In rhetoric, an allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. An allusion is understandable only to those with prior knowledge of the reference in question (as the writer assumes the reader has). An "allusion" is not the same as an "illusion". ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - Utopian discord
- A Pearl Harbor sneak-attack
- All roads lead to Rome (often an idiom)
- A Draconian law
- A modern example of allusion at many levels is Nick Park's Oscar-winning Animation The Wrong Trousers (1993), where Shakespeare's problem play "All's Well That Ends Well" is alluded to by verbatim citation of the title by Wallace, where Hans Cristian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes is alluded to visually by the bald Wallace drying his "hair" with a hair dryer, and where democracy is alluded to via Gromit's reading The Republic by Pluto (sic) (i.e. Plato). Although many commentators have noted various individual allusions in The Wrong Trousers, most take them only as innocent puns or in-jokes, not realising that, taken together, these allusions form other meanings (see intertextuality), and that The Wrong Trousers might be a well-disguised allegory or political satire.
- An even more recent example in popular culture was cited recently in The Matrix Reloaded, wherein Morpheus states, "I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me (sic)", which alludes to a quote by King Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 2:3 of the Old Testament. This is known as a religious allusion.
- Halcyon days is a reference to calm days once believed to surround the brooding of the Halcyon (Genus).
- Land of the Morningstar is a reference to Hell arising from a common misreading of Isaiah 14:12 that names the Devil as the Morningstar. This reading is a misappropriation of the Latin word Lucifer that fails to match a careful reading of the original Hebrew.
- Salad days is a reference to Shakespeare's description of youth as a time of na?vit? and indiscretion.
- A son of the morning is a traveler; an allusion to the practice in the Middle East to rise before dawn so one wouldn't have to travel in the heat of day.
- A son of Icarus is an allusion to the Greek mythological story of Icarus, who ignored his father's warning and perished flying too close to the Sun, melting the wax holding on the wings his father had crafted. Since Icarus died without children, the more sensible phrase might be "son of Daedalus" (the father); but Icarus is the one who is remembered, and so "son" is used allegorically, meaning foolish and over-exuberant like Icarus.
Rhetoric: Rhetoric (from Greek ?????, rh?t?r, "orator") is one of the three original liberal arts or trivium (the other members are dialectic and grammar) in Western culture. In ancient and medieval times, both rhetoric and dialectic were understood to aim at being persuasive. The concept of rhetoric has shi... Stylistic device: In literature and writing, a stylistic device is the use of any of a variety of techniques to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling to the literal one written.... |