Have you ever read a poem where the writer makes a reference to a person, place, thing, or

event? If so, then you've most certainly stumbled across an allusion! This lesson explains what
an allusion is, how it's used, and explores various examples of the literary device.

Just a Casual Mention

Have you ever read a story or poem where the author did a lot of name-dropping? Perhaps she
casually mentioned another writer or a historical figure. Maybe he quickly referenced some event
from the past or a seemingly random place in a distant land. In the literary world, these brief and
casual mentions are called allusions.
As a rule, allusions are very brief references in a poem or other text that do not get much
explanation from the author. Sometimes, allusions are direct, and the author directs the reader's
attention to something very specific. In other instances, an allusion may be indirect. The mention
is so casual and so subtle that the reader may not even pick up on it! Allusions can take many
forms. Commonly, authors will allude to:

Historical people, places, events, and things

Mythology
The Bible
Other poems, literary works, or texts

Importance of Allusions
While reading, it's important to keep your eyes peeled for allusions. You're probably thinking to
yourself right now, ''Why bother, if these references happen so fast?'' Allusions are a quick and
simple way for authors to convey meaning to the reader.
For example, an author may compare an action to opening Pandora's Box. This is an allusion to
a Greek myth. Whoever opened Pandora's Box would release all matters of evil into the world.
By referencing Pandora's Box, the author is basically saying, ''Do that, and there will be some
pretty awful consequences.'' As you can see, it's important as a reader to get the allusion to
understand the author's meaning!
You can also think of allusions as a private inside joke between the author or poet and the
reader. Some poets delight in subtle allusions. They know that many of their readers will not
understand what they're alluding to! If you pick up on some of the more minor allusions, you can
count yourself as part of an elite club of analytical dynamos!

Examples of Allusion in Poetry

Allusions are a popular literary device in the poetry world. Just like in novels or other pieces of
prose, poems make all sorts of references to other works of literature, places, people, mythology,
and the Bible.

''The Waste Land''

T.S. Eliot's 'The Waste Land' is an exceptionally long poem. As a result, it's chock full of various
allusions. One of Eliot's first allusions is to another piece of literature:
''Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante, / had a bad cold, nevertheless...''
Madame Sosostris refers to the clairvoyant (a person who can see and predict the future) found
in author Aldous Huxley's novel Crome Yellow, written in 1921.
Later in the poem, Eliot refers to several places that actually exist:
''Under the brown fog of a winter dawn / A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, / I had not
thought death had undone so many. / Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, / And each man
fixed his eyes before his feet. / Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, / To where Saint
Mary Woolnoth kept the hours...''
London Bridge, King William Street, and Saith Mary Woolnoth (a church) are all located in
London, England.

''All Overgrown by Cunning Moss''

Emily Dickinson's poem ''All Overgrown by Cunning Moss'' is very short, however it does manage
to squeeze in an allusion to another female writer. One line of the poem reads:
''The little cage of 'Currer Bell' / In quiet 'Haworth' laid.''
Who exactly is ''Currer Bell''? This is a prime example of a direct allusion that requires the reader
to be in-the-know. ''Currer Bell'' refers to writer Charlotte Bronte. Like many other women of her
time, Bronte struggled to get her work published. She used the pen name ''Currer Bell'' (a man's
name) to publish some of her writing. You may recognize Charlotte Bronte, but you'd have to be
a big fan of hers to know one of her pen names!