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Allegories, Symbolism and Dante

Allegories, Symbolism and Dante. Honors English I. Symbol. Any object, person, place, or action that represents something bigger than itself. They are all around – flags for the country, cougars for the students, apples for the teacher, etc. Allegory.

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Allegories, Symbolism and Dante

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  1. Allegories, Symbolism and Dante Honors English I

  2. Symbol Any object, person, place, or action that represents something bigger than itself. They are all around – flags for the country, cougars for the students, apples for the teacher, etc.

  3. Allegory Simply put, an allegory is a story that uses many symbols to tell a more general story.

  4. So what is the difference between a symbol and an allegory? • To be honest, they are extremely similar. • Everything created (paintings, movies and yes, even writings) can have one or more symbols in them, but an allegory is a collection of symbols that work together to tell a literal story as well as a deeper one.

  5. Moving on • It is one thing to know what a symbol and allegory is, but it is completely different trying to interpret them in a passage. • To help do this a man named Dante Alighieri invented a Fourfold method to guide your thinking. • Use Dante’s fourfold method to help find symbols and allegories in stories.

  6. 1. Literal/Historical Level • Everything has this level • These are the things that are actually happening – basically what you would put in a plot diagram • For example, in regards to the novel Animal Farm, it literally is about the livestock on a farm.. • In Antigone, the protagonist chooses to bury his brother despite her uncle’s (the king) orders not to and therefore risk execution.

  7. 2. Political Level • This level shows how people relate to others, the community or world. • Think of any political subjects: rich v. poor, majority v. minority.These are man v. society conflicts. • In Antigone, this level shows that the protagonist is not just challenging her uncle, but the overall rule of law and government’s authority.

  8. 3. Moral Level • This level deals with the realm of ethics or what is right and wrong. • Internal conflicts usually deal with the moral level. • For example, in Antigone, the protagonist decides to bury her brother because it would be an inhuman denial of his rights not to.

  9. 4. Spiritual Level • This level deals with how man relates to fate, destiny and faith. • Popular examples of allegories with a spiritual level are the Narnia series.

  10. NOTES: • Every piece of literature has a literal level. • Each level can stand on their own or work together.

  11. Notes are finished! • Time for the activity!!!

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