ABSTRACT
According to Angus Fletcher, in the simplest terms allegory says one thing and means
another.1 Deriving from the Greek allos, other, and agoria, speaking, it signifies a dou-
bleness of intention that requires interpretation. Consequently, Northrop Frye remarks
that all commentary is allegorical interpretation and suggests the formal affinities of
allegory with criticism.2 This critical potential of allegory has led commentators to
identify the allegorical tradition as a predecessor of psychoanalysis and contemporary
literary and critical theory.
