Euphemism and Allusion

Euphemism Euphemism is an idiomatic expression which loses its literal meanings and refers to something else in order to hide its unpleasantness. For example, “kick the bucket” is a euphemism that describes the death of a person. In addition, many organizations use the term “downsizing” for the distressing act of “firing” its employees.

Shakespeare I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs – Othello Royal wench! She made great Caesar lay his sword to bed. He plowed her, and she cropped – Antony and Cleopatra

John Donne Marke but this flea, and marke in this, How little that which thou deny'st me is; Me it suck'd first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our two bloods mingled bee; Confesse it, this cannot be said A sinne, or shame, or losse of maidenhead, Yet this enjoyes before it wooe, And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two, And this, alas, is more than wee would doe. - John Donne, The Flea

Allusion An allusion is when a person or author makes an indirect reference in speech, text, or song to an event or figure. Often the allusions made are to past events or figures, but sometimes allusions are made to current famous people or events.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation“ Dr. King's speech (1963) was made 100 years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (1863) that freed all slaves in rebel territories. King salutes Lincoln's contribution to the fight against discrimination. He literally and figuratively stands in Lincoln's "shadow," as he is giving the speech in front of the Lincoln monument and he is continuing the fight that Lincoln played such a large role in.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.“ King alludes to the technique of nonviolence, or satyagraha, pioneered and first used by Mahatma Gandhi in India. King warns against physical violence and seeks to preserve the moral high ground that his movement possesses. He recognizes the power that nonviolent resistance has, and, as a minister, upholds Christian values of Matthew 5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."