"What is an Allegory?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

What is the definition of allegory? What are some examples of allegories and how to they presuppose certain reading practices? Professor Tekla Bude answers these questions using examples from the movie Inside Out, Hieronymous Bosch’s Ship of Fools, and everyday life.

The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify allegory in literature, film, and visual art but also to analyze its purposes and effects. The video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/

This video now includes both Spanish and English subtitles. To switch between languages, please click on the settings in the video.

Timestamps
0:00 Basic Definition of Allegory
0:53 Examples of Allegory
1:59 Allegorical Problems
3:10 Advanced Definition of Allegory

Below are a few more videos in the series. Please drop us a comment letting us know what literary terms you would like us to explore in future videos!

"What is a prologue?": https://youtu.be/PEeMmskARMc
"What is a stanza?": https://youtu.be/qaXfCSCHBt0
"What is stream of consciousness?": https://youtu.be/WaSFwO3O2SI
"What is figurative language?": https://youtu.be/c2CRxHOgxBM
"What is irony?': https://youtu.be/q6e0oNVx8Uk
"What is a metaphor?": https://youtu.be/5mPSFQ1eFUU
"What is a simile?": https://youtu.be/YqJrZ6OoqjU
"What is hyperbole?": https://youtu.be/IzfyNwNpUmA
"What is a imagery?": https://youtu.be/uX413tALG7Q
"What is a sonnet?": https://youtu.be/QmrKmL06J9g
"What is metonymy?": https://youtu.be/jydjhvOzMGQ
"What is synecdoche?": https://youtu.be/V3G51sJcvzg
"What is enjambment?": https://youtu.be/yBn2ZOwv144
"What is satire?": https://youtu.be/io58hl1Z0TY
"What is juxtaposition?": https://youtu.be/4KXVPS3FYkQ
"What is foreshadowing?": https://youtu.be/nc-2Jg6b0Dw
"What is understatement?": https://youtu.be/tW3MZ6z8KNA
"What is rhyme?": https://youtu.be/_9oHeL2qI6g
"What is an unreliable narrator?": https://youtu.be/A-lDvHT2QyQ
"What is a genre?": https://youtu.be/Go0Mto2fOXY
"What is a narrative arc?": https://youtu.be/ngpHeQZtS-w
"What is a flashback?": https://youtu.be/tjTauD53Ru4
"What is personification?": https://youtu.be/5GOfjV6u0Co
"What is a narrator?": https://youtu.be/bCNNBxlnkjQ
"What is a flat character vs a round character?": https://youtu.be/IPIBTgPlK5c
"What is symbolism?": https://youtu.be/GR9VbSXxouM
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)": https://youtu.be/SPES7Z2fjIY
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)": https://youtu.be/KEqQIB5ytcI
"What is epistrophe?": https://youtu.be/6rdlklOZs4o
"What is poetic meter?": https://youtu.be/S13Tg3RAUW4
"What is a portmanteau?": https://youtu.be/P5TdpQXTkB0
"What is anaphora?": https://youtu.be/dr970RgZu8w
"What is an oxymoron?": https://youtu.be/oXMht0mi0xc
"What is a zeugma?": https://youtu.be/qGtjLGFPmXE
"What is free indirect discourse?": https://youtu.be/Vw5XclD9IlQ
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?": https://youtu.be/dBjtFyktXhQ
"What is the uncanny?": https://youtu.be/4IHvGHGVAM0
"What is a point of view?": https://youtu.be/acURl_KBiRI
"What is deus ex machina?": https://youtu.be/GCpGV7fOp2M
"What is a frame story?": https://youtu.be/cjJszH88J8A
"What is ekphrasis?": https://youtu.be/ySS-IZMPjjc
"What is blank verse?": https://youtu.be/TmwuGQIgj9A
"What is an epistolary novel?": https://youtu.be/mj40J8lFu7E
"What is allegory?": https://youtu.be/4IOsFCieGQA
"What is tragedy?": https://youtu.be/OBvVD08_0hU
"What are euphony and cacophony?": https://youtu.be/TzELOczXWOY
"What are assonance and consonance?": https://youtu.be/3ZQxhOcnJzE​​
"What is a setting in literature?": https://youtu.be/omsbv-hbXiM​​
"What is onomatopoeia?": https://youtu.be/aKRKcKcSW2c​​
"What is theme in literature?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...​
"What is a conflict in literature?": https://youtu.be/XqR0Hv6mwNU​
"What is persona?": https://youtu.be/_5vKV7HNXlo
"What is a dramatic monologue?": https://youtu.be/ferWxPUN3ig
"What is an allusion?": https://youtu.be/rF3ANKEPoko
"What is alliteration?": https://youtu.be/uZNCkV_0u0A
"What is an epic?": https://youtu.be/YkblUzteA-4
"What is an ars poetica?": https://youtu.be/rZdBopDIiLo
"What is a motif?": https://youtu.be/isBKoIORntI
"What is a protagonist?": https://youtu.be/G5nZzak4TFk
"What is literature?": https://youtu.be/qvbMNIViMq4
"What is a foil?": https://youtu.be/nqXQ4L2oC9Q