What are some examples of allusion?
First it’s important to know that "allusion" is a figure of speech that makes a reference to an idea (be it a place, myth, literature, film, etc) either directly or by implication.
Another example of an allusion would be “The girl’s love of sweets was her Achilles heel,” referencing the warrior in Greek mythology, Achilles, who could only be harmed if something hit his heel because he was dipped in magic water as baby when his mother held him by a heel. Achilles’ only weakness is his heel, so an Achilles heel reference means a downfall or weakness, in this example a weakness for sweets.
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication. It can also be defined as “a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage”It is left to the reader or hearer to make the connection. Allusions usually come from a body of information that the author presumes the reader will know. For example, an author who writes, “She was another Helen,” is alluding to the proverbial beauty of Helen of Troy. Example: “I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth.” (Senator Barack Obama, speech at a fund-raiser for Catholic charities, October 16, 2008) the last sentence is an obvious allusion to Superman, and Obama referenced Jor-el and Kyrpton, but not the direct person he was speaking of.
