Transcript Allusion - PBworks

Allusion
Definition
• An allusion is a reference to someone or
something that is hinted at or implied, rather
than being directly stated. This is true, but in
literary criticism an allusion is more specific.
Allusion as a literary term must allude to a
literary text in some way, and it must do so
without calling attention to itself or
announcing that it is alluding to a text.
• The word is from the late Latin allusio
meaning “a play on words” or “game” and is
a derivative of the Latin word alludere,
meaning “to play around” or “to refer to
mockingly.”
Allusion vs. Illusion
• An illusion is an erroneous mental representation. In a
literary sense it is something that is false that appears, or
people believe to be, true. “He had the illusion of faith”
for example. It is a disjunction between perceived reality
and objective reality.
• An allusion on the other hand is a reference within a
work, usually literary or artistic, to an external work,
person, character, etc. with the assumption that the
audience will be familiar with the reference. The reference
can be either direct or more veiled. “This task makes me
feel like Sisyphus”, would be a direct allusion to the fact
that every time the task is almost done it encounters a
setback.
Examples
• "The girl's love of sweets was her Achilles heel,"
referencing the warrior in Greek mythology, Achilles,
who could only be harmed if something hit his heel
because he was dipped in magic water as baby when
his mother held him by a heel. Achilles' only
weakness is his heel, so an Achilles heel reference
means a downfall or weakness, in this example a
weakness for sweets.
• It has rained so long, it seems as though it has rained
for 40 days and nights. (This is reference to Noah's
Ark which is a well-known event.)
• In "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan
Poe, there are repeated allusions to the
corpses of Montresor's ancestors that line the
vaults of the catacombs as Montresor leads
Fortunato to his death.
Which quotes illustrate allusion?
• “My motto is live fast, die young, and have a
good-looking corpse.”(383)
• “They’ll all be destroyed one day like Sodom
and Gomorrah.”