What do allusions mean

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Forgot your password? Retrieve it. If by any chance you spot an inappropriate image within your search results please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. Term » Definition. Word in Definition. Princeton's WordNet 3. Wiktionary 3. Wikipedia 0. Webster Dictionary 3. Freebase 3. Matched Categories Mention. How to pronounce allusion?

Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Allusion is a very effective literary device in all forms of literature. Writers can use allusions for character development by associating them with other well-known and familiar characters or archetypes. Literary allusions can also provide context for the reader through comparison or contrast to another literary work. When creating allusions in a literary work, writers must balance what they choose to reference and how to incorporate it into their work so it is understandable and meaningful for the reader.

Here are some common types of allusion for a writer to consider when using this literary device:. As a literary device, allusion is used for context in a literary work through reference to a well-known or familiar person, place, event, or other work of literature. This is effective in developing characters. During the Pequot War of , they were nearly driven to extinction.

So, to name a ship after a nearly-eradicated group of people can only allude to one thing. Indeed, the whale destroys the Pequod, as well as all the other whaling ships, killing everyone but the narrator. In Act 3, Scene 4 of this Shakespearean play, the title character of Hamlet describes a portrait of his late father while alluding to three Greek gods.

He cites Hyperion, who had curly hair; Jove, who had a prominent forehead; and Mars, the god of war. The allusion meaning here is clear and, now, we know more about the man who raised Hamlet. In Fahrenheit , Ray Bradbury used allusions very well. In one line, the volcano Vesuvius is cited.

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