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Definition • Anallusion is a reference to someone or something that is hinted at or implied, rather than being directly stated. This is true, but in literary criticism an allusion is more specific. Allusion as a literary term must allude to a literary text in some way, and it must do so without calling attention to itself or announcing that it is alluding to a text.
The word is from the late Latin allusio meaning “a play on words” or “game” and is a derivative of the Latin word alludere, meaning “to play around” or “to refer to mockingly.”
Allusion vs. Illusion • An illusion is an erroneous mental representation. In a literary sense it is something that is false that appears, or people believe to be, true. “He had the illusion of faith” for example. It is a disjunction between perceived reality and objective reality. • An allusion on the other hand is a reference within a work, usually literary or artistic, to an external work, person, character, etc. with the assumption that the audience will be familiar with the reference. The reference can be either direct or more veiled. “This task makes me feel like Sisyphus”, would be a direct allusion to the fact that every time the task is almost done it encounters a setback.
Examples • "The girl's love of sweets was her Achilles heel," referencing the warrior in Greek mythology, Achilles, who could only be harmed if something hit his heel because he was dipped in magic water as baby when his mother held him by a heel. Achilles' only weakness is his heel, so an Achilles heel reference means a downfall or weakness, in this example a weakness for sweets. • It has rained so long, it seems as though it has rained for 40 days and nights. (This is reference to Noah's Ark which is a well-known event.)
In "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe, there are repeated allusions to the corpses of Montresor's ancestors that line the vaults of the catacombs as Montresor leads Fortunato to his death.
Which quotes illustrate allusion? • “My motto is live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse.”(383) • “They’ll all be destroyed one day like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
