Allegory, fictional literary narrative or artistic expression that conveys a symbolic meaning parallel to but distinct from, and more important than, the literal meaning. Allegory has also been defined as an extended metaphor (see Figure of Speech). The symbolic meaning is usually expressed through personifications and other symbols. Related forms are the fable and the parable, which are didactic, comparatively short and simple allegories.

The art of allegory reached its height during the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century), especially in the work of the Italian poet Dante and the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and during the Renaissance (14th century to 17th century). Two early examples of allegory are Le Roman de la Rose (13th century) by the French poets Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meunand The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman (14th century), better known as Piers Plowman, which is attributed to the English poet William Langland. The former is an allegory of human love, the latter an allegorical protest against the clergy. In The Faerie Queene (Books I-III, 1590; Books IV-VI, 1596), the English poet Edmund Spenser conceals, beneath a surface of chivalric romance, a commentary on religious and ethical doctrines and on social conditions in 16th-century England. One of the greatest of all allegories is Pilgrim's Progress (first part published in 1678; second part published 1684) by the English writer John Bunyan, a prose narrative symbolically concerning the search for spiritual salvation.

Although modern authors generally favor less abstract, more personal symbolism, allegories are still written. One extremely popular example is Animal Farm (1945) by the English writer George Orwell.

Allegory can also be used as a technique for critical interpretation, even of works that were not originally intended to be allegorical. Thus, underlying beliefs that are present in a text without an author's conscious awareness can be examined as a way of better understanding the culture from which the text comes. In art, an allegorical painting or sculpture is one that has a symbolic meaning underlying the surface image.

See also Biblical Criticism.