What is an Allusion?
An allusion is defined as a literary device that writers use to convey big ideas efficiently. It is a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. The word allusion hails from the Latin alludere, which means “to refer to.”
It is an effective way of establishing a relationship between different ideas, time periods, or works of art and is often found in literature, music, films, and even in everyday speech. For example, if someone says “It’s hotter than Hades in here,” they are making a reference to the Greek god of fire Hades to convey the hotness of the place. This sentence becomes an allusion to Greek mythology since Hades is a Greek god. Without having to describe the temperature in detail, listeners or readers understand that the temperature is very hot. This is how allusion helps in shortening otherwise longer explanations.
Types of Allusion
Allusions are classified based on the subjects they refer to. Here are some of the most common allusions:
- Religious: When allusions refer to a religious text or figure, they are termed religious allusions. For example, when an author makes a reference to the bible such as that of christ or the Garden of Eden, it is a biblical allusion.
- Historical: Allusions referring to past events or time periods are categorized as historical allusions. The reference involves a well-known historical event or a figure who is familiar to the readers. For example, Benedict Arnold was an American general who was a traitor during the Revolutionary War. A reference to him in a text suggests betrayal.
- Literary/Intertextual: Allusions that refer to a literary text or figure are termed literary allusions. For example, T.S Eliot in his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock makes an intertextual allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
- Mythological: Allusions making a reference to mythological stories or figures feature under this category. They can be from any mythology such as Greek or Egyptian.
- Autobiographical: As the name suggests, allusions referring to events from an author’s own life are autobiographical allusions. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is written by Benjamin Franklin himself and is an unfinished record of his own life.
Allusions are very useful for writers to establish a relationship with their readers. The following section details some popular allusion examples in literature.
Allusions in Literature
When used in literature, allusions make the written piece more profound and sensible to the readers. It also simplifies big ideas. Writers can use these for character development and for providing context through comparison or contrast to other literary works. In addition, allusion helps the reader understand more about a story’s events or character motivations.
Ray Bradbury uses historical and biblical allusions in Fahrenheit 451 to convey important parallels and teach moral lessons. Through biblical allusions, he shows the parallels between the character Guy Montag and Jesus; they both taught enlightenment to their followers. On page 32 of the book, the line “Established,1790, to burn English-influenced books in the colonies. First Fireman Benjamin Franklin” includes historical allusion. The reference here is made to Benjamin Franklin, who did start the first fire department and was a famous writer during colonial times in America. Benjamin Franklin is known to many readers; hence, incorporating this reference helps Ray to put his point across to his readers.
An allusion to Abraham Lincoln is found in Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech. King opens his own speech by imitating Lincoln’s historic “Gettysburg Address,” which involved the lines “Four score and seven years ago…” By doing this, King established a link between his and Lincoln’s vision of liberty. It made his listeners understand that his freedom-oriented steps are as historic as Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Shakespeare’s works such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet also have allusions. In Act 3, Scene 4 of Hamlet, Prince Hamlet refers to several Greek and Roman gods while describing his late father’s portrait:
“See what a grade was seated on this brow,
Hyperion’s curls, the front of Jove himself,
An eye like Mars’ to threaten and command …”
The curls, the eyes, and the front of his late father are being compared to those of the gods’ Mars, Jove, and Hyperion. This helps readers imagine Prince Hamlet’s father more clearly.
In Act 1, Scene 4 of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare makes a reference to a cupid in Mercutio’s advice to Romeo:
“You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings
And soar with them above a common bound.”
In the above lines, Mercutio counsels Romeo about exemplifying cupid’s power of love; cupid is considered a symbol of unpredictability and manipulation.
Allusions referring to events or people are easier to understand and identify than those that refer to other works of literature. This is because most readers are more familiar with events, people, and places than with works of literature. If readers fail to understand the mentioned allusion, it can alienate them from the written work. But when they do understand, it creates a sense of cultural kinship with the author.
Allusion vs. Illusion
Often, people confuse allusions with illusions due to their similar spellings. But they are both different.
An allusion is an indirect but intentional reference to something outside the text. Illusion, on the other hand, refers to a sensory experience. Common illusion types are visual and auditory. It occurs when a person’s senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste) receive a false impression of stimuli.
When applied to literature, an illusion becomes a narrative technique. This can be a dream, vision, or other devices that misleads and confuses a story’s character. But unlike allusion, the author doesn’t expect the readers to understand the reference beforehand. Also, there is also no deeper meaning attached to an illusion.
An example of an illusion is found in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In chapter four, Gatsby tells Nick:
“I’ll tell you God’s truth. … I am the son of some wealthy people in the middle-west [San Francisco] – all dead now.”
By saying he is rich, Gatsby gives an illusion about his family’s background to Nick while, in reality, he is poor and works as a janitor.
Both allusion and illusion help establish a connection between readers and the authors’ work. But through allusions, authors can simplify information by playing on something that their reader is already familiar with. This way, readers understand the story and the character within their own frame of reference. Therefore, it’s a beneficial literary device for writers.
