Allusions Making References

What is an Allusion?  An allusion is a reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or science. sour grapes good Samaritan Camelot World Series Gettysburg Address Cupid’s arrows Albert Einstein

Responding to Allusions  Recognizing and understanding allusions can make reading more interesting and enjoyable because you  connect your knowledge of the reference to the text  respond emotionally to the reference and connect those emotions to the text

Recognizing Allusions  Look for direct references as you read.  direct quotations from speeches, people, or works  titles of books, songs, art, or other works  names of peoples, places, and events He definitely was no Sherlock Holmes. © clipart.com

Recognizing Allusions  Look for indirect references as you read.  paraphrased statements from speeches, people, or works  descriptions of people, places, or events She didn’t have snakes growing out of her head, but her stare could stop me in my tracks and turn me into stone. © clipart.com

Recognizing Allusions  “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”  Andy Warhol- commenting on explosion of media coverage- Today, when someone receives a great deal of media coverage for something fairly trivial- “15 minutes of fame”

Recognizing Allusions  “Christy didn’t like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything but the bare necessities.”  Scrooge- pinches money/hoards money  Allusion- Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol

Recognizing Allusions  “As the cave’s roofs collapsed, he was swallowed up in the dust like Jonah, and only frantic scrabbling behind a wall of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive.”  Allusion- Jonah- Jonah and the whale- “swallowed alive”

Recognizing Allusions  The moon now is a crescent that looks like the Cheshire Cat smiling down at us- I almost never see it looking this way. Why does the crescent moon look like a grin?  Allusion to Cheshire cat character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Researching Allusions  To fully understand an allusion and how it relates to the text, you may need to do some additional research.  Check for footnotes that contain more information about the allusion.  Refer to dictionaries, encyclopedias, or other reference books.  Ask others—teachers, librarians, family, and friends.

What have you learned? Indicate whether the following statements are true or false. _____________— An allusion may refer to an event from history. _____________— You should only look for direct references to people, places, or events as you read. _____________— Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books are good places to look for information about an allusion. True False True