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A range of definitions --
| Allusion
is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or
ficticious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous
historical or literary figure or event. An allusion may be
drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion. |
| An allusion
is a literary device that stimulates ideas, associations, and extra
information in the reader's mind with only a word or two.
Allusion means 'reference'. It relies on the reader being able to
understand the allusion and being familiar with all of the meaning
hidden behind the words. |
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Allusion:
Figure of explication using a brief or casual reference to a famous
person, historical event, place, or work of art. It is important to
stress that the referent of an allusion be generally well-known.
Sources include history, myth, and the Bible. Contemporary instances
of allusion extend to media created content, events, and persons --
even to the extent that a character in one
movie
may
use an allusion in referring to a fictional, but nonetheless
well-known, event or person from another movie.
Popular
music
lyrics are a further source of allusion. |
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Synonyms: |
casual remark,
charge,
citation,
connotation,
denotation,
implication,
imputation,
incidental mention,
indication,
inference,
innuendo,
insinuation,
intimation,
mention,
quotation,
remark,
statement,
suggestion |
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**allusion is an 'indirect mention,'
illusion is 'false impression,' and
delusion is 'deception' which is much
stronger than illusion |
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Some examples:
Pictorial allusion: Rambo, Batman and Co.
On 18th February 2002, the cover illustration of the German magazine
Der Spiegel showed a strange group. In the middle stood
George W. Bush, President of the United States, dressed up as Rambo,
complete with a machine gun and a bandoleer; behind him were Vice
President Richard Cheney in the black leather outfit of the
Terminator, Secretary of State Colin Powell in a Batman costume,
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice as Princess Xena, and
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as Conan the Barbarian. The
title read "Bush warriors - America's battle against evil".
Rambo, Batman, Xena and the Terminator are all well-known
fictional characters who see the world in black and white and solve
most of their problems by force. The illustration ironically
compares the current American foreign policy and the fight against
terrorism to the crusades of these heroes. Unless the reader is
familiar with the characters and the connotations attached to them,
(s)he will only see well-known politicians in strange attire.
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- to meet one’s
Waterloo (allusion on Napoleons defeat in the Battle of Waterloo)
- to wash one’s
hands of it. (allusion on Pontius Pilatus, who sentenced Jesus to
death, but washed his hands afterwards to demonstrate that he was
not to blame for it.)
- to be as old as Methusalem
(allusion on Joseph’s grandfather, who
was 969 years old according to the Old Testament)
- to guard sth with Argus’s
eyes (allusion on the giant Argus from Greek mythology, who
watched over Zeus’ lover Io.)
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