ALLUSION

ALLUSION
Allusion is a reference to something in
history or previous literature
Like a richly connotative word or
symbol, it suggests far more than it
says
Some allusions are powerful and witty
while others have a great emotional
impact

ALLUSION
Allusions are used to reinforce the emotion
or the ideas of another work or occasion
They compact meaning so they are very
helpful to the poet
Poets run the risk of being misunderstood
if people are unfamiliar with the allusion
Poets assume that readers have a certain
fund of literary experience

ALLUSION
This experience is generally of

classical mythology, Shakespeare and

the bible particularly The King James
Version
Allusions not only reinforce emotion
but help to define theme
Be prepared to look up allusions just
as you would an unfamiliar word.

ALLUSION

Out Out - Robert Frost 1874 1963

On His Blindness John Milton
Journey of the Magi TS Eliot

Work Cited
Arp, Thomas, and Greg Johnson.

Perrines Sound and Sense. An

Introduction to Poetry, 11th Edition.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.