Allegory
An allegory is a narrative which has both a literal meaning and a representative one. Allegory may be sustained throughout a work (as in the medieval morality play) or comprise an episode in literature of any genre. There are two main types of allegory:
- the historical and political variety, in which historical persons and events are referred to;
- the allegory of ideas, in which characters personify abstract concepts and the story has a didactic purpose.
George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945) is a modern example of the first type, describing the development of Russian communism in terms of a revolt by farm animals.
The allegory of ideas is particularly common in medieval literature, as in Dante's Divine Comedy (1307-21), in which Dante the pilgrim represents a common person seeking salvation, both helped and hindered by his reliance upon Reason (in the person of Virgil) rather than Faith. Fables and parables are types of allegory.
Since meaningful stories are nearly always applicable to larger issues, allegories may be read into many stories, sometimes distorting their author's overt meaning. For instance, many people have suggested that "The Lord of the Rings" is an allegory for the World Wars. Not every work of fiction is an allegory.
Allegories can be visual as well as written. An example of a simple visual allegory is the image of the grim reaper. Viewers understand that the image of the grim reaper is a symbolic representation of death.