allusion
Other forms: allusions
That little nod to a Dylan Thomas poem that you sneaked into your PowerPoint presentation? That was an allusion, a quick reference to something that your audience will have to already know in order to "get."
An allusion often references a famous work of art or literature, or to something from your own life. For example, you might say, "I obviously am no expert at love" — an allusion to your failed relationships. The main thing to remember is that an allusion is a brief hint or a quick mention. It’s meant to bring to mind a particular subject, but it always avoids getting into it in great depth.
-
passing reference or indirect mention
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
allusion / illusion / delusion
Vocabulary lists containing allusion
One of the stumbling blocks when trying to study poetry is that it seems like a different world. Familiar things, like words, are put to unfamiliar use, and there is an entire descriptive vocabulary that is completely foreign and quite often puzzling. This list seeks to explain the words used to describe poetry through examples from famous poems. Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, "If you want to annoy a poet, explain his poetry," but we are willing to take that risk to make the world of literary analysis a little clearer and further illuminate the mystery of poetry.
If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech. Review this vocabulary list and you'll be a master of metaphor, an expert on euphemism, and a pro at puns.
From alliteration to zeugma, this list covers the literary devices you need to know in order to understand and analyze poetry. To learn even more about poetry, explore our lists on Genre and Structure and Meter.