Allegory: conceptual metaphor in history

Abstract

Far from denying the importance of social contexts, a commitment to the existence of universal, human, mental properties deepens our understanding of such contexts by directing our attention to how they interact with such properties. One universal mental property appears to be the cognitively central role of metaphor. The study of the surface, linguistic or otherwise, manifestations of conceptual metaphor is important for its interaction with specific contexts. Allegory is one such surface manifestation. The study of western allegory should provide important insights into the roles of conceptual metaphor in western cultures. The concept of allegory as a sharply differentiated category dates from the late 18th century. The earlier rhetorical tradition saw allegory, correctly, as part of the natural continuum of metaphorical expression. The study of allegory as a discourse form reveals both a set of universal pragmatic constraints and the way in which these constraints are exploited by specific contexts to produce unique generic constructs such as that of Prudentian allegory.