Introduction to allegory: aliud verbis, aliud sensu

Abstract

The unclear and dispersive content of allegory as a figure which presents one thing in words and another in meaning with its etymology and rhetorical definitions (aliud verbis, aliud sensu); its protean rhetorical-stylistic, hermeneutic, and generic character; and its substantial presence in aesthetically rich literary texts, from canonic texts and philosophical and didactic poems and tractates, all the way to trivial and referential genres-eludes disciplined investigation of allegory within the framework of just one scientific field. In the history of allegory there are records of different humanistic, scientific paradigms with varying emphasis, which for heuristic purposes can be broken down into several focal points: rhetorical-stylistic facticity of allegory, receptive process of reading/interpreting allegory, allegory as a literary type/category. By following the denoted focal points, along with exploring the theoretical-historical heritage, this study investigates the (figurative) tropological, hermeneutic and literary-theoretical content of allegory and thereby begins to open a significantly broader investigative field.