Definition of "allegory"

allegory

/ˈæl.ɪˌɡɔː.ɹi/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural allegories
1. (rhetoric) A narrative in which a character, place, or event is used to deliver a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.
  Quotations
  Ah! the Roman emperor, who desired that his slavery might be alleviated by his fetters being made of gold, was a very rational person. I have always considered it an allegory, showing the necessity of marrying for money.
  1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter III, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), pages 30–31
  Allegory Metaphors continues still,Which with new graces every sentence fill.]
  Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, page 5
2. A picture, book, or other form of communication using such representation.
3. A symbolic representation which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one.
  Quotations
  There were casts of the Gladiator—he whose native courage struggled against the doom which was yet welcome—a mournful allegory of honour.
  1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), page 11
4. (mathematics, category theory) A category that retains some of the structure of the category of binary relations between sets, representing a high-level generalisation of that category.

Definition of "allegory"

allegory

noun

Quotations

Quotations