An allegory is a narrative having a second meaning beneath the surface one - a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Examples of allegories are the Fairie Queen by Edmund Spenser, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
An example of an Allegory can be found in the poetic work of Edmund Spenser .
The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
Lo I the man, whose Muse whilome did maske,
As time her taught, in lowly Shepheards weeds,
Am now enforst a far vnfitter taske,
For trumpets sterne to chaunge mine Oaten reeds,
And sing of Knights and Ladies gentle deeds;
Whose prayses hauing slept in silence long,
Me, all too meane, the sacred Muse areeds
To blazon broad emongst her learned throng:
Fierce warres and faithfull loues shall moralize my song.
Excerpt from Book 1