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Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Allegory is ancient Greek word, and in translation it means " allegory».

It is believed that the very first who began to actively use this technique in his works was the fabulist Aesop.

The fact is that Aesop was a slave. He wanted to ridicule the behavior and habits of his masters, but to do so openly meant certain death. So he came up with his own language, which consisted entirely of allusions, allegories and secret symbols.

Allegory is a disguise of the true meaning

The definition of this term will be given a little lower, but first I want to continue the topic of its appearance. Just below you can see images of the author of this method. artistic speech(path) - Aesop.

Most often, he depicted people in the form of animals, endowing them with the appropriate habits and character traits. And everyone, including the gentlemen, really liked the works of Aesop.

They read them with pleasure, not even suspecting that they were laughing at themselves at that moment - their vices and shortcomings. Later, even such a term appeared as " Aesopian language».

Now the promised definition of the allegory:

Very often in literary works and in ordinary life we meet the following correspondences:

Example of allegory in modern literature

Before you is now an excerpt from one of the most famous poems Boris Pasternak " Winter night» . Read and answer a simple question - what is it about?

Melo, melo all over the earth
To all limits.
The candle burned on the table
The candle was burning.
On the illuminated ceiling
The shadows lay
Crossed arms, crossed legs,
Crossing fates.
Melo all month in February,
And every now and then
The candle burned on the table
The candle was burning.

If you understand everything literally, then the picture seems to be clear. Before the mind's eye, a harsh Russian winter is drawn, somewhere there is a lonely house. Everything happens in some village, since there is no electricity, and the house is lit by candles. Well, inside there are two lovers who periodically have sex. Looks like it, right? It's just not one bit true.

To understand the meaning of "Winter Night", you need to imagine who Pasternak is. This is a rebel, a truth-seeker. The author who for a long time was banned in the USSR. And it would be strange to assume that he suddenly wrote such a banal love lyrics. But he didn't write it! There is much more hidden in this poem deep meaning:

You see, through a seemingly banal picture of winter, Pasternak described one of the main laws of the universe. And it is better to say - disguised one in the other. This is the ALLEGORY.

Allegories in Krylov's fables

Ivan Krylov also uses a lot of allegories in his fables. In each of his works, the main characters are animals. But in them we can easily recognize human behavior or actions, often not the most correct and exemplary.

Krylov very clearly ridicules human vices or, conversely, praises virtues. In every animal some character is encrypted:

But Krylov hides under allegories not only characters, but even the whole foundations of life, relations between different strata of society and historical moments. A vivid example is the fable "The Wolf and the Lamb".

With the strong, the weak is always to blame:
That is why we hear a lot of examples in history.

According to the plot, the Wolf reproaches and in every possible way belittles the Lamb, who dared to drink water from the same stream as he did. But not about this pair of animals. Behind the images of the Wolf and the Lamb, Krylov hid the powers that be and the common people.

And the fabulist also has another work - “The Wolf in the Kennel”.

The wolf at night, thinking to climb into the sheepfold,
Went to the kennel.
Suddenly the whole kennel rose up -
Feeling the gray so close to the bully.

In this fable, Krylov skillfully masked the events of 1812. Then Napoleon (Wolf), realizing that he could not defeat Russia (Psarnya), tried to hold peace negotiations.

But in the end, our commanders, led by Kutuzov, did not buy into this and drove the French army all the way to Paris. And the fable just ends with the fact that an experienced hunter (Kutuzov) did not negotiate with the wolf (Napoleon) and set all the dogs on him.

Other examples of allegories in literature

Of course, not only in Krylov, and not only in fables, we meet allegories. For example, many Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin full of allegations. The most striking example is "The Wise Gudgeon".

After all, under the mask of a small fish, which decided to fence itself off from everything in the world, not to get into anything, not to help anyone and live only for itself, one can consider passive people. They don’t strive for anything, they don’t try to break through to the very top, they don’t fight for improvement. own life. And the author makes a completely fair conclusion that there is no benefit from such creatures (be it a fish or a person).

From them, no one is cold, nor warm, nor dishonor, nor honor. They just take up space for free and eat food.

One more example - "Song of the Petrel" by Maxim Gorky. After all, this is not about a bird, although it is the main character.

The stupid penguin timidly hides his fat body in the rocks... Only the proud Petrel flies boldly and freely over the sea, gray with foam! … Storm! The storm is coming soon!

Penguins in this case- grey mass. People who tremble before power and are afraid to resist it. And Petrel is a daredevil who is ready to challenge and sweep away the old order.

The same dissatisfaction with age-old foundations can be found in in the work of Alexander Blok.

The carriages were moving along the usual line,
They trembled and creaked;
Silent yellow and blue,
In green they cried and sang.

Although here it is necessary to clarify what exactly the author means. IN pre-revolutionary Russia the composition of the train consisted of multi-colored cars. The rich traveled in the first and second class (yellow and blue), while the common people huddled in the less comfortable third-class (green) carriages.

But in this case Blok, of course, does not mean any particular train.

Through allegory, he describes the general way of life in the country - the rich enjoy themselves and do not want to notice anything around, and the poor have no choice but to remain silent and endure.

As an allegory, some authors use characters' names. For example, Gogol has Sobakevich and Tyapkin-Lyapkin. Fonvizin has Pravdin and Prostakov. Griboyedov has Molchalin and Skalozub. And as soon as we see it, we immediately understand what kind of character this or that hero has, and how the author himself relates to him.

