allegory
Use Allegory in a sentence
əˌgɔrBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value. |
| the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. |
allegory (ˈælɪɡərɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -ries | |
| 1. | a poem, play, picture, etc, in which the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning |
| 2. | the technique or genre that this represents |
| 3. | use of such symbolism to illustrate truth or a moral |
| 4. | anything used as a symbol or emblem |
| [C14: from Old French allegorie, from Latin allēgoria, from Greek, from allēgorein to speak figuratively, from allos other + agoreuein to make a speech in public, from agora a public gathering] | |
| 'allegorist | |
| —n | |
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allegory
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A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several symbols or metaphors. For example, in The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, the character named Christian struggles to escape from a bog or swamp. The story of his difficulty is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good life in the “bog” of this world. The “bog” is a metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back, this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of sin that he has been carrying.
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Allegory definition
used only in Gal. 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically. Every parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Sam. 12:1-4) addresses David in an allegorical narrative. In the eightieth Psalm there is a beautiful allegory: "Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt," etc. In Eccl. 12:2-6, there is a striking allegorical description of old age.
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