Find the Allusion

ALLUSION

By: Zach Shapiro

Definition

An allusion is a figure of speech that includes a specific event, person, or place from an unrelated context - referred to directly or indirectly - which helps an author emphasize their purpose.  The reader is assumed to have a comprehension of the reference and, therefore, will understand the author's intent.

Key Takeaways:

• Involves a person, place, or specific event

• Emphasize the author's purpose

Detailed Example:

"If it were not the prelude to a tragedy, their back-and-forth
would resemble an Abbott and Costello comedy routine" (Outliers,
Gladwell Page - 199)

Abbott and Costello Comedy show

Cockpit of an Airplane

Detailed Example:

★

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation..” (I Have A Dream, Dr. Martin Luther King)

1863

1963

“Four Score
and Seven
Years ago”

Remember this Equation

External Reference

Context

Allusion

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an allusion?

• "You are as slow as a bee."

  
  

• "The alarm screamed throughout the building!"

• "Stop trying to save everyone, you're not Superman."

• "My sister and I had a friendly fight."

Multiple Choice

Which of the follow is an allusion?

• "You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to understand poetry"

• "The bees buzzed, and the brook babbled.”

• “The fire station burned down.”

• “Like father, like son.”

Thank You!