Benjamin’s oeuvre is fundamentally a collection of allegorical objects

Evidence

In his progress from the ideas of youth, of the Jews and of the literati' as representatives of the intellect, and through the idea of opening up symbolic works of art and intensifying allegorical works of art, Benjamin approached the threshold of a version of the materialist conception of history which was related to the one which Kracauer and Bloch, with whom Benjamin discussed these ideas, were coming to an understanding about during the same years. — <cite>Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 360</cite> (#corroborates`, via linked claim)

The machine, the list of inventions, is precisely such an image; and it will be clear to the reader that we consider such a passage, in appearance a historical analysis, as in reality an exercise in allegorical meditation, in the locating of some fitting emblem in which to anchor the peculiar and nervous modern state of mind which was Benjamin’s subject matter. — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 162 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Why is allegory the appropriate mode for apprehending this world? Because, says Benjamin, unlike romantic symbol (timeless, unified, and spiritualized) baroque allegory has a fluid temporality, it is always fragmented, and it is material. Allegory expresses well the uncontrollable, indeterminable, and yet material world of the baroque princely court with its intrigue, betrayal, and murder. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 317 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Benjamin’s thought operates on parallel discontinuous levels of allegorical meditation — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 140; Benjamin approached materialist history through studies of allegorical art — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 360; Benjamin’s historical analyses of machinery are actually allegorical emblems for psychological states. — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 162 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Benjamin approached materialist history through studies of allegorical art #corroborates (0.80) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 360
• Benjamin’s historical analyses of machinery are actually allegorical emblems for psychological states. #exemplifies (0.78) — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 162
• Allegory suits the fragmented material world of baroque courts #corroborates (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 317
• Benjamin’s criticism redeemed flawed works by treating them as fragments of truth #expands (0.72) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 354