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An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device, allusion allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word or phrase.
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas, and they do so in order to layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work.
An allusion is a literary device used to reference another object outside of the work of literature. The object can be a real or fictional person, event, quote, or other work of artistic expression. Allusions can be shorthand for adding emotion or significance to a passage by drawing on the reader’s prior associations with the object.
Allusions are subtle and indirect, hinting at something you're expected to know without explicitly telling you what it is. The literary device is used to enhance the text, often by making it more relatable to the reader or by illustrating either an example or the text's overarching theme.
allusion, in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text. Most allusions are based on the assumption that there is a body of knowledge that is shared by the author and the reader and that therefore the reader will understand the author’s referent.
However, allusions are an essential tool for literary artists that often serve to situate their own works within the wider culture and the contexts of literary history. So, how does this work? What do allusions achieve and why do authors use them? Let’s refer back to our examples.
Allusion is a reference to a well-known person, character, place, or event that a writer makes to deepen the reader’s understanding of their work. Allusions aren’t reserved for writing, though—we frequently use them in our speech. An allusion is a concise way to communicate a lot of meaning.
Allusions (ale-LOO-shuhn) are textual references to an object or subject that exists outside the text. They use readers’ prior knowledge and associations to enhance emotion or clarify significance. Literary allusions are typically indirect or implied, meaning readers must make the connection themselves.
Allusion (pronounced ah-LOO-zhun) is basically a reference to something else. It’s when a writer mentions some other work, or refers to an earlier part of the current work. In literature, it’s frequently used to reference cultural works (e.g. by alluding to a Bible story or Greek myth).
What is allusion? And what role does allusion play in works of literature? It’s a key part of what many writers do, so it’s worth defining ‘allusion’ and exploring some of the issues that arise from its use in literary texts.