How is allegory different from metaphor?

The attentive reader may ask the question - what is the difference between allegory and metaphor? After all, both of these concepts imply allegory.

The essence is really the same - through vivid images reinforce the meaning of what is written. It's just that the scale is different. , as a rule, only one word, which very aptly notices the character or properties.

For example, golden hands, deathly silence, running time. And here allegory can take the form of a whole work. It is richer and deeper in meaning. And sometimes even so complicated that not every reader will be able to figure out what its meaning is.

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How is it used in different art forms?

An allegory, if you try to formulate a definition, can be called a certain means designed to call something abstract a specific concept or object.

Allegory is used as a means of expression in many forms of art:

In painting, in the Renaissance, very often in the paintings, artists, drawing various objects, put a deep meaning into the paintings. These were not just compositions of incomprehensible elements, it was the call of the artist, his view of the world. However, not all viewers could unravel the meaning, but only those who were familiar with the concepts of allegory;
In sculpture. The streets of cities, especially those that are cultural centers, often decorate monuments, sculptures and statues. But in each monument a certain idea is expressed;
In literature. Very often, poets disguise feelings, intangible concepts under animals, plants, objects, giving the verse a unique style and thereby giving free rein to the reader's imagination.

In sculpture and painting

As an example of allegory in painting, one can cite the painting “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugene Delacroix, french artist. In the picture, freedom, which is an intangible, abstract concept, is depicted as a woman with a red flag, who towers over other people. The weapon in her hand symbolizes strength, and the turned head is a call to action.

Allegory in sculpture a prime example is the "Motherland", which personifies the victory over the Nazis, and says that Volgograd, as if with a sword, hit the enemy. A " Bronze Horseman” in St. Petersburg emphasizes the greatness of Peter I, every detail has its own hidden meaning: a block in the form of a wave is the element, and the horse is overcoming obstacles.

What is allegory in literature?

If open Dictionary, then you can find the following definition of allegory - this is extended metaphor, allegory, a trope that enhances the expressiveness of a work by presenting an abstract concept with a specific image or expression.

That is, it is, as it were, an artistic synonym. For example, in Krylov's fables, all the characters are animals, but each animal is an enhanced expression of human vices or vice versa virtues. The fox is cunning, the crow is stupidity, and the oak is wisdom.

If the author presented the same traits of human characters, but in a different way, for example, he would describe simply cunning, simply stupid, or simply wise man, it would hardly be possible to convey to the reader life truths in such an ironic, light and simple way.

What is the difference between metaphor and allegory?

Allegory can be confused with metaphor, because both concepts denote expressing something through something .

But an allegory is a more extended metaphor:

A metaphor is a more concrete, narrow expression, an allegory is wider, it is a whole picture of allegory;
Metaphor - figurative meaning on the basis of similarity, the allegory uses associations more. For example, the expression “cunning like a fox” would be a metaphor, but if you call someone a “fox” it will already be an allegory;
A metaphor most often expresses an animated concept, and an abstract allegory. That is, about a person, you can say “proud like a lion” and this will be a metaphor, but the image of a lion means strength, power and pride - this is an example of an allegory.

What is an allegory: examples

Allegory is very often used in literature. A vivid image of allegories is fables, in which each character is an incarnation.

Poetry also uses this means of expressing thoughts. Allegories are not easy to understand.

For example, in the lines of Marina Tsvetaeva "Poems grow like stars and like roses":

Stone slabs are a creative lull when the poet has neither ideas nor inspiration;
A heavenly guest is a sudden insight, a muse, with four petals, meaning a flower, which in turn will personify something beautiful;
The law of the star is a certain vision of the world, its undercurrents;
The flower formula - says that only a poet knows how to convey all the truths in a word.

In the lines of "Winter Night" by Boris Pasternak, there are also allegorical expressions:

Blizzard and winter mean hardships that have come everywhere,
Candle - unquenchable hope;
“On the illuminated ceiling” - the illuminated ceiling symbolizes the fact that, despite difficulties, hope can illuminate everything around;
"Crossing of arms, crossing of legs" - passion and love;
“It was snowy all month in February, and every now and then the candle burned on the table, the candle warmed” - here, in the last lines, it seems to say how persistent the small candle turned out to be, which, despite the month of adversity, burned.

Application in religion

Any religion is designed to change a person in better side. Parables and commandments teach people love, mercy, justice and humility. For example, in Christian religion in each parable, all characters, objects and actions are allegorical.

The parable of the talents: it tells how the master, leaving for another country, gave his slaves talents: five to one, three to the third, one to the third. When he returned, he saw that the one who had five talents multiplied them and received only ten, the one who had three did the same, and the slave who had one talent buried it in the ground.

The owner is God, talents are all that we have been awarded from birth: abilities, opportunities and health.
A slave who has buried talent in the ground is a lazy person who does not want to develop and improve.

Almost every parable is built on allegories in order to more easily convey the truth to people.

Art serves to lead a person to perfection, otherwise it is not art, but simple catering. In order to better convey to a person this or that understanding of the world, it is necessary to create vivid images and enhance contrasts.

Therefore, art cannot be dry, monotonous and open to understanding. For this, there are various means expressions. Any true master knows not only what an allegory, metaphor, epithet, symbol is, but also knows how to correctly apply all this in his creations.

Video: examples of allegories and metaphors in creativity

In this video, literature teacher Elena Krasnova will tell you what allegory is and how it is used in art, she will give the most striking examples: