Allusion: A super-sly way to show how smart you are. (And give your art more meaning!)

First of all… it’s ALLUSION not ILLUSION

So what is ALLUSION? A reference in a literary or artistic work to a person, place, or thing from another work of art or literature.

What does that mean? The artist or writer is connecting their work to another work to make it more meaningful. Let’s look at an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ1_IbFFbzA

What was the allusion? Morpheus talks about ‘Wonderland’ and the ‘Rabbit Hole,’ then instructs Neo to choose which pill to take- all allusions to Alice and Wonderland.

What was the (more obscure) allusion? Morpheus was the Greek god of sleep and dreams. When using allusion, you have to pick something that most people would be able to catch – but oftentimes artists or writers also sneak more tricky or less well-known allusions in to add an extra level of meaning. That is why it’s important to be well-read….you get more out of a text the more you know.

Why use allusion? The allusion makes a connection to something the audience already knows. Level 1: ‘in jokes’- if you get them, they add a lot of meaning to the story, song or movie. Level 2: allusions let the writer suggest a lot of qualities or ideas, without having to spell it out.

Can you think of any allusions in movies, songs or books that you know?