Cleverdon - AP English Literature - Allusion Research Jigsaw: An allusion is a reference, explicit or
implicit, to something in previous literature or history. This is an important literary concept that you will
encounter repeatedly in poetry, drama, and fiction. With allusions, authors can engage the reader in
making associations and creating meaning. However, if you are unaware of allusions you will miss some
of these meanings. This is not okay for an AP student!
You need to learn the all following background stories that are common sources for allusions well. You will
be tested on your ability to discern what allusion a writer is using. You may read whatever sources you wish:
children’s tales, the Bible, encyclopedias, or reference books. I highly recommend Edith Hamilton’s
Mythology (there are copies in class) as a good overview of Greek and Roman myths. There are also
hundreds of books on the bible, and if you are up for originals of texts check out Ovid’s Metamorphoses and
the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For Arthurian information only use credible websites (not
personal pages). Britannia.com is a good site to start at for Arthurian character and story information. A good
place to start for fairy tale research is at Sur La Lune: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/.
Biblical Allusions
Greek and Roman Mythology
Creation
Adam and Eve
Cain and Abel
David and Goliath
Moses (birth to the promised land)
Abraham and Isaac
Tower of Babel
Jonah and the Whale
Samson and Delilah
Solomon
Job
Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors
Armageddon
Daniel in the Lion’s Den
Elijah
Jezebel
Sodom and Gomorrah
Birth of Jesus
Parable of the Prodigal Son
Lazarus
John the Baptist
Last Supper
Judas
Crucifixion and Resurrection
Doubting Tomas
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Prometheus (and Io)
Narcissus
The Golden Fleece
Orpheus and Eurydice
Daedalus (and Icarus)
Cupid and Psyche
Pygmalion and Galatea
Daphne (and Apollo)
Perseus
Theseus
Hercules
Oedipus (including Sphinx)
Antigone
The Trojan War (including the fall of Troy,
Achilles, Hector, Paris, Helen, and the Trojan
Horse)
Midas
Bacchus
Agamemnon, Orestes, and Electra (also known
in whole as The Oresteia)
Leda and the Swan
Pandora
Odysseus/Ulysses (know who he is, do not
study The Odyssey)
Arthurian
Fairy Tale
Uther and Igraine and the story of Arthur’s birth
Arthur, Guenevere, and Lancelot (their stories and
the love triangle)
Sir Gawain and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”
(story in verse)
Merlin
Morgan le Fay
Nimue alias Vivienne, Lady of the Lake
Perceval
Mordred
The Ugly Duckling
Snow White
Rumpelstiltskin
The Princess and the Pea
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Little Red Riding Hood
Hansel and Gretel
The Frog Prince
The Fisherman and His Wife
Cinderella
Bluebeard
Places: Avalon and Camelot
Objects: Excalibur, the Sword in the Stone, the
Holy Grail
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Aladdin
Next, you are going to create a PowerPoint slide that includes, in your own words, an explanation of your
assigned story with a MLA citations of information and images used in the notes section. Your story
description does not need to be long; written, most should be a paragraph or so. The purpose of the
assignment is to give you and your classmates a working knowledge of allusion structures. You must also
provide a representative picture of your tale (remember to provide MLA citation of image’s source).
Finally, if you can, your slide may provide an example of the allusion being used by another text: poem,
song, passage from a story, play or novel. I will give extra credit for slides containing this.
If you already know the story by heart (and you will probably know a few) double-check with an outside
source for accuracy and cite the source. You will need to send me an electronic copy of your document and
provide me with a hardcopy in advance of the due date, so I may check for accuracy. This will be a review
tool for your classmates. A good MLA reference website to help you create your MLA works cited page is
Perdue University’s OWL website: <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/>.
Greek Mythology: General Information & Where
to Start
<http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48479>
Bulfinch's Mythology
<http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth
1/a/bulfinch.htm>
Fairly Tales Reading & Research
<http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48473>
Sur La Lune – Fairy Tales
<http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/>
Bulfinch The Age of Fable: King Arthur and His
Knights
<http://www.bartleby.com/182/index.html#1>
Literature Network: The Bible
<http://www.online-literature.com/bible/bible.php>
The Bible Story Finder
<http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/aid02
biblestory.html>
Timeless Myths (Classical & Arthurian)
<http://www.timelessmyths.com/>
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
<http://childrensbooks.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.
htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=childrensbooks&cdn=parenting&
tm=16&gps=220_30_1001_557&f=10&su=p284.9.3
36.ip_p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%
3A//hca.gilead.org.il/>
Brothers Grimm fairy tales
<http://childrensbooks.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.
htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=childrensbooks&cdn=parenting&
tm=9&gps=123_729_1001_557&f=10&su=p284.9.3
36.ip_p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%
3A//www-2.cs.cmu.edu/%7Espok/grimmtmp/>