ALLEGORIES ACT ON A SCALE…
Throughout this workshop, you will be asked to make meaning of many different
allegories – demonstrating how allegories can show up in different context.
• THEY MOVE FROM LIGHTLY VEILED (which are easiest to understand…) to HEAVILY
VEILED WHICH ARE HARDER TO UNDERSTAND…
• IMAGINE IT THIS WAY… (go to next slide)
ALLEGORIES
LIGHTLY VEILED
FABLES
SHORT STORIES…
Lightly Veiled = obvious,
the TRUE meaning is clear,
symbols are blatant, meaning
implied but easily seen
HEAVILY VEILED
SHORT STORIES…
Somewhat Veiled = meaning is
subtle, but easily deciphered;
symbols may be obvious, but
meaning must be implied.
NOVELLAS
NOVELS
Heavily Veiled = meaning is not
obvious, the TRUE meaning
difficult to identify, symbols are
often hidden or subtle
ALLEGORY
CONTINUED…
• Each step of this workshop will cover
a different level of “veiled”
allegories. Sometimes the symbols
and meaning will be obvious, other
times it will be extremely
challenging to make meaning of the
text.
• You will need to look for PATTERNS
in the imagery, symbols, language,
character behavior, etc. in order to
make meaning of allegory.
• We will start with LIGHTLY VEILED
allegories: Fables.
*I know you have all faced this struggle…
an English teacher making sense of
something that you just don’t see, or that
maybe the author might not have intended.
I AM ASKING YOU TO PUT YOUR ENLIGSH
TEACHER HAT ON… Make meaning of
what is there. 
CONVENTIONS OF GENRE:
FABLES
Featuring AESOP’S FABLES
(If you are unfamiliar with terms in this resource, look them up!)
TO FIND OUT WHAT A FABLE IS AND WHAT THE CONVENTIONS OF
THE FABLE GENRE ARE FILL IN THE CHART BY READING THE
FABLES AT EACH OF THE LINKS BELOW:
PICK THREE OF THE FABLES FROM THIS SITE: http://www.aesopfables.com/
CREATE THIS CHART IN YOUR JOURNAL:
FABLE TITLE:
Types of
characters:
Locations
(setting):
Events in text:
Literary Devices
Used in text:
1.
2.
3.
FROM YOUR OBSERVATIONS OF THESE THREE FABLES, WHAT IS THE RECIPE FOR A FABLE? (IE: What
shows up in EVERY fable as conventions of that genre of literature?)
1.
2.
3.
4
WHO WAS AESOP?
• a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564
BCE
• Fables were not recorded; they originally belonged to the oral tradition
• Fables were designed for adults to address political and ethical issues
• Also put to use as ethical guides
• From the Renaissance onwards were particularly used for the education of children.
HOW ARE FABLES
ALLEGORICAL? WHAT ARE
THE SYMBOLS IN THE FABLES
YOU SAW?
ANSWER THIS QUESTION AS A TEAM – THEN WRITE
THE ANSWER AS YOUR JOURNAL ENTRY FOR THE
DAY.
NEXT ITS YOUR TURN…
WRITE A FABLE AS A TEAM THAT CORRECTLY
DEMONSTATES ALL OF THE CONVENTIONS OF A
FABLE…
• Write this by hand on yellow paper and turn
it into the box.
• Make sure it is legible!
NEPRIS VIDEO: WATCH THIS VIDEO AND
TAKE NOTES. DISCUSS WITH TEAM!
• ANSWERS NEED TO KNOWS:
• “What makes a video game entertaining/engaging?”
• “What role does narrative writing take in video game development/ design?”
• This link is a video lecture from a college professor who teaches video game design at the ART INSTITUTE
of DALLAS.
• This video is LONG. What you don’t get through in class you need to do at home.
• THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION TO YOUR SUCCESS IN DESIGNING A VIDEO GAME… You will not find this
information elsewhere.
• FOLLOW THE LINK AND SIGN IN WITH YOU NISDTX LOGIN --  HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND AND MAKE
GOOD CHOICES!
• https://www.nepris.com/sessions/session/detail/34845