An allusion is when an author or poet makes an indirect reference to some idea, figure, other text, place, or event that originates from outside the text. It could also refer to something that happens earlier in the text; this is often called an "internal allusion" (as opposed to a regular, or "external," allusion). Allusions are a type of poetic device that depends on the reader possessing background knowledge on a thing that is not further explained.
An external allusion (which most allusions are) refers to something outside your story but familiar to your reader.
An internal allusion refers to something earlier in your story, which you hope your reader noticed.
The origin of the word allusion is in the Latin verb “ludere,” which means to play, mimic, mock, or deceive.
The verb form of the noun "allusion" is "allude," so you could state that a writer "alludes to" or "makes an allusion to" something. For instance, it's particularly common for writers from the West to make allusions in their works to the Bible and Greek or Roman mythology.
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. Allusions are commonly used metaphorically but can also be used ironically.
Examples:
F "Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel."
The allusion here is to "Achilles' heel," or the Greek myth about the hero Achilles and how his heel was his one weakness. In this case, the speaker's "weakness" is chocolate cake.
F "We got a new Einstein in school today."
This allusion is to the real-life genius physicist Albert Einstein and means that the new student is extremely smart.
F "The Waste Land" (1922) by T. S. Eliot
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
T. S. Eliot's well-regarded poem "The Waste Land" is filled to the brim with literary allusions, many of which are fairly obscure. Immediately in this poem, Eliot thrusts an allusion at us: the mention of April being "the cruellest month" sharply contrasts with the opening of medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which describes April as a cheerful, lively month filled with stories, pilgrimages, and "sweet-smelling showers." To Eliot, April is exceptionally cruel because of the pain associated with the regeneration of life.
Being unaware of this literary connection here would make you miss the almost sarcastic play on words Eliot does with his antithetical view of April and spring as a whole.
Types of allusion
Allusion is one of those techniques where there are a variety of different forms of allusion. These differ depending on the type of thing the allusion is referring to.
The most common form of allusion is a religious allusion, but there are also historical, mythological, and literary allusions.
Historical – An allusion to a historical event or period.
For example, “He was a Nero” suggests disturbing behaviour like that of the infamous Roman emperor.
Mythological – An allusion to a mythological figure or story.
For example, “She ran faster than Hermes.” – the messenger of the Greek gods.
Literary/ intertextual: – An allusion to a literary text or figure.
For example, “No matter how Dorian adjusted the electric blanket it was either too hot or too cold, never just right.” – Goldilocks
Religious – An allusion to a religious text, story, or figure.
For example, “reflecting on her cruel behaviour, Cinderella’s stepmother stood still like a pillar of salt.” – Lot’s wife
Autobiographical: Allusions that refer to events in the author’s life
In studying the allusive references in Virgil’s poem “Georgics,” academic R.F. Thomas distinguished six types of allusions with varying degrees of obscureness:
1. Apparent reference: An allusion that seems to recall a specific source but challenges that source.
2. Casual reference: An offhand allusion that is not integral to the plot.
3. Corrective allusion: A comparison that is openly in opposition to the source material.
4. Multiple references or conflation: A variety of allusions that combine cultural traditions in a single work.
5. Self-reference: A reference by the writer to their own work, such as another book or play.
6. Single reference: The viewer or reader is meant to infer the connection between the work at hand and the allusion.
