---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I dislike allegory wherever I smell it."
description: "\"I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.\" — J. R. R. Tolkien"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png"
---

#  I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.

![“I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.” quote by J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png)

> “I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.”

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker expresses a strong dislike for allegorical works whenever they detect them.

**In simple terms:** Dislikes allegory.

Key Takeaway

Avoid using allegory in writing.

Themes

literature style preference critique allegory

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

literary critical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- literary analysis
- teaching

Key Concepts

interpretation symbolism writing technique

Questions to Reflect On

- When is allegory effective?
- How does personal bias affect literary criticism?

A Different Perspective

Allegory can be subtle and valuable despite personal taste.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Allegory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allegory/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/)

## Related quotes

> [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 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 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 cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cordially-dislike-allegory-in-all-its-manifestations-and-always-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“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/)

> [You can make the Ring into an allegory of our own time, if you like: and allegory of the inevitable fate that waits for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/you-can-make-the-ring-into-an-allegory-of-our-own-time-if-you-like/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [“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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [“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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

## More by J. R. R. Tolkien

> [I never liked Hans Christian Andersen because I knew he was always getting at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-never-liked-hans-christian-andersen-because-i-knew-he-was-always/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [No half-heartedness and no worldly fear must turn us aside from following the light unflinchingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/no-half-heartedness-and-no-worldly-fear-must-turn-us-aside-from/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [If you don't know where you're going, you'll wind up somewhere else. Not all those who wander are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/if-you-don-t-know-where-you-re-going-you-ll-wind-up-somewhere-else/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he came from. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-enemy-his-sense-of-duty-was-no-less-than-yours-i-deem-you-wonder/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [It was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/it-was-a-hobbit-hole-and-that-means-comfort/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Adventures make one late for supper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/adventures-make-one-late-for-supper/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-lord-of-the-rings-is-of-course-a-fundamentally-religious-and/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [I have no help to send, therefore I must go myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-have-no-help-to-send-therefore-i-must-go-myself/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Many are the strange chances of the world, and help oft shall come from the hands of the weak when the Wise falter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/many-are-the-strange-chances-of-the-world-and-help-oft-shall-come/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Mind your P's and Q's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/mind-your-p-s-and-q-s/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [If you're going to have a complicated story you must work to a map; otherwise you'll never make a map of it afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/if-you-re-going-to-have-a-complicated-story-you-must-work-to-a-map/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Outside the ring of dancing warriors with spears and axes stood wolves at a respectful distance, watching and waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/outside-the-ring-of-dancing-warriors-with-spears-and-axes-stood/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [You have to understand the good in things, to detect the real evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/you-have-to-understand-the-good-in-things-to-detect-the-real-evil/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/the-mind-that-thought-of-light-heavy-grey-yellow-still-swift-also/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

[Explore all 252 J. R. R. Tolkien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

## 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

> [“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 dislike allegory wherever I smell it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "J. R. R. Tolkien"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Allegory"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/j-r-r-tolkien-2-1316_allegory_i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it-1_1238817.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I dislike allegory wherever I smell it.” — J. R. R. Tolkien",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "J. R. R. Tolkien",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I dislike allegory wherever I smell...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-dislike-allegory-wherever-i-smell-it/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
