allegoresis

noun

al·​le·​go·​re·​sis ˌa-lə-gə-ˈrē-səs 

: the interpretation of written, oral, or artistic expression as allegory

The trend unfolded in the later Middle Ages in popular devotional texts … in which the Christ-Bridegroom identification, derived from traditional allegoresis, became rhetorically charged through the force of the Song's love language.

—Ann W. Astell, The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages, 1990

Word History

Etymology

allegor(y) or allegor(ize) + -esis

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

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