Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice is a novel written by James Branch Cabell and published in 1919. It tells the story of a pawnbroker and aspiring poet named Jurgen who embarks on a journey to find justice. Along the way, he encounters various mythical creatures and challenges, ultimately leading to a greater understanding of himself …
Types of Allegories
Mount Analogue is a classic allegorical adventure novel by the early 20th-century French novelist René Daumal. The novel describes an expedition undertaken by a group of mountaineers to travel to and climb the titular Mount Analogue, an enormous mountain on a remote island. Throughout the novel, the mountain serves as a symbol for the journey …
The Romance of the Rose is a medieval French poem that has been the subject of much analysis and interpretation over the centuries. The poem is an allegory that tells the story of a young man’s quest to win the love of a woman symbolized by a rose. The poem is filled with symbolism, allegory, …
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is a German book edited in 1616 in Strasbourg. Its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. The Chymical Wedding is often described as the third of the original manifestos of the mysterious “Fraternity of the Rose Cross” (Rosicrucians), although it is markedly different from the Fama Fraternitatis …
“Surprised by Sin: The Reader in Paradise Lost” is a book written by Stanley Fish in 1967, which has been influential in shaping the critical interpretations of John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost.” Fish argues that the primary subject of the poem is the reader and not God or Satan. He asserts that the poem …
“The Hind and the Panther” is a poem written by John Dryden in 1687. This poem is considered one of the most significant works of religious allegory in English literature. It is a long poem in three parts, totaling 2,592 lines, and is written in heroic couplets. The poem is an allegory that tells the …
The butterfly’s dream is a famous Taoist allegory that has been passed down through the ages. It is a story about a man named Zhuangzi who dreamed he was a butterfly and upon waking up, he was unsure if he was a man who had just dreamt of being a butterfly or a butterfly now …
The City of God is a philosophical treatise written by St. Augustine in the early 5th century. It is considered a masterpiece of Western culture and is a response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome in 410 CE was a result of the abolition of pagan worship by Christian emperors. The book explores …
Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Book of the Duchess” is a poem that is widely regarded as one of the most important works of medieval English literature. The poem was written in the late 14th century and tells the story of a knight who falls asleep and dreams of a hunt. The hunt becomes a metaphor for …
Orlando Furioso is a highly influential chivalric romance originally published in 1532 by Italian Renaissance poet Ludovico Ariosto. The poem, consisting of 46 cantos, details the life of Sir Roland, one of the heroes of Arthurian legend. Orlando Furioso is based on an earlier Italian work, Orlando Innamorato by Matteo Boiardo, and the French poem …