What is allegory and why is it used by writers? How many different artistic means exist, with the help of which the author manages to embellish his work, make it brighter and more interesting? Everyone has heard about hyperbole, metaphor, comparison, epithet and other artistic means of expression.
Allegory: Definition
According to the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary, allegory is a means of expression with a hidden meaning. In strict meaning, this is the same as an allegory, when one phenomenon is depicted with the help of another phenomenon, object or creature.
But what is an allegory in the broadest sense? We can say that this is a statement that does not lie on the surface. And to understand the author, you need to think a little. Perhaps you should read it several times and then you will be able to figure out what this artistic medium was used for.
Types of parables
As mentioned earlier, an allegory is an allegory. Or, conversely, allegory is a subspecies of this means of expression. Most often, this type is used to depict any ideas in the form of a certain image inmythology and fairy tales. For example, depicting a lion, the author implies strength and dexterity, while depicting a hare, he shows cowardice. So, the images of animals, through allegory, indicate one or another trait that is also characteristic of a person.
What is an allegory in the form of personification? This is the endowment of an inanimate being or object with human qualities. Both nouns and verbs can be used here. For example, in fairy tales and poems one can often find such phrases and words as "the sun began to play", "the sorceress-winter came" and "queen-night".
Allegory: examples from literature
The works often use various techniques, including allegory. It can be either individual words or phrases, or whole works in the form of fables, fairy tales and even stories. Such artistic means can be found in the works of V. M. Garshin, novels by Anatole France or Karel Capek.
In the fables of I. A. Krylova are present in abundance of allegory. In these works, the author often compares a person with some animal. S altykov-Shchedrin also resorted to this expressive means and used it in his fairy tales.
So what is allegory and why is it so often used by poets and writers? This artistic medium is considered one of the main ones in literary criticism. The allegory is used by the authors to reveal the abstract concept of good and evil, intelligence and stupidity, generosity and greed.
