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The Power of Allusion: Utilizing Shared Stories in Writing

Explore the use of allusion in writing to import meaning and engage readers. Discover allusions in Shakespeare, the Bible, fairy tales, and Greek and Roman mythology.

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The Power of Allusion: Utilizing Shared Stories in Writing

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  1. Bellringer! • What stories do we share as a culture? How could a writer use these shared stories to their advantage?

  2. Allusion • - a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or a representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication • A writer is wise to make allusions to things that s/he believes his audience will have some exposure to • Some allusions are overt while others are much more subtle

  3. But Why? • Allusion allows a writer to import large amounts of meaning into a work in a small amount of time. • A writer could tell us in a sentence, paragraph or multiple pages about how a character is suffering or he could make an allusion to the biblical Job. What would be the advantage of the latter?

  4. Allusions • Allusions can come from anywhere, but there are a few major sources in Western Literature • Shakespeare • The Bible • Fairy Tales • Greek and Roman Mythology

  5. Allusions (Shakespeare) • Shakespeare’s influence on literature cannot be understated • He is probably the most famous writer to ever live and people who study literature have read at least a handful of his plays • Sometimes writers simply allude to Shakespeare and other times they’ll completely rework his plays for more modern purposes • Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

  6. Allusions (Shakespeare) • [Life’s] a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing • We few, we happy few, we band of brothers • By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes • O brave new world, / That has such people in’t • To be, or not to be, that is the question.

  7. Allusions (The Bible) • Christianity is the largest religious force in our culture and for this reason it makes for easy allusion • If you were reading Indian literature you might run into more from The Bhagavad Gita; in Middle Eastern literature you’d see allusions to The Koran

  8. Allusions (The Bible) • Creation of the Universe • Expulsion from Eden (Paradise)Felix Culpa – the fortunate fall • Noah and the Flood • The Gospel story • Revelation (end times) • The list goes on and on and on and on…

  9. Allusions (The Bible) • A biblical allusion need not necessarily be religious • “Even the Devil can quote scripture” • Rather the Bible is usually used to show universal struggles that have plagued many throughout time • After all, isn’t the Bible meant to be a guide on how man deals with these struggles?

  10. Allusions (Fairy Tales) • Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel • Ever heard of these? • That’s why writers like using them! • Consider the central message of each of these tales. They (like the Bible) tend to be about timeless human struggles AND most of us already know them

  11. Disney vs. The Grimm Brothers • In our culture we’ve become accustomed to the kid friendly versions of these stories often used in Disney movies • Sometimes writers will find reason to allude to these versions of the stories • The Grimm Brothers (as their name seems to suggest) wrote the tales originally and they were filled with violence, sex, and debauchery (not the stuff you’d read to a kid today!)

  12. Disney vs. The Grimm Brothers • Disney created the versions that MOST modern readers are familiar with • However, historically the Grimm Brothers have had more enduring popularity • Considering the time and culture of the author could be helpful in determining which versions are being alluded to • Pretentious writers would often rather look to the source than the watered down Disney retellings

  13. Allusion (Greek and Roman Myth) • Throughout much of Western civilization a Classical education meant a working knowledge of Greek and Roman Mythology • In some ways this is our original literature and much of what’s still written today is based off of it. • In the absence of advanced Science, ancient cultures often used myth to explain the seemingly inexplicable

  14. Allusion (Greek and Roman Myth) • Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey • Virgil’s Aeneid • Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex • Ovid’s Metamorphoses • Daedelus and Icarus • Demeter and Persephone

  15. Poems for Project • “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen • “Prometheus” by Lord Byron • “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot • “Snow White” by Anne Sexton

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