--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cordially dislike allegory in all its…" description: "\"I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/anonymous-1_allegory_i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its_2814029.jpg" --- # I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations… ![“I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/anonymous-1_allegory_i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its_2814029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/anonymous-1_allegory_i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its_2814029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cac/anonymous-1_allegory_i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its_2814029.jpg) > “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author dislikes allegory, preferring history that allows readers freedom rather than authorial control. **In simple terms:** Prefers history over allegory for reader freedom. Key Takeaway Choose works that empower personal interpretation. Themes literature freedom interpretation Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - reading clubs - educational curricula - creative writing workshops Key Concepts authorial intent reader agency narrative control Questions to Reflect On - How does allegory shape perception? - Can history be equally manipulative? A Different Perspective Allegory can convey complex ideas efficiently. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allegory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegory/) [Allegory Manifestations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegory-manifestations-3540667/) [Allegory Resides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegory-resides-3540668/) [Applicability Allegory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/applicability-allegory-3540665/) [Dislike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dislike/) [Dislike Allegory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dislike-allegory-3540666/) [Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Manifestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifestation/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its-manifestations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its-manifestations-and-always/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [I dislike Allegory - the conscious and intentional allegory - yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-the-conscious-and-intentional-allegory-yet-any-2/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [“I dislike Allegory – the conscious and intentional allegory – yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/i-dislike-allegory-the-conscious-and-intentional-allegory-yet-any/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [“I mourned, hands clenched, before that mound. For the piercing cold of grief had caught Me in the doleful dread and bound My heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-mourned-hands-clenched-before-that-mound-for-the-piercing-cold-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-is-a-book-and-those-who-do-not-travel-read-only-one-page/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Death is imposed only on creatures, not their creations, and has therefore always appeared in art in a broken form: as allegory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-imposed-only-on-creatures-not-their-creations-and-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because, as we know, almost anything can be read into any book if you are determined enough. This will be especially impressed on anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-as-we-know-almost-anything-can-be-read-into-any-book-if-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Each grass from a lifeless grain is bred, Else to harvest no wheat were won: Always from good is good begun. So seemly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-grass-from-a-lifeless-grain-is-bred-else-to-harvest-no-wheat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-an-allegory-unhappiness-a-story/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The strongest and most effective force in guaranteeing the long-term maintenance of power is not violence in all the forms deployed by the dominant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-strongest-and-most-effective-force-in-guaranteeing-the-long-term/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Domination is a sort of hatred, anger, enmity. How can you even think of dominating a person you love? You would love to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/domination-is-a-sort-of-hatred-anger-enmity-how-can-you-even-think-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In spiritual direction there is absolutely no domination or control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-spiritual-direction-there-is-absolutely-no-domination-or-control/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The point is not that Jesus was a good guy who accepted everybody, and thus we should do the same (though that would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-point-is-not-that-jesus-was-a-good-guy-who-accepted-everybody-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Allegory quotes > [Science fiction is a weird category, because it's the only area of fiction I can think of where the story is not of primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/science-fiction-is-a-weird-category-because-it-s-the-only-area-of/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [I think cinema is closer to allegories than to reality. It's closer to our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-think-cinema-is-closer-to-allegories-than-to-reality-it-s-closer-to/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/allegories-are-in-the-realm-of-thought-what-ruins-are-in-the-realm-of/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [A fairytale is not an allegory. There may be allegory in it, but it is not an allegory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-fairytale-is-not-an-allegory-there-may-be-allegory-in-it-but-it-is/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“However, as a guarantee of its renewed youth, the symbolical phoenix never reappeared before the eyes of the world without having consumed solemnly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/however-as-a-guarantee-of-its-renewed-youth-the-symbolical-phoenix/) [Éliphas Lévi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [The fumes of the most disordered imaginations were recorded in their religious code, as special communications of the Deity; and as it could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-fumes-of-the-most-disordered-imaginations-were-recorded-in-their/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [By a symbol I do not mean an allegory or a sign, but an image that describes in the best possible way the dimly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/by-a-symbol-i-do-not-mean-an-allegory-or-a-sign-but-an-image-that/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-don-t-feel-i-have-to-struggle-against-allegory-i-let-the-readers-do/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [“Hence all original religions are allegorical, or susceptible of allegory, and, like Janus, have a double face of false and true”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/hence-all-original-religions-are-allegorical-or-susceptible-of/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [It is remarkable how a man cannot summarize his thoughts in even the most general sort of way without betraying himself completely, without putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/it-is-remarkable-how-a-man-cannot-summarize-his-thoughts-in-even-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“The Durhannians' countenance lifted as is the way of Hope. There was a village elder whose eyes flickered with the light of Understanding. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-green-westlake/the-durhannians-countenance-lifted-as-is-the-way-of-hope-there-was-a/) [Laurie Green Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-green-westlake/) > [“This philistinism of interpretation is more rife in literature than in any other art. For decades now, literary critics have understood it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/this-philistinism-of-interpretation-is-more-rife-in-literature-than/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“On this material plane, each living being is like a street lantern lamp with a dirty lampshade. The inside flame burns evenly and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/on-this-material-plane-each-living-being-is-like-a-street-lantern/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Not taking the Bible (or other texts based on 'revealed truths') literally leaves it up to the reader to cherry-pick elements for belief. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tayler/not-taking-the-bible-or-other-texts-based-on-revealed-truths/) [Jeffrey Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tayler/) > [We each create a story - a narritive, a picture, an allegory, a model - for what's going on in the universe. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/we-each-create-a-story-a-narritive-a-picture-an-allegory-a-model-for/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) [Browse all 150 Allegory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. 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