What does allegorical mean?
Allegorical describes works of art, literature, film, or even argument that operate as allegories — that is, they carry a second, systematic layer of meaning beneath their literal surface. In an allegorical story, characters, settings, and events are not just themselves but also stand for abstract ideas: virtue and vice, political forces, spiritual journeys. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Orwell's Animal Farm, and Plato's Allegory of the Cave are classic examples. The adjective also applies to individual elements within a larger work, such as allegorical figures or allegorical paintings, and to allegorical interpretation, the long-standing practice of reading sacred or classical texts as coded messages. Related to but distinct from metaphor and symbolism, allegory sustains its parallel meaning throughout an entire work rather than in isolated images. The word carries a scholarly, literary tone and appears most often in criticism, art history, and theology.
adjectiveRelating to or characteristic of allegory; having a hidden or symbolic meaning beneath the literal surface of a story, painting, or other work.
- (of a work of art, literature, etc.) operating as or containing an allegory, with a secondary symbolic meaning beneath the surface.
- Consisting of or relating to allegory as a mode or practice (e.g. allegorical interpretation of texts).
"Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical tale in which the hero's journey represents the soul's path to salvation."
"Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegorical novella whose farmyard revolt mirrors the Russian Revolution."
"Medieval painters often filled their canvases with allegorical figures, such as a blindfolded woman holding scales to represent Justice."
For centuries, readers hunted hidden meanings in everything from Homer to the Bible — so much so that 'allegorical' became the word for reading between the lines on purpose.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of allegorical
Allegorical derives from allegory, which comes via Latin allegoria from Greek allēgoria, meaning 'speaking otherwise' — a compound of allos ('other') and agoreuein ('to speak in the assembly'). The Greek term described saying one thing while meaning another, a practice central to ancient interpretation of Homer. English adopted both the noun and the adjective during the late medieval and early modern period, when allegorical reading of scripture and classical texts was widespread.
Related word forms
How allegorical is actually used
Formal to neutral register; common in literary criticism, art history, and religious commentary. The plural sense distinction is subtle: 'an allegorical novel' treats the whole work as allegory, while 'allegorical figures' refers to individual personifications within it.
Easily confused with allegorical
A metaphorical work uses a single direct comparison or image, while an allegorical work sustains a complete second layer of meaning across the whole narrative.
Symbolic describes isolated symbols standing for ideas, whereas allegorical describes an entire work whose characters and events systematically represent abstract meanings.