An allusion can connect a piece of writing to the context of the wider world and help the reader understand the emotions and thoughts which the writer is trying to get across.
Examples of allusion
Allusions may refer to a well-known or important piece of writing, like a novel or a poem.
'When it came to spending money, he was a total Scrooge.'
Scrooge is a rich banker in Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol and he's well-known for being stingy with his money. Describing someone as 'a total Scrooge' alludes to the idea that they are overly careful with money.
'Have you tasted those tomatoes? Talk about Frankenstein food!’
Frankenstein is a name we give to something which scares some people. For example, 'a Frankenstein food’ refers to food, the ingredients of which have been genetically modified. This is an allusion to the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley in which a scientist creates a living man from human body parts.
Biblical allusions
Allusions often refer to the Bible.
'She had so much homework that the football tempted her from the garden - a forbidden fruit.'
This is an allusion to the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve are tempted to eat in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:16-17).
When we talk about 'holding out an olive branch' to someone it means we’re offering to make peace with them and end an argument. This is an example of an allusion to a Bible story and is a symbol of hope. In the story, after forty days and nights onboard the ark, Noah sent out a dove to search for dry land. The dove returned to Noah with an olive branch, showing the flood was receding.
