METAPHOR, ALLEGORY, AND THE CLASSICAL TRADITION: ANCIENT THOUGHT AND MODERN REVISIONS; ED. BY G.R. BOYS-STONES

## Abstract According to the theoretical accounts which survive in the rhetorical handbooks of antiquity, allegory is extended metaphor, or an extended series of metaphors; and both allegory and metaphor are linguistic ‘tropes’: their purpose is essentially ornamental. The distance posited here between meaning on the one hand and the form of its expression on the other has come under decisive attack in the work of 20th century theorists, who have argued for the central role of metaphor in the construction of meaning. But how far in fact do the rhetorical handbooks represent the scope and subtlety of ancient thought on the matter? The papers presented here address this question from a variety of theoretical perspectives; they examine the origin and meaning of the term ‘metaphor’, set ancient against modern theories of language, and theory against practice. The inclusion of papers devoted to allegory in the writing and exegesis of antiquity provides, in the first place, another way of testing the adequacy of ancient rhetorical theory; but it also extends the debate into areas of the literary life of antiquity which have been unjustly sidelined or neglected. Introduction / G.r. Boys-stones -- Metaphor, Simile, And Allegory As Ornaments Of Style / Doreen Innes -- The Harlot's Art : Metaphor And Literary Criticism / Chrostoph G. Leidl -- Plato On Metaphors And Models / E.e. Pender -- Literary Metaphor And Philosophical Insight : The Significance Of Archilochus / Paul Crowther -- The Problem Of Metphor : Chinese Reflections / G.e.r. Lloyd -- Metaphor And Metonymy : Aristole, Jakobson, Ricoeur, And Others / Michael Silk -- Figures Of Allegory From Homer To Latin Epic / Andrew Laird -- Allegory And Exegesis In The Derveni Papyrus : The Origin Of Greek Scholarship / Dirk Obbink -- The Stoics' Two Types Of Allegory / G.r. Boys-stones -- The Rhetoric Of The Homeric Problems / Donald Russell -- Origen On Christ, Tropology, And Exegesis / Mark Edwards. Edited By G.r. Boys-stones. Bibliography: P. 257-278. Includes Index. How closely do the theoretical notions of "metaphor" and "allegory" developed by ancient rhetoricians reflect the practice of Classical writers? This question is tackled through eleven new papers by a team of distinguished academics. Ancient theories of metaphor are compared with twentieth-century alternatives; theory is tested against practice; and allegory--a distinctive though neglected feature of ancient literature and philosophy--is explored against the background of the rhetoricians' claim that it is one form of metaphor. According to the theoretical accounts which survive in the rhetorical handbooks of antiquity, allegory is extended metaphor, or an extended series of metaphors. This volume provides a critical discussion of ancient definitions of allegory and metaphor as merely ornamental'tropes'. They examine metaphor and allegory from a variety of perspectives and compare theory with ancient literary practice. Allegory and metaphor are linguistic 'tropes': they are essentially ornamental. These essays discuss this from a variety of perspectives, examining the origin and meaning of the term 'metaphor' and comparing theory with practice