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Presented by Adrian Djelardin
• “A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly
known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art. Allusions can be
historical literary, religious, topical, or mythical.”
• Reference
• Link already known concepts to concepts discussed or portrayed
in the piece of literature (give context)
• For example: “This place is like a Garden of Eden.”
• The Garden of Eden is a well known concept that gives context to what
“This place” is
• Can also do vice-versa: “Stop acting like my ex-husband
please.”
• You can infer how the ex-husband acts based on actions in the context
• They can additionally be used as precedence to give reason to
action based on examples in history.
• “We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal
and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was
illegal. It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany.”
• Other than give context, allusions can provide a level of Ethos
to any argument.