<u>Allegory is a figurative language used to express something usually unexpressable otherwise.</u> The allegory can use many forms of communication, even paintings and theater.
In other words, the speaker tells "a" wanting the listener to understand "b". A good example of this is the story of the ant and the grasshopper. The ant worked in the summer preoccupied with the winter, while the grasshopper danced and sung all summer long. The winter came; the ant had food to survive all its duration while the grasshopper was dying of hunger and cold, and asked the ant for help. <u>The allegory here is about time and preparation</u>, the summer represents the human youth, while the winter its old age. The ant and the grasshopper both represent a human being; the ant taught how to age adequately, while the grasshopper showed what happens when we do not think about the future.
Answer: It occurs throughout the entire length of a story, it comments on an abstract theory or historical event, and it contains meanings of social or political significance.
Explanation: An allegory must always tell "a" so it can explain "b". It is impossible for an allegory to tell "a" 90% of the time then, suddenly, start to tell "b". That would destroy the idea of allegory. The allegory of the ant and the grasshopper would make no sense if, in the middle of the story, the ant started to tell it was a human and needed to prepare for its old age; it could get worse if she told its preparation consisted in going to college, marrying, and so on. Therefore, the allegory must be the entire story, not only part of it. Of course, there are, sometimes, stories inside stories, so the allegory can be just one of them.
Also, the allegory always wants to say something beyond what is told. So this meaning that transcends the text (or painting, music etc.) usually has a social or political significance and comments on an abstract theory or historical event. Such is the case of the ant and grasshopper, that has a social meaning and, at the same time, is a comment on an abstract theory that tells how one must conduct life.
