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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 The Two Noble Kinsmen
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Fortune:
In the beginning of Act 2, Arcite and Palamon, cousins and close friends, are imprisoned in Athens after the defeat of their native Thebes by Athens in war. Lamenting their plight, Arcite alludes to Fortune, a common allegorical figure in early modern theater and poetry:
The fair-eyed maids shall weep our banishments
And in their songs curse ever-blinded Fortune
Till she for shame see what a wrong she has done
To youth and nature. This is all our world.
We shall know nothing here but one another,
Hear nothing but the clock that tells our woes.
The vine shall grow, but we shall never see it.
Related Themes:
