Writing Allegory

Allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. (A Handbook to Literature)

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in The Republic: Book VII

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:—Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets…. Read More

Origin

late Middle English: from Old French allegorie, via Latin from Greekallēgoria, from allos other + -agoria speaking.’ (New Oxford American)

Allegory Writing Exercise

What is your biggest social concern? What sometimes keeps you up at night? Choose a scene or section of a previously written work and infuse your biggest social concern with this scene as an allegorical representation. It is important that you are using a section of writing you’ve already drafted and thoroughly considered previously because you want the section to retain its organic intentions. Now, use this rewrite to begin a new writing project.

Allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. (A Handbook to Literature)

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in The Republic: Book VII

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:—Behold! human beings living in a underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets…. Read More

Origin

late Middle English: from Old French allegorie, via Latin from Greekallēgoria, from allos other + -agoria speaking.’ (New Oxford American)

Allegory Writing Exercise

What is your biggest social concern? What sometimes keeps you up at night? Choose a scene or section of a previously written work and infuse your biggest social concern with this scene as an allegorical representation. It is important that you are using a section of writing you’ve already drafted and thoroughly considered previously because you want the section to retain its organic intentions. Now, use this rewrite to begin a new writing project.

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Sources

A Handbook to Literature. William Harmon.

“Cogito et Histoire de la Folie.” Jacques Derrida.

Eats Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Lynne Truss.

The Elements of Style. William Strunk. 

New Oxford American DictionaryEdited by Angus Stevenson and Christine A. Lindberg.

The Norton Anthology of World LiteratureMartin Puchner, et al.

The Norton Introduction to PhilosophyGideon Rosen and Alex Byrne.

Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English. Patricia T. O’Conner

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French & Ned Stuckey-French.

Writing the Other. Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward.

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Eckleburg is a print and online literary journal that offers original fiction, poetry, essays, music, art, writing workshops and more.