Allegorised

Allegorised is the past tense of the verb allegorise, meaning to convert or interpret something into an allegory. An allegory is a narrative technique in which characters, events, and details are used to symbolize a deeper moral, political, or spiritual meaning that lies beyond the literal surface of the text.

In literary analysis and criticism, to allegorise a work is to present it as an extended metaphor with multi-layered meanings that refer to real-world issues or moral lessons. Allegorising can apply to entire works, as well as to scenes, characters, or images within them. It is distinguished from simple symbolism by the reliance on a coherent, ongoing symbolic system that governs the whole narrative rather than isolated symbols.

Etymology traces the term to the Greek allēgoría, from allos “other” and agorein “to speak, to tell,” via Latin allegoria. In English, the noun is allegory and the verb forms are allegorise (British English) and allegorize (American English). The participle allegorised (or allegorized) describes works or analyses that render or interpret something as an allegory.

Common examples include fables and political satires that use personified figures to critique broader social or political realities. Notable discussions often focus on authorial intent, reader interpretation, and the fidelity of the allegorical reading to the text’s surface narrative.

See also: allegory, symbolism, metaphor, critique, interpretation.