How do you use the word "allegory" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "allegory" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "allegory": The ship of fools was a popular allegory in medieval art and literature. Ibn Tufail also criticized Islam through a literary process called allegory.

Allegory Meaning

/ˈælɪɡəɹi/

Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounThe use of symbols which may be interpreted to reveal a hidden, broader message, usually a moral or political one, about real-world issues and occurrences; also, the interpretation of such symbols.

nounA picture, story, or other form of communication in which one or more characters, events, or places are used to reveal a hidden, broader message about real-world issues and occurrences.

Sentence Examples

The ship of fools was a popular allegory in medieval art and literature.

Ibn Tufail also criticized Islam through a literary process called allegory.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

fable emblem parable

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The story about the tortoise and the hare is an ____ about patience winning.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The book is a powerful ____ for the political situation in the country.

Word Origin & History

The noun is derived from Late Middle English allegorie (“symbolic interpretation; symbolism; (Christianity) one of the four methods of interpreting the Bible”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Allegorie is borrowed from Anglo-Norman allegorie and Middle French allegorie (“narrative with a hidden meaning; such a meaning or its interpretation”) (modern French allégorie), and directly from their etymon Latin allēgoria (“figurative or metaphorical language, allegory; parable”) (whence Late Latin allēgoria (“allegorical interpretation of the Bible”)), from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓λληγορῐ́ᾱ (ăllēgorĭ́ā, “figurative or metaphorical language”), probably from ἀλληγορος (allēgoros, “allegorical”) (though only attested in Byzantine Greek) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀλληγορος (Allēgoros) is derived from ᾰ̓́λλος (ắllos, “another; different”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“beyond; other”)) + ἠγόρ- (ēgór-, the imperfect stem of ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in the assembly; to say, speak”)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming certain inflections of adjectives); and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) from ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́, “assembly; assembly place; market place; speech”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“flock, herd; to gather”)) + -εύω (-eúō, suffix forming verbs). The verb is derived from the noun.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"In theſe teſtimonies vvhich they alledge of the ſcripture there are certayne, vvhiche are vvell nere of no vvayghte, but there is none of them, but eyther it is darke vvith the myſte of allegorie: or els it dothe receyue dyuerſe and manifolde interpretations." — 1533, Erasmus of Roterdame, “The Fourth Instruction”, in William Marshall, transl., A Playne and Godly Exposytion or Declaration of the Commune Crede (which in the Latin Tonge is Called Symbolum Apostolorum): And of the .x. Commaundementes of Goddes Law. […], London: […] Robert Redman, […] [for William Marshall], →OCLC, folio 82, recto:

"As some of the finest compositions among the ancients are in allegory, I have endeavoured, in several of my papers, to revive that way of writing, and hope I have not been altogether unsuccessful in it; […]" — 1712 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), [Thomas Parnell], “FRIDAY, October 4, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 501; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 460:

"Allegory Metaphors continues still, / Which with new graces every sentence fill." — 1835, L[arret] Langley, “[The Seven Tropes.] Allegory.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 5:

"Allegory and Poetic Delineation, as I said above, cannot be religious Faith: the Faith itself must first be there, then Allegory enough will gather round it, as the fit body round its soul." — 1840 May 5, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture I. The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 28:

"[T]houghe ſome woordes ſpoken by the mouthe of Chriſt written in ſcripture, be to be vnderſtanden only by way of a ſimilitude or an allegory: it foloweth not therupõ [thereupon] that of neceſſitye euerye like woorde of Chriſt in other places was none other but an allegory." — 1533 (date written), Thomas More, “A Letter of Sir Thomas More Knight Impugning the Erroniouse Wryting of John Frith agaynst the Blessed Sacrament of the Aulter”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, page 835, column 1:

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