The presentation or interpretation of graphic figures as symbols for something not found in the composition itself. The composition is treated as a fictional representation of another level of reality.

Thus, the meaning of an allegory is not self-evident at the surface; the real message is regarded as hidden and in need of interpretation. The figurative level is proposed for popular consumption; its allegorical sense depends on esoteric insights provided by an interpreter.

Allegories are distinguishable from parables in one key respect. The parable is designed to explain something; the allegory needs to be explained. Sometimes clues to the interpretation of an allegory come from traditional connotations of images or the etymology of words. But often there is no obvious connection between the symbol and what it is said to symbolize.

While someone may deliberately create an oral, literary or visual composition as an allegory, the method of allegorical interpretation is often applied to works that were not originally intended as such. Allegorization provides a way of preserving respect for a traditional text while avoiding difficulties at the literal level.

Early Greek philosophers interpreted the ancient myths of Homer & Hesiod as allegories for their own scientific & philosophical ideas. Allegorization of traditional narratives became a standard practice in Hellenistic education well before the 1st c. CE. Hellenized Jewish authors in Alexandria, Egypt interpreted the narratives of the Hebrew Bible as allegories for the principles of Platonic & Stoic philosophy. Leading rabbis in Palestine, such as Aqiba ben Joseph, used allegorical methods to explain certain difficult biblical texts. Paul, a Hellenistic Pharisee turned Christian apostle, developed allegorical interpretations of OT stories as references to Jesus and the Christian community. And even the synoptic gospels recorded allegorical interpretations of three parables of Jesus. Later Christian authors such as Origen allegorized the whole biblical text.

One thing that distinguishes allegorization of a traditional text from modern historical interpretation is the perspective of the interpreter. The allegorist interprets a work within his/her own view of the world, without regard to the original context. Irenaeus' allegorization of the parable of the Mustard Seed, which is not interpreted in any of the gospels, is a good example of this:

Observe that, by means of the grain of mustard seed in the parable, the heavenly doctrine is denoted which is sown like seed in the world, as in a field, [seed] which has an inherent force, fiery and powerful.

For the Judge of the whole world is thus proclaimed, who, having been hidden in the heart of the earth in a tomb for three days, and having become a great tree, has stretched forth His branches to the ends of the earth.

Sprouting out from Him, the twelve apostles, having become fair and fruitful boughs, were made a shelter for the nations as for the fowls of heaven, under which boughs, all having taken refuge, as birds flocking to a nest, have been made partakers of that wholesome and celestial food which is derived from them.

[fragment 31 from Irenaeus' lost works, excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers vol. 1 & posted as an e-text by New Advent]

Historical-literary criticism of a text, on the contrary, focuses on reconstructing the ideas & experience of the author and original audience.

[For further details on allegory see the article by L. Mowry in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1 (NY/Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962) pp. 82-84].

Other On-line Resources:

• Allegory - article on the use of allegory and allegorization in literature ancient and modern (Wikipedia).

• Allegory - definition of term with examples (Literary Devices & Terms).

• Common Errors in Biblical Interpretation Exposed - Bob DeWaay's critique of allegorization & hyper-literalism in interpreting the biblical text (Critical Issues).