Allusion
indirectly alluding to some other
literary work or something historical.
Steps to Understanding Allusions
Understanding allusions takes three steps:
1. Notice an allusion. Often, an unusual proper noun (“He’s a regular
Romeo”) or adjective (“You can park this Lilliputian car anywhere”) can signal
an allusion. Sometimes the allusion will refer to something familiar to you—a
fairy tale or a recent pop-culture event, for example. For those allusions that
aren’t immediately obvious, though, you’ll need to learn not to skip over unfamiliar
ideas or take a confusing passage at face value. If a reference seems surprising
or you can’t put its meaning into words, think, “What is this really
saying? Could it refer to something else from literature, mythology, or history?”
2. Identify the source and meaning of the allusion. Especially if it’s crucial
to understanding the passage, take the time to identify the allusion. Think
about what you already know—could this allusion relate to a familiar story or
idea? If not, ask someone knowledgeable or consult a reference source. You can
often find brief explanations of common allusions in a good dictionary.
Specialized references include The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions and other
sources listed in the Common Allusion Sources section on pages 35–37.
3. Connect the allusion to the text. A writer can say a great deal about a
topic, character, or situation through an apt allusion. Think about how the
allusion applies to the text and why the author chose it. Often an allusion may
build a particular tone or point toward the theme of the passage.
Try it.
Councilmember Ford, with the careless fervor
of Icarus, continues to tempt fate by
proposing too much downtown development
without regard to citizen concerns about
traffic congestion and lack of investors. City
planners have made plain that such
development is unrealistic and unsustainable,
but, as with Daedalus, their entirely
reasonable warnings fall on deaf ears.
Try it.
Councilmember Ford, with the careless fervor
of Icarus, continues to tempt fate by
proposing too much downtown development
without regard to citizen concerns about
traffic congestion and lack of investors. City
planners have made plain that such
development is unrealistic and unsustainable,
but, as with Daedalus, their entirely
reasonable warnings fall on deaf ears.
1. Allusion cues: Icarus, Daedalus
Councilmember Ford, with the
careless fervor of Icarus, continues
to tempt fate by proposing too
much downtown development
without regard to citizen concerns
about traffic congestion and lack
of investors. City planners have
made plain that such development
is unrealistic and unsustainable,
but, as with Daedalus, their
entirely reasonable warnings fall
on deaf ears.
2. This allusion refers to the Greek myth
in which Daedalus carefully crafts wings
so he and his son Icarus can escape
imprisonment. Though Daedalus warns
Icarus to fly neither too close to the sun
nor the sea, Icarus ignores his father.
The wax holding his wings together
melts, and Icarus falls into the sea and
drowns.
3. This allusion points out how foolish
the writer thinks Ford is being.
In refusing to listen to warnings from
those who, like Daedalus, know best,
Ford, like Icarus, is taking serious risks.
Through this allusion, the writer
presents himself or herself as farseeing
and wise.
Common Allusion Sources
Though an allusion can come from nearly any
source, the most common sources
are the Bible, mythology and folk tales, the
works of William Shakespeare and other
well-known classics, and momentous events in
science and history.
The Bible
Writers have been using the Bible as a source for allusions for hundreds of years.
For instance, the anonymous eighth-century author of Beowulf calls the monster
Grendel a descendant of Cain—an allusion to Adam and Eve’s son who murdered
his brother Abel. The contemporary writer Sandra Cisneros alludes to the episode
of the three wise men who bring gifts to the baby Jesus in her story “Three Wise
Guys: Un Cuento de Navidad / A Christmas Story.” Some key Bible stories to know
for allusions include
■ the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
■ the creation of the world
■ Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
■ Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt
■ Job, whose endurance and faith were sorely tested
■ David slaying the giant Goliath
■ Jonah being swallowed by the “great fish” or whale
■ Samson, whose great strength came from his hair, and Delilah, who betrayed
him by cutting it off as he slept
■ the wise Solomon devising a test to discover to whom a baby belonged
■ the prodigal son, whose father celebrated his return more than his brother’s
unfailing loyalty
Classical Literature and Mythology
Mythology, folklore, and ancient literature such as the works of Aesop and Homer
overflow with archetypal characters and situations—so universal as to resonate in
any era and therefore the source of many powerful allusions. You can refer to general
sources such as Bulfinch’s Mythology, Mythology by Edith Hamilton, the Larousse
Encyclopedia of Mythology, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and Jack Zipes’s Beauties, Beasts and
Enchantment. Some of the ancient tales most frequently alluded to are
■ Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, detailing the Trojan War and Odysseus’s ten-year journey
home
■ Virgil’s Aeneid, which recounts the adventures of the Trojan leader Aeneas after the
fall of Troy
■ King Midas and his golden touch
■ Phaëthon and the chariot of the sun
■ Daedalus, who makes wings to escape from the island of Crete, and his son, Icarus
■ Narcissus, who falls in love with his own reflection
■ Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, about a king who unknowingly kills his father and marries
his mother
■ Euripides’Medea, in which the abandoned wife of Jason (who is known for stealing
the Golden Fleece) murders their children and Jason’s new wife
■ fairy tales, including “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “The Three
Little Pigs,” and “Jack and the Beanstalk”
■ Aesop’s fables, including the stories “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” “The Fox and
the Grapes,” and “The Tortoise and the Hare”
Shakespeare and Other Classics
Shakespeare and Other Classics
While you might miss allusions
to specific lines in Shakespeare’s plays that you have not yet read, you can prepare
yourself for Shakespearean allusions by becoming familiar with the basic plots
of his most famous plays:
■ Romeo and Juliet, about doomed lovers from feuding families
■ Hamlet, about the efforts of a prince to prove that his uncle murdered his father
■ King Lear, in which a king attempts to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, two who are
deceptive schemers and one who is loyal and honest
■ Macbeth, concerning a Scottish lord aof an age, but for all time.” Allusions to Shakespeare’s works
are so commonplace that it’s easy to be unaware of their source. Allusions to Shakespeare often
occur and his wife, who will stop at nothing to win power
■ Julius Caesar, about the assassination of the Roman ruler
■ Othello, in which Iago sows jealousy to destroy the marriage of Othello and Desdemona
■ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which a fairy called Puck orchestrates a night of enchantment,
confusion, and love
Other classic works of literature commonly alluded to include Beowulf, Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Swift’s
Gulliver’s Travels. You might find it helpful to familiarize yourself with the basic
plots and characters of these works.
