The Devoted Friend

by Oscar Wilde

The Devoted Friend: Allegory 1 key example

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
Allegory
Explanation and Analysis—And I Quite Agree:

"The Devoted Friend" contains two layers of story. The parts that recount the actions and speech of the Water-rat, Duck, and Linnet belong to a frame story that encompasses the allegory about Little Hans. Whereas an unnamed, omniscient, third-person narrator recounts the frame story to the reader, the Linnet serves as the narrator of the story about Hans and the Miller. When the Linnet begins his fable with the classic phrase "Once upon a time," the reader is given a clear signal that the frame story is about to branch off into a secondary inner story. This story proves to be an allegory, as the Linnet tells it in order to share a moral lesson with the Water-rat.