Allegory

Allegory, a discourse which it is not intended should be taken literally, but as conveying a meaning other than the one actually expressed. Allegories may also be frequently expressed by paintings, sculpture, and the like. The most celebrated allegories in the English language are undoubtedly Spenser's Faerie Queene and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. An allegory differs but little from a parable, or & fable, and is simply a kind of extended metaphor.