Allusion+(Historical,+Biblical,+Literary)

Ellen Gira Period 4 Thomas S. Wootton High School Definition #1: in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text

Source: Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2008

Definition #2: a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication

Source: Random House Dictionary

Definition in your own "student friendly" words: the mentioning of a known person, place, or object within a text to add credibility or to make a comparison

Link to example #1 (text, advertisement, video, speech, etc): [] (second bolded example under Examples of Allusion)

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: Comparing a woman's garden to the Garden of Eden is a typical biblical illusion that allows the reader, who most likely knows what the Garden of Eden is, to understand what the woman's garden looked like. Also, the speaker gains credibility by using the Bible to illustrate his or her thought.

Link to example #2 (text, advertisement, video, speech, etc):

[] (first bullet under "Examples")

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: This literary allusion refers to the greek myth about Phaetheon and Icarus, in which Phaetheon invented wings to fly with and flew with his son, Icarus. He warns his son not to fky to close to the sun, but Icarus does and the wax wings melt, so he falls. The effect of the allusion is the comparison of Phaetheon's concern for his son to to the concern for someone who descends to hell. Link to example #2 (text, advertisement, video, speech, etc):

[] (starts at about 00:58) 2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: The words "nearly a century and three quarters ago" sounds very similar to "four score and seven years ago" in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. By referencing a very famous speech, Kennedy gains credibility because his speech becomes more similar to one that is significant in the course of history.

Tyler: Period 3: Wootton HS:

Definition #1: An implied or indirect reference especially in literature

Source: Meriam- Webster Dictionary

Definition #2: A passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication

Source: Dictionary.com

Definition in your own "student friendly" words: A direct or indirect reference to a specific source

Historical: []

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: The entire song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel is comprised of allusions to historical events and people. He uses the severity of some of these events to explain that society's problems and conflicts (the fire) are not the effect of his generation alone. "We didn't start the fire/ It was always burning/ Since the world's been turning."

Biblical: []

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: There are countless biblical allusions in Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech in its entirety. One such example reads as follows, "And when this happens, . . . we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual" and it evokes Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” By quoteing such a universal book, King connects the members of the audience to each other and to what he speaks.

Literary: []

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: In this poem, the author presents us with a woman, who's suspicions of her lover, have turned her into a "Me dusa". In Greek mythology, the sight of Medusa would turn onlookers into stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who then used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. Throughout the poem, Duffy references these events to enforce the main characters self loathing and destructive thoughts; " I glanced at a buzzing bee, a dull grey pebbly fell," "I stared in the mirror./ Love gone bad/ showed me a Gorgon.../ And here you come/ with a shield for a heart."

First Name: Charles Period: 5 School: Cesar Chavez

Definition #1: A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. Source: []

Definition #2: An allusion is a reference, within a literary work, to another work of fiction, a film, a piece of art, or even a real event. An allusion serves as a kind of shorthand, drawing on this outside work to provide greater context or meaning to the situation being written about. While allusions can be an economical way of communicating with the reader, they risk alienating readers who do not recognize these references. Source: []

Definition in your own "student friendly" words: ﻿An event, situation, or person that makes an reference to another event, situation, or person

Link to example #1 (text, advertisement, video, speech, etc): // ﻿Biblical: "He was a remarkable Prime Minister with feet of clay." //

2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: The reference here is to Daniel 2: 31-45, using the words 'feet of clay', which suggests the Prime Minister has roots with common people, with weaknesses just like all others

Link to example #2 (text, advertisement, speech, etc): // "Marty's presence at the dance was definitely a 'Catch 22' situation; if he talked to Cindy she'd be mad at him, but if he ignored her there'd be hell to pay. His anger bubbled to the surface. He realized that by coming to the dance he had brought his problems with him like a Trojan Horse, and he could only hope he would be able to keep them bottled up". // 2-3 sentence explanation of why it is a good example: The first allusion is to the novel 'Catch 22' by Joseph Heller; this should suggest a situation where there is a problem with no right answer ... whatever you do will be wrong. If you have read Heller's novel, you know exactly how Marty is feeling!

The second reference is to the Trojan Horse from Virgil's Aeneid, which chronicles the Greeks conquering Troy by giving a gift of a horse to their enemies and filling the belly of the horse with warriors. A vivid image ... if you recognize it.

There is also a reference to 'hell', which evokes images from the Bible of something definitely unpleasant. Finally, there is a very subtle reference to 'bottling up' problems, which might suggest an image of tightly containing something, although there is no direct connection to anything.

Source: []