THE DOORS OF ALLUSIONS

Mr. Scaramella

Last updated: 10/9/2003

Essential Question:
How do literary allusions create meaning?

Definition links / Graphic Illustrator / Poem 1 / Poem 2 / Brueghel Painting Link / Poem 3 / Assignments Page

What is an allusion?

View the links to some definitions of allusions.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0313546.html

http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/aesthetics/bldef_allusion.htm

Allusions may be made to art, music, literature or history. They may suggest an event, a painting, a piece of music, a setting, a famous historical figure, or a myth-- in essence, any well-known or presumably recognizable source.

In the study of literature, an understanding of how language creates meaning is essential. One way that writers heighten or create meaning is through the use of literary allusions. Naturally not all works of literature use allusions; allusions are simply one of many figures of speech available to a writer to make connections and instill meaning. Particularly in poetry, which by its very nature is intensive in the richness and economy of words, it is necessary to read alertly and to explore the poem's experience with an inquisitive and open mind. By enlarging the scope of one's reading, a perceptive reader increases the number of ways to comprehend and enjoy a work on both the sensory and intellectual level. Many times, however, a reader may be totally unaware of the basis of the allusion since it is not infrequent for writers to refer to works with a limited audience. In addition, in the case of old literature, history may not have recorded the event, context or person; consequently, the allusion is a literary dead-end or merely subject to supposition.

Some references in a literary work essential to understanding of the theme or subject matter require a critical reader to investigate the source.

Of course, it is not always the case that a poem or story's meaning depends totally on one's understanding of the allusion, but is always desirable and usually worthwhile to research the allusion.

The graphic below illustrates some of the ways that allusions enrich literature.

In some cases an allusion may be of a general nature. For instance, when Macbeth, his army reduced by desertion, faces the final attack by the English forces headed by Malcolm and Macduff, he asks, "Why should I play the Roman fool, and die/ On mine own sword? whiles I see lives, the gashes/ Do better upon them." His question refers to the Roman attitude toward suicide as a way of avoiding dishonor. It reveals Macbeth’s desperation and it signals the inevitable catastrophe that will follow in the final confrontation with Macduff, whose family Macbeth has viciously murdered. At other times allusions are specifically linked to people, places or events. Earlier in the tragedy, Shakespeare refers to the battlefield upon which the valiant warrior Macbeth achieves his acclaim as a "Golgotha." Golgotha was the place of Christ's crucifixion and the suggestion in the line presents an image of a bloody and horrible scene of death.

The Uses of Allusions

Let’s examine how allusions are used in poetry.

Study the following poem and the link to the myth. Then answer the questions.

Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters: how well they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. In Brueghel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

1. Who are the "Old Masters"? 2. What is happening in the landscape at the time of Icarus' fall? 3. What is the poet's attitude toward the event? 4. Characterize the tone of the poem. 5. State the theme of the poem in a sentence and support your statement with specific words and phrases from the text.

link to myth

http://www.thanasis.com/icarus.htm

Second Link:

http://www.island-ikaria.com/culture/myth.asp

Answer the questions below.

1. Who was Icarus?

2. How does the mythical story help you understand the poem?

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus William Carlos Williams According to Brueghel when Icarus fell it was spring a farmer was ploughing his field the whole pageantry of the year was awake tingling near the edge of the sea concerned with itself sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning

For Writing or Discussion Compare the two poems, "Musée Des Beaux Arts" and "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus."

Here is Pieter Brueghel's Painting.

Let's look at another famous poem written by the Romantic poet, William Wordsworth. England, at the time, was on the brink of the great Industrial Revolution that transformed the society and the landscape of England.

The world is too much with us; late and soon William Wordsworth The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers, For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be A pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

Link to myth of Proteus http://www.proteusconsulting.com/Proteus%20Myth.htm Link to myth of Triton http://www.loggia.com/myth/triton.html

Responding to the poem:

Before you consider the response question, think about the following: What is wrong with the world as the speaker sees it? How do pagans relate to Nature? How does his perspective on paganism relate to the view he presents in the first line? How do the allusions to Proteus and Triton emphasize the theme?

Response Question:
Why does the speaker wish he were a pagan?

OTHER DOORWAYS

It's fun to examine how allusions are used in other genre. Look at a famous Van Gogh painting by clinking the link.
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/p_0612.htm

If possible, listen to an audio clip of Don McClean's "Vincent" and read the lyrics to his song.
http://www.katsandogz.com/starrynight.html

Think about some allusions made in art, music or other media and share your findings with the class.

THE ESSAY

Choose a poem that makes use of an allusion. You may choose from an anthology, use a site below or explore the Internet. Make sure, however, that the poem has literary value and is written by a reputable poet.

In a well-developed three-part essay, discuss the use of an allusion (or allusions) in a particular poem.

POETRY SITES

http://www.emule.com/poetry
http://www.bartleby.com/101/
http://www.ibiblio.org/dykki/poetry/
http://www.poetry.com/
http://www.poets.org/
http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/literature/poetry.html
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180

ESSAY EVALUATION RUBRIC

Click here to get the rubric.