Definition:

 An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication.

 It serves as a kind of shorthand, drawing on this outside work to provide greater context or meaning to the situation being written about.

 M.H.Abrams defined allusion as "a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage".

 In a freer informal definition, allusion is a passing or casual reference, an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: In the

stock market he met his Waterloo.

history

 Backside of a clay tablet from Pylosbearing the motif of the Labyrinth, allusion to the mythological fight of Theseus and the Minotaur.

 In literature, allusions are used to link concepts that the reader already has knowledge of, with concepts discussed in the story .

 In the field of film criticism, a film maker's intentionally unspoken visual reference to another film has come to be called an homage. It may even be sensed that real events have allusive overtones, when a previous event is inescapably recalled by a current one.

 "Allusion is bound up with a vital and perennial topic in literary theory, the place of authorial in interpretation", William Irwin observed, in asking "What is an allusion?" Without the hearer or reader's comprehending the author's intention, an allusion becomes merely a decorative device.

Functioning

 In literary terms, the main function of allusion in poetry is that it uses a powerful word, phrase or cultural reference that readers should understand in order to simply portray a complex concept.

 Allusion is a technique used in literature in which a literary work references another work of literature, work of art, historical figure, place, or event. In general, this passing reference is not explained by the writer, so only readers who are familiar with the referenced work tend to notice it.

Examples of allusion

 In discussing the richly allusive poetry of Virgil's Georgics, R. F. Thomas distinguished six categories of allusive reference, which are applicable to a wider cultural sphere. These types are :  Casual Reference, "the use of language which recalls a specific antecedent, but only in a general sense" that is relatively unimportant to the new context;

 Single Reference, in which the hearer or reader is intended to "recall the context of the model and apply that context to the new situation"; such a specific single reference in Virgil, according to Thomas, is a means of "making connections or conveying ideas on a level of intense subtlety";  Self-Reference, where the locus is in the poet's own work;  Corrective Allusion, where the imitation is clearly in opposition to the original source's intentions;

 Apparent Reference ""which seems clearly to recall a specific model but which on closer inspection frustrates that intention" and  Multiple Reference or Conflation, which refers in various ways simultaneously to several sources, fusing and transforming the cultural traditions.

 Allusion differs from the similar term intertextuality in that it is an intentional effort on the author's part. The success of an allusion depends in part on at least some of its audience "getting" it. Allusions may be made increasingly obscure, until at last they are understood by the author alone, who thereby retreats into a private language.

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I doubt if Phaethon feared more - that time he dropped the sun-reins of his father's chariot and burned the streak of sky we see today or if poor Icarus did - feeling his sides unfeathering as the wax began to melt, his father shouting: "wrong, your course is wrong“….

Some kınd of Examples

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The cinnamon rolls were huge and golden brown, reminiscent of the twisted buns on the sides of Princess Leia's head.

Tracy, teaching candidate at the University of La Verne

The romance between that man and I was no Romeo and Juliet, but we will sacrifice for each other in any situation.

Hieu Nguyen, in Grade 9

His life is a Horatio Alger story.

Harsh Gupta, in Grade 7 at Hayfield School

My brother tricked me and ran just like Road Runner.

Chris H. in Grade 7 at Lufkin Road Middle School

"I am afraid of spiders, but I'm no cowardly lion!"

from Emily in Grade 6 at Worsley School.

"The day was young and I was looking forward to the afternoon. I was suppose to go out on a date, but my plans were changed. All my siblings were gone, but I had been in the house slaving like Cinderella, scrubbing the floors on my hand and knees, washing

clothes and dishes and making everyones' beds".

from Crystal B. in Grade 11 at Oakland high

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It has been very difficult for me to land the job of my dreams to become a teacher. Sometimes I feel like I have a huge stamp on my forehead the says 'Don Quixote'. I won't let the job hunt defeat me, because one day I want to be known as the Mother Teresa of education.

Luequita Oliver, graduate student at Cambridge College

The family of three sat there like the three bears eating their porridge.

Arielle Avant in Grade 9 at Cheyenne Mountain H. S.

My friends and I were the real three stooges at Jelly Beans because we were horsing around and pushing and shoving each other.

Nick in Grade 7 at Lufkin Road Middle School

He ran down the alley as the many shadows stalked him. Forced to turn a corner, he found himself faced with more horrors. No amount of Falstaff wit could save him now.

Nick L. in Grade 7 at Lufkin Road Middle School

"Casual and confident, the Foremost High team started the game that was to prove their Waterloo".

from Tashena C. in Grade 11 at Foremost H.S.

"As I watched my mother sitting beside Uncle Aaron, a fresh pang of hurt stabbed my heart, and I remembered once again how Hamlet must've felt..."

Michelle, in Grade 8, homeschooling