History, Science, and Popular Culture
While you can’t expect to recognize every allusion relating to history, science, or
popular culture, you can prepare yourself for those most likely to crop up. Be aware
that popular-culture allusions will include not only recent trends and events but
also outdated fads, long-gone figures from politics and sports, and events from
decades before your time. Older relatives and friends can often explain these less familiar
allusions. Some useful resources include The Timetables of American
History; Asimov’s Chronology of Science & Discovery; Dictionary of Twentieth Century
Culture; Visual Arts in the Twentieth Century; Panati’s Parade of Fads, Follies, and
Manias; Who Was Who in America; and the Dictionary of American Biography.
Common allusions from history include
■ World War II events and people, including the Holocaust, the first atomic bomb, Hitler and the Nazis, Rosie the
Riveter, kamikaze pilots, and D-day
■ the American Revolution, through which the United States won independence from Great Britain
■ Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo
■ the rise and fall of the Roman Empire Common allusions from science include
■ the invention of the light bulb and telephone
■ the first moon landing (“The Eagle has landed.”)
■ the development of an invention, a discovery, a solution, or a medicine that solves a problem or cures a disease
(“the Magic Bullet”)
■ the cloning of animals, including a cloned sheep named Dolly
Remember that in addition to the tips and sources listed above, the best way to prepare
yourself for allusions you might encounter is to read, read, read. The more you
know, the stronger your base for understanding allusions will be.
Let’s practice some more.
Pg. 482 “I Have a Dream” Speech
First let’s get some background information:
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and
social activist who played a key role in the American civil rights
movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968.
Inspired by advocates of nonviolence such as Mahatma Gandhi,
King sought equality for African Americans, the economically
disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest.
He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the
Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington, which
helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr
Martin Luther King Jr. worked with a number of civil rights and
religious groups to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom, a peaceful political rally designed to shed light on the
injustices African Americans continued to face across the country.
Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000
participants, the event is widely regarded as a watershed moment
in the history of the American civil rights movement and a factor in
the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The march culminated in King’s most famous address, known as the
“I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call for peace and equality that
many consider a masterpiece of rhetoric. Standing on the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial–a monument to the president who a century
earlier had brought down the institution of slavery in the United
States—he shared his vision of a future in which “this nation will
rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” The
speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad;
later that year he was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine
and in 1964 became the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Word Choice & Connotation
•
•
•
•
Clarify difficult ideas
To urge action or caution restraint
To educate
To entertain
Word Choice & Connotation
In MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King’s
powerful words stimulate emotions and issue
a call to action that listeners will not easily
forget. Readers can identify with King’s
purposes and intent by paying attention to his
word choice.
Word Choice & Connotation
• Why does King use the word dream instead of,
perhaps, hope or desire? Does that choice affect
his message?
• What effect does King’s choice how can you use
your voice to emphasize those comparisons?
• How does King’s words affect the pace of his
speech?
• What word choices does he make to create
rhythm in his speech?
Parallelism
(repetition of grammatical structure)
What repeats? What varies?
After each repeated imperative to “Let freedom ring,” King varies the
prepositional phrase that follows, naming and describing various
mountains throughout the United States.
Although the grammatical structure (prepositional phrase) is parallel, the
words naming the object of the preposition differ in each use.
How do they differ, and what point do you think King is making through this
difference?
Each phrase names and describes hills or mountains in a different place in the
nation, ranging from coast to coast, and the mountains are described in
different ways. King is making the point that freedom must be achieved
across the nation.
Word Choice & Connotation
Word
Denotation
Connotation
Sweltering
unbearable heat
injustice that
does not go away
Transformed
one thing becomes
another
total change
Hew
muscular action
needed to cut stone
difficult to overcome
(racism)
Jangling
harsh, unpleasant sound
Symphony
instrumental with many
pieces in harmony
harmony
Identify Allusions
“We hold these truths . . .”(p. 483, second paragraph) allusion to the
Declaration of Independence,which was written to declare the freedom of
the original thirteencolonies from British rule. It set forth the principles,
such as freedom, justice, and equality for all, upon which this nation is
founded.
“My country ’tis of thee . . .” (p. 484, second paragraph) a reference to a
patriotic hymn to freedom.
“Free at last! . . .” (p. 484, last paragraph) these lyrics are from a song, called a
spiritual, which African American slaves often sang while working in the
fields.
Many references to southern states in the speech. Explain to students that
these were some of the states where slavery existed until the Civil War.
These were also the states where segregation was practiced and
where unfair voting policies often kept African Americans from
voting. The civil rights movement began changing those policies.
Some of the most intense battles of the civil rights movement
were fought in these states.
• Why do you think Martin Luther King, Jr., chose to refer
to those particular works.
• “Declaration of Independence” and the hymn “My
Country, ’Tis of Thee” speak of the American ideals of
freedom and equality for everyone, those ideals did
not apply to everyone. In particular, they did not apply
to African Americans. The point of King’s speech, the
march, and the entire civil rights movement was to try
to make those ideals a reality for everyone.
• Has King’s use of allusions helped make his speech
effective.