{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.allegory","code":"thing-q18535","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q18535/","name":"allegory","alternateNames":["Latin allegory","Medieval allegory","allegory of fame","allegorical poem","allegory of the Republic","astrological allegory"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Allegory is a narrative in prose or verse in which characters, places or events represent abstract ideas, moral qualities or historical and political situations to convey a broader message about real-world issues and occurrences; allegorical interpretation is a related practice, and readings of specific works are attributed.","purpose":"Let an agent explain narrative allegory, relay its forms, history, examples and interpretive practice from literary sources with readings attributed, and distinguish it from metaphor, symbolism, fable, parable and standalone personification.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Allegory sustains correspondence between narrative elements and a broader message.","Allegory supports both a narrative level and a broader level of meaning.","This sense requires a narrative in prose or verse, so standalone visual personifications and images do not qualify.","Allegory can serve didactic or political purposes."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What allegory is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is allegory, and how does it differ from metaphor, symbolism, fable, parable and personification?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about literature, art, religious interpretation or a specific work?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"forms","name":"Forms","description":"Named forms.","findings":[{"id":"forms-finding","name":"Forms","description":"Forms.","questions":[{"text":"What are Latin and medieval allegory, allegorical poems and allegories of fame, the Republic and astrology?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific form?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"literature","name":"Literature","description":"Literary history.","layers":[{"id":"ancient","name":"Ancient","description":"Ancient allegory.","findings":[{"id":"ancient-finding","name":"Ancient","description":"Ancient.","questions":[{"text":"How did Plato and late antique writers use allegory?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"medieval","name":"Medieval","description":"Medieval allegory.","findings":[{"id":"medieval-finding","name":"Medieval","description":"Medieval.","questions":[{"text":"Why was allegory central to medieval literature, as in the Roman de la Rose?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"interpretation","name":"Interpretation","description":"Interpretation.","layers":[{"id":"exegesis","name":"Exegesis","description":"Allegorical interpretation.","findings":[{"id":"exegesis-finding","name":"Exegesis","description":"Exegesis.","questions":[{"text":"How did allegorical interpretation of scripture develop, with traditions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits biblical hermeneutics?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"political","name":"Political","description":"Political allegory.","findings":[{"id":"political-finding","name":"Political","description":"Political.","questions":[{"text":"How is Animal Farm read as political allegory, and what do critics debate, with views attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Visual art.","layers":[{"id":"personification","name":"Personification","description":"National personifications.","findings":[{"id":"personification-finding","name":"Personification","description":"Personification.","questions":[{"text":"How do figures such as Marianne personify the Republic?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Marianne?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"renaissance","name":"Renaissance","description":"Renaissance allegory.","findings":[{"id":"renaissance-finding","name":"Renaissance","description":"Renaissance.","questions":[{"text":"How did Renaissance painters create allegories of fame and astrology?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Renaissance art?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain what allegory is and give classic examples with sources.","Offer readings of an allegorical work while naming them as interpretations."],"mustNot":["Present one reading of an allegory as the only correct one.","Confuse allegory with general symbolism.","Project modern political meanings onto old works as if the author intended them."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing claims that a living author's work is a hidden attack on named people."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Reading allegory into works can attribute views to authors that they did not hold."],"affectedParties":["Authors and their estates","Readers and students"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the form; each work belongs to its author or is in the public domain.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q182545","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q843227","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"stylistic device","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"The Pilgrim s Progress","type":"related","note":"instance"},{"target":"personification","type":"related"},{"target":"metaphor","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.allegory","Wikidata: Q18535 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18535)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Plato s cave: Republic, about 375 BC note","The Pilgrim s Progress: 1678 year - Bunyan","Animal Farm: 1945 year - Orwell"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Characters, places or events in a prose or verse narrative symbolically convey broader ideas.","Literary forms include Latin allegory, medieval allegory and allegorical poems, with classification requiring a narrative.","Metaphor and symbolism alone do not establish allegory, while fables and parables may qualify when their narratives convey a broader message.","Personification alone does not establish narrative allegory.","Not a physical object; seen in texts, paintings and sculptures with personified ideas."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain forms and history","relay literary and visual examples","describe named forms","present interpretations with attribution"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting one reading as definitive","Confusing allegory with symbolism","Anachronistic political readings"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Conveying abstract meaning through extended representation.","religious and moral allegory","political allegory","allegorical poems","visual allegory and personification","allegorical interpretation"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q18535: allegory","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18535","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Allegory","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should visual allegory be a separate entry?","Should allegory of the Republic be moved to national personification entries?","How should literary criticism sources be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q18535/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q18535/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T23:16:04Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:30+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}