Allegory - Metaphor - Analogy

Metaphor:

–noun

1.a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our god.” Compare mixed metaphor, simile ( def. 1 ) .

2. something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.

The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like  or as : “A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of moonlight.” Metaphors are common in literature and expansive speech. ( Compare simile.) 

Allegory:

–noun, plural -ries.

1.a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.

2.a symbolical narrative: the allegory of  Piers Plowman.

A story that has a deeper or more general meaning in addition to its surface meaning. Allegories are composed of several symbols or metaphors. For example, in The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, the character named Christian struggles to escape from a bog or swamp. The story of his difficulty is a symbol of the difficulty of leading a good life in the “bog” of this world. The “bog” is a metaphor or symbol of life's hardships and distractions. Similarly, when Christian loses a heavy pack that he has been carrying on his back, this symbolizes his freedom from the weight of sin that he has been carrying.

Analogy:

–noun, plural -gies.

1.a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.

2.similarity or comparability: I see no analogy between your problem and mine.

3.Biology . an analogous relationship.

4.Linguistics .

a.the process by which words or phrases are created or re-formed according to existing patterns in the language, as when shoon  was re-formed as shoes,  when -ize  is added to nouns like winter  to form verbs, or when a child says foots  for feet.

b.a form resulting from such a process.

5.Logic . a form of reasoning in which one thing is inferred to be similar to another thing in a certain respect, on the basis of the known similarity between the things in other respects.

 
A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way ( see metaphor and simile). An analogy attributed to Samuel Johnson is: “Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.”