Allegory is a philosophical, artistic and literary concept that consists of the representation of symbolic meaning. The word allegory is of Latin origin allegorywhich translates to speaking figuratively.
As Literary figure, the allegory represents an extended metaphor, that is, a comparison in a figurative sense that extends throughout the text. On occasions when allegories describe concepts through attributes and traits of people, they resemble personification or prosopopoeia.
Examples They would be the personification of love, like a winged child, who shoots his arrows blindfolded. Also justice, represented as a blindfolded woman, carrying a scale and a sword.
Allegory consists of leaving aside the denotative meaning of the word to take its figurative meaning. It represents an idea or concept through metaphorical images, implying something different from what is being expressed.
Allegory can represent meanings that transcend the literal sense, that is, it represents one thing or idea through the appearance of another.
Example of allegory in philosophy
It is common to use the Myth of the Cave, written by the Greek philosopher Plato and based on the teachings of Socrates. Through this allegory he explains his theory of reality, which states that the only real thing is the intelligible world, because the sensible world is only an illusion of the senses.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Plato’s allegory or myth of the cave focused on describing a cave with a group of chained men unable to see the light outside.
Behind them was a wall on which another group of men were carrying all kinds of objects. These objects, illuminated by the light of a bonfire, projected a series of distorted shadows on the wall, which the prisoners considered to be the real appearance of things.
One of the prisoners managed to free himself from the chains and go out into the outside world to learn about reality. When he returned to free and inform his friends, none of them listened to him and he was sentenced to death.
This allegory represents the importance of seeking the truth through knowledge of reality. Plato thus reflects the teaching of Socrates, stating that man condemns himself when he tries to help others reach the truth.
Examples of allegory in the Bible
Through allegories it was possible to transcend the limits and reveal the mysteries in the construction of new ideas and paradigms not yet understood. In the texts of the Bible, they are known as religious allegories.
You are the salt of the earth; But if salt loses its flavor, what will it be salted with? It is no longer useful for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled on by men.
(Matthew, 5: 13)
Taking into account the concept of allegory, the biblical verse can be interpreted as the relationship of the disciples with others, and the importance they have for the community. In this sense, salt is interpreted as a positive aspect that prevents evil and keeps the community away from bad habits and sins.
Examples of allegory in literature
Allegory serves literature as a rhetorical figure. A figure of thought in which a symbolic representation is made, that is, it should not be understood literally, but rather has another meaning. Its meaning is figurative.
I grow a white rose,/ in June as in January,/ for the sincere friend,/ who gives me his frank hand.
Cultivate a white roseby José Martí.
The poem is an allegory of friendship and its value, which must be offered to sincere and friendly people. The white rose he refers to is friendship itself, which needs the attention and care that is taken when cultivating said flower.
In his arms he took my dream / and lulled him like a baby… / and killed him, sad and small, / lacking light, lacking faith […]
Another judged that it was my mouth/ the case of her passion/ and that she would gnaw at my heart, crazy, with her teeth. […]
Autumn song in springby Rubén Darío.
This example describes through allegory a situation of love and heartbreak experienced in the past with old loves. It represents the perception of someone who misses the past and its experiences, a past explained from the present and from a more mature point of view.
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