A figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principal subject is described by another subject resembling it in its properties and circumstances. The real subject is thus kept out of view, and we are left to collect the intentions of the writer or speaker by the resemblance of the secondary to the primary subject.
Anything which represents by suggestive resemblance; an emblem.
A figure representation which has a meaning beyond notion directly conveyed by the object painted or sculptured.
Reading of Scripture that substitutes abstractions for the literal referents. (In Hebrew the equivalent term is remez, "hint.")
a literary work or visual imagery that functions on two or more levels of meaning by comparing objects to symbols outside the scope of the work. document.write('iframe src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adi/CNLiterature/;kword=college;sz=300x250;tile=3;ord=' + ordDart + '?" width="300" height="250" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" frameborder="0" scrolling=no borderCOLOR="#000000"'); if (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Gecko")==-1) {document.write('script language="JavaScript" src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/CNLiterature/;kword=college;sz=300x250;abr=!ie;tile=3;ord=' + ordDart + '?" type="text/javascript"\/script'); } document.write('/iframe');
(OALD)[U][C] (style of a) story, painting or description in which the characters and events are meant as symbols of purity, truth, patience, etc.
a play in which people, things, and happenings have another meaning. Example: "Dansen," an allegory by Bertolt Brecht, translated by Rose and Martin Kastner, 2m.
11,12 A metaphorical narrative in prose or verse in which fictional figures and actions usually represent truths or generalizations about human existence.
a symbolic representation
Story meant to express observations or truths about human existence. Individuals usually stand for humanity as a whole or for whole classes of people. Personified ideals may appear as characters, and particulars often symbolize more general concepts.
In the NT, typically a story in which truth or reality is represented symbolically through fictitious or idealized characters and situations. Jesus' parables are often allegorical in nature, and the book of Revelation, with its symbolic dream sequences and mythological monsters, is often interpreted allegorically. Such sayings/writings are intended to be interpreted figuratively, and can lead to misunderstanding when interpreted literally.
(literary term) an extended metaphor which often involves characterizing individuals and/or events at representing ideas such as Truth, Beauty, Life and Death.
A story in which people, things, and events have another meaning. Examples of allegory are Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Spenser's Faerie Queene, and Orwell's Animal Farm.
A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning.
a pictorial device in which characters or events stand for abstract ideas or principles, enabling what is represented to suggest deeper symbolic meanings; e.g., employed in the masterpieces by Botticelli and Vermeer.
a (usually) narrative description in which persons, places, and things appear in a sustained system of equivalents
Symbolic representation of abstract ideas, by means of allusive figures, fictitious persons and imaginary beings or objects.
a narrative wherein abstractions are made concrete for the purpose of communicating a moral
a short moral story (often with animal characters)
a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
an expressive style that uses fictional characters and events to describe some subject by suggestive resemblances; an extended metaphor
a concrete representation of an abstract idea or concept
a concrete representation of an idea or concept in a direct, one-to-one relationship
a depiction representing an abstract concept or idea
a description of one thing by using an image of another
a fictional story in which the characters or events are used in place of other figures or events
a figurative speech, wherein one thing is expressed, and another intended
a figure of speech (in rhetoric) or a story (in literature) in which an external object is described in such a way that we apply the description to our own inner experience
a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative have an underlying meaning, often involving social, political or religious criticism
a literary device in which an author uses the form of a person, place, or animal to represent an abstract idea
a meaning somewhat arbitrarily imposed upon an act or object, and thus the object leads us to some other reality only because we ourselves attach to it a signification that does not arise from the thing itself
a method of representation in which a person, abstract idea, or event stands for itself and for something else
an abstract representation of principals or ideas through the use of characters, figures or events
a narrative constructed by representing general concepts (Sin, Despair, and God) as persons
a narrative containing a double meaning, a literal rendering, and at the same time a spiritual allusion
a narrative in which all (or most) of the events, locales, and characters correspond systematically to the events and characters in a completely different context
a narrative in which the characters and events can be read both literally and figuratively
a narrative or visual description of one subject under the guise of another
a narrative related for the purpose of representing a higher truth
a narrative technique in which symbolic characters or actions are used to convey a message or teach a lesson
an extended metaphor, a story in which fictionalized characters and events stand for other people, things, events, or ideas
an extended metaphor, especially a story in which fictional characters and actions are used to understand and express aspects of concepts relating to human existence
an extended metaphor that goes through a whole narrative
an extended simile in narrative form with a point for point meaning to be drawn from each of its parts
an intentionally-obvious retelling of a story everyone knows, such as Adam and Eve , or a "story" from history, like Russian communism
a parabolic method of conveying instruction, spiritual truths being set forth under material figures
a prolonged metaphor
a purposely false story , i
a story consisting of a series of incidents which are analogous to a parallel series of happenings that they are intended to illustrate
a story illustrating an idea or a morale principal
a story in which all or at least many points illustrate something
a story in which objects, persons and actions in the story represent ideas that have meaning outside of the story
a story in which one thing is used to represent another thing
a story in which people, places, and things have a meaning quite different from and unrelated to their surface meaning
a story in which the main features are symbols of something else
a story that is created to portray a spiritual truth and it can be taken literally with the details pressed for meaning
a story that is usually not true to life and may be considered to be an extended metaphor (see below)
a story that uses character types to represent specific ideas and create a universal message
a story that uses its characters as symbols to show a deeper meaning for the reader to interpret
a story told through symbols, or an idea so expressed
a story where one symbol in the novel has a
a story where people, things or happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning
a story which actually represents something else - the best example i can think of for this is George Orwell's Animal Farm where the story of the pigs is allegoric to the communists in Russia
a story which has a hidden meaning corresponding to almost all of its details
a story which has hidden or symbolic meanings
a story which mirrors reality
a story whose characters, events or setting represent another meaning, often an abstract meaning
a story within a story
