Final answer:
An allegory is a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor, conveying hidden meanings typically related to morals, religion, or politics. Literature uses metaphors and allegories to convey deeper meanings, often relating to ethics, politics, or social issues. Some notable examples include Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' and Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible.'
Step-by-step explanation:
An allegory is a written or pictorial work that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral, religious, or political one. It is a narrative that serves as an extended metaphor, where characters and actions become symbols of truth or ideas about life. One example of a famous allegory is Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave,' in which light symbolizes knowledge and darkness symbolizes ignorance.
Literature also uses metaphors and allegories to convey deeper meanings, often related to ethics, politics, or social issues. While a metaphor is a direct comparison between two unlike things ('She is a sly fox'), an allegory presents a story that may seem straightforward on the surface but hides a deeper meaning.
A notable play that functions as an allegory is Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible,' where the Salem witch trials serve as a symbol of political repression and persecution during McCarthyism in the 1940s and 1950s.
Overall, allegories and metaphors enhance narratives by providing layers of interpretation and revealing hidden truths or messages.