A
figurative treatment of one
subject under the
guise of another, especially a
symbolic narrative or a
presentation of an
abstract or
spiritual meaning under
concrete or
material forms. In other words, it's a story where something in the story
symbolizes something out in the real world. This is more than saying, "Whoa, man, a skull is, like, symbolic of death, ya know? Totally heavy..." Simple symbolism is not the same thing as allegory. An allegory should be
story/
book/
film-length or longer and should maintain the symbolism from
beginning to
end; in fact, an allegory's
symbolism must be as important as the
plot itself.
Some notable allegories include
Plato's "
Allegory of the Cave,"
Dante's "
Divine Comedy,"
Clemence Housman's story "
The Werewolf" (a personal favorite of mine), and most of the
Bible.