QUICK ANSWER
"Portraying" is a form of "portray", a transitive verb which is often translated as "retratar". "Allegory" is a noun which is often translated as "la alegoría". Learn more about the difference between "allegory" and "portraying" below.
allegory(
ah
-
lih
-
gor
-
i
)A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling or idea (e.g. man, dog, house).
1. (general)
a. la alegoría (F)
(f) means that a noun is feminine. Spanish nouns have a gender, which is either feminine (like la mujer or la luna) or masculine (like el hombre or el sol).
The author relied on allegory to indirectly criticize his government.El autor recurrió a la alegoría para criticar indirectamente al gobierno.
portray(
por
-
trey
)A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g. I bought a book.).
1. (to depict)
a. retratar
Velazquez portrayed several members of the European royalty in his paintings.Velázquez retrató a varios miembros de la realeza europea en sus cuadros.
2. (to describe)
3. (theater)
a. interpretar
My daughter will portray the role of Juliet in the school's annual play.Mi hija interpretará el papel de Julieta en la función anual del colegio.