Example of Allusion

When someone finds it difficult to understand something, how do you make them understand it? By using some sort of examples or comparisons, right? This makes it much easier for both, the person explaining and the person that the explanation is meant for. Similar is the case with various literary devices that are used in the English language. Poets and writers constantly make use of different figures of speech to get their point across. They do this to make their writing more effective, and to add a poetic lilt to it. One such commonly used figure of speech is 'allusion'. In this Buzzle article, you will understand allusion, what exactly it is and how it is used, with the help of some examples.

What is an Allusion?

Before we show you the examples of allusion, let us first understand what exactly an allusion is and why it is used. Then we can move on to the allusion examples for better comprehension.

Allusion: An allusion is a figure of speech within a piece of written work, which cites another piece of written work in itself. This reference is made directly to a particular place, person, event, another written material or even a piece of art. By using another literary work as a reference, it makes it easy for the reader to understand and also renders the required poetic justice to the current work to a considerable extent.

Examples of Allusion

You can find allusion examples in almost every piece of writing there is. It is one of the best used elements of literature to justify a situation or character, because of the comparison to an already existing or written about situation or character. Given below are some examples of allusion used in day-to-day readings and writings, and also in classic literature. Read on to understand better.

"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 fundraiser for Catholic charities, October 16, 2008
In the above statement, it is very apparent that Barack Obama is making a direct reference to Jesus Christ (who was born in a manger) and the very popular Superman, a superhero created by DC Comics and born on Krypton.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, but he knew that she was forbidden fruit.
The above statement is an example of allusion to the Holy Bible. It is something that you'll find very often. There is direct reference to the 'forbidden fruit' that Eve could not resist. Given below are a couple of other sentences that are actually biblical allusions.

She transformed her backyard to look like the Garden of Eden.
This is another allusion to the Bible, in which the Garden of Eden has been used as a base of comparison. The backyard is said to be transformed into something as beautiful and enchanting as the Garden of Eden.

"I violated the Noah rule: predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does." ~ Warren Buffett
Another example of Biblical allusion, here, Warren Buffet is citing the idea of Noah, from the Bible, preparing for the great flood that was to arrive.

His wife was his Achilles' heel.
Any reference made to mythology or mythological characters or events is considered a mythological allusion. For instance, the statement given above is a clear reference to Achilles, from the Iliad by Homer, and that his only point of weakness was in his heel.

"When King Cophetua lov'd the beggar maid!
He heareth not, he stirreth not, be moveth not; " ~ Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet)
One of the most celebrated writers, William Shakespeare, was also a master of allusions. The above statement, is an example of allusion in Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene I), one of his most popular plays. It compares the pair of Romeo and Juliet to Cophetua and the beggar maid by pointing out how unlikely the pair was.

The examples given above are some very simple and basic ones that were given for your easy understanding. You can find various allusion examples in poetry too, if you refer to poets like Robert Frost, Charles Lamb, Eleanor Wilner, etc. Creating an example of allusion is probably one of the easiest things to do, because all you need is a bit of creativity and a sound knowledge of where you can make a reference to what. Because if you don't know what you're referring to, you'll have a hard time identifying an allusion too. So, do your homework and you'll be an expert in identifying and coming up with allusion examples yourself.