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Allegorical Quotes

When symbolism says what plain words can't.

This collection of allegorical quotes moves from questions about myth and common sense to Kafka's pull toward symbolic storytelling. One painter even describes their own portrait work as allegorical heads rather than straightforward likenesses.

But if it not be true, the myth itself requires to be explained, and every principle of philosophy and common sense demand that the explanation be sought, not in arbitrary allegorical categories, but in the actual facts of ritual or...

Quotes by William Robertson Smith

When I was painting portraits and - shall we say? - rather allegorical heads, which is the figurative work which immediately preceded the direction I have since gone, these images were always of a very fixed, rigid quality, and, of...

Quotes by Robert Indiana

Many poets in Iran have learned to speak almost a secret language, where political issues are talked about in allegorical ways.

Quotes by Reza Aslan

Kafka's inevitable tropism for the allegorical puts him in marked opposition to the realism that dominated the literary world of the first half of the 20th century.

Quotes by John Kessel

Always Quotes

Now whatever the origin of this apparently meaningless jumble of ideas may have been, it is really a perfect and very slightly allegorical expression of the actual present views we hold today.

Quotes by Frederick Soddy

Frequently Asked Questions

What is meant by 'allegorical' in these quotes?
It refers to using symbols or coded imagery to represent a deeper idea, whether that's a myth, a painted portrait, or a political message hidden in verse.
Why is Kafka mentioned in this collection?
One quote points out Kafka's strong pull toward allegory set him apart from the realism that shaped much of 20th-century literature.
How does allegory relate to politics here?
A separate quote describes Iranian poets adopting a near-secret language, using allegorical imagery to discuss political issues they couldn't state outright.
Are any of these quotes about visual art?
Yes, one painter recalls a period of creating allegorical heads, describing it as the figurative work that came right before their current artistic direction.
What should I read next after these allegorical quotes?
Check out Expression quotes for more on indirect communication, or Common Sense quotes for the opposite approach.

Elsewhere, the theme turns political, as poets in Iran are described using allegory as a coded language. For more on how ideas get communicated indirectly, see Expression and Facts quotes.