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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Key Examples in Doctor Faustus
Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—The Good and Evil Angels:
The Good Angel and the Evil Angel that appear recurrently throughout Doctor Faustus are allegories for redemption and sin, the two paths which Faustus struggles to decide between.
They first approach Faustus in Scene 1 after his introductory soliloquy, following his expression of interest in learning to practice magic:
Good Angel: O Faustus, lay that damnèd book aside
And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul
And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head!
Read, read the Scriptures. That is blasphemy.
Evil Angel: Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained.
Related Themes:
Scene 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Good and Evil Angels:
The Good Angel and the Evil Angel that appear recurrently throughout Doctor Faustus are allegories for redemption and sin, the two paths which Faustus struggles to decide between.
They first approach Faustus in Scene 1 after his introductory soliloquy, following his expression of interest in learning to practice magic:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Good Angel: O Faustus, lay that damnèd book aside
And gaze not on it, lest it tempt thy soul
And heap God’s heavy wrath upon thy head!
Read, read the Scriptures. That is blasphemy.
Evil Angel: Go forward, Faustus, in that famous art
Wherein all nature’s treasury is contained.
Related Themes:
Scene 12
Explanation and Analysis—The Old Man:
The character of the Old Man in Doctor Faustus is an allegory for the abstract concept of virtue. His essential function in the play is to remind Faustus of the stakes involved in his decision to turn away from God, and present him with the option to choose a better path. Importantly, he appears after each time Faustus summons Helen of Troy, as though to counter his lustful delusions of grandeur and bring him back to goodness and reality:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ah, Doctor Faustus, that I might prevail
To guide thy steps unto the way of life,
By which sweet path thou mayst attain the goal
That shall conduct thee to celestial rest!
Break heart, drop blood, and mingle it with tears,
Tears falling from repentant heaviness
Of thy most vile and loathsome filthiness,
The stench whereof corrupts the inward soul
With such flagitious crimes of heinous sins,
As no commiseration may expel
But mercy, Faustus, of thy Saviour sweet,
Whose blood alone must wash away thy guilt.
Related Themes:
