Allegory is a useful term in an English class. Essentially, it means that there are two levels of meaning that can be interpreted by reading a story: the literal story that is being told as well as a secondary level of meaning that is implied. For example, Arthur Miller's play The Crucible is very literally about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. There is, however, another level of meaning where Miller is asking his readers to look around and see the many other cases in life where we accuse people of something that isn't true without finding out all the facts first. Miller wrote the play during the 1950s and was making a connection to the accusations of people being Communists that were prevalent during the McCarthy era.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Peaceful Country (1338-9)
Above, I have included a painting called Peaceful Country that was painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338-1339. The work is at its most literal a depiction of a peaceful rural scene. There are rolling hills in the background, peasants work in plowed farmlands, several people ride through on horseback. The allegorical level of the painting is implied by the figure in the upper left hand corner. This figure represents Security, promising safety to those who live harmoniously under the rule of law.
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