three ferocious beasts appear that make it difficult for him to walk, and in order to help Dante, the poet Virgilio appears and offers to be his guide.

They both go through hell and purgatory before reaching paradise. The development of the entire work is presented as an allegory in which there is actually a reflection on human sins and temptations.

Distinction between parable and allegory

Both are literary resources that have the objective of transmitting some kind of teaching. Despite an evident similarity between one and the other, they are different narrative approaches. The parable is a story inspired by everyday events with the purpose of communicating a message moral. The allegory has a more complex metaphorical dimension and in it different symbolic elements usually appear that give rise to all kinds of interpretations.

Photos: Fotolia - Prat

Themes in Allegory