Differences Between Metaphor, Analogy And Allegory

Poetry is one of the oldest and best-known arts, since ancient times being a way of expressing and projecting the emotions and thoughts that the contemplation of reality generates.

In this art, words are used to generate a mental and emotional image, often seeking that the rhythm, sound and/or concepts and meanings used express the poet’s reflections in a rhythmic and melodious way.

There are different figures or literary resources that allow these compositions to be embellished, and which have applications both in poetry and in the habitual and figurative use of language: alliteration, ellipsis, hyperbaton, metaphors, analogies and allegories are examples of this. However, some of them, such as the last three, have many similarities between themselves and are sometimes confused.

That is why to help distinguish them throughout this article we are going to comment on the main differences between metaphor, analogy and allegory.

    What are metaphors, analogies and allegories?

    Metaphors, analogies and allegories are literary or rhetorical figures, which serve to give the language expressiveness and beauty in addition to producing different effects by suggesting a non-literal meaning of the words used. But before being able to delve into the differences between such similar concepts, it is important to establish a short description of each of them.

    Definition of metaphor

    We understand by metaphor one of the best-known literary figures in which A specific concept or word is used to replace and represent another, with which it maintains some type of similarity relationship or some common property that is representative of both terms. The concept we want to refer to is identified with a different one, which is issued as a substitute.

    Definition of analogy

    The analogy is another rhetorical figure that, like the previous one, establishes a relationship between two concepts or words, making a comparison based on some characteristic or similarity in order to show the similarity relationship Rather than between entities, things or objects, the comparison is established between two attributes. In reality, the analogy can include metaphors or allegories.

    Definition of allegory

    Regarding the allegory, This literary figure uses a successive chain of interrelated metaphors to form an explicit image in such a way that clear evidence of an idea, usually abstract, is formed.

    Main differences between these concepts

    Although they are very similar to each other, the Analogies, metaphors and allegories present some differences that allow us to distinguish them and value their existence separately

    Below are the main differences between these literary figures.

    1. Level of specificity

    Although analogies, metaphors and allegories are different figures, The truth is that allegories usually include sequences of metaphors and that analogies can be formed from these.

    And we can even consider that allegories can include or be formed from analogies. In this way, although generally all metaphors are based on some type of analogy, not every analogy is in the form of a metaphor.

    2. Comparison or substitution

    One of the most easily visible characteristics that differentiates one from the others is that while the analogy establishes a comparison without the need to change the concepts themselves, the metaphor directly replaces the real term with that of the one that is compared

    3. Extension necessary for understanding

    Another feature in which These rhetorical figures differ is found in the different length or duration necessary to understand the concepts referred to

    The metaphor is usually brief and can be understood by itself, just like the analogy. However, since allegory is a succession of metaphors, it cannot be understood if it does not include different fragments throughout a composition.

    4. Level of subtlety and abstraction

    Another difference between these figures can be found in the level of abstraction or logic required to understand them.

    As a general rule, analogies are representations of logical associations that indicate a type of similarity between two elements, while metaphors and allegories tend to require a more imaginative and subtle mental effort as they tend to refer to more abstract elements, such as death or love, or a relationship between concepts based on a common characteristic, such as brilliance, liveliness or color.

    Examples of each of the three concepts

    In order to help you see what each of these concepts is and better visualize their differences, below we are going to show a series of examples of each of them.