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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Holy Grail:
When the narrator is out shopping with his aunt in his Dublin community, he notices “drunken men and bargaining women,” workers cursing at each other, butchers shouting out to potential customers, and people singing songs about Irish independence. Rather than find comfort in the bustling streets, he instead thinks of his crush (Mangan’s sister) and pictures himself rescuing her from the scene, alluding to Catholic imagery in the process:
These noises converged in a single sensation of life for me: I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Irish Nationalism:
As the narrator walks through the streets of Dublin, helping his aunt with her shopping, he notices all the different types of people on the streets around them. The crowd includes a group singing songs about O’Donovan Rossa, an allusion to the Irish nationalist movement:
Unlock with LitCharts A+We walked through the flaring streets, jostled by drunken men and bargaining women, amid the curses of labourers, the shrill litanies of shop-boys who stood on guard by the barrels of pigs’ cheeks, the nasal chanting of street-singers, who sang a come-all-you about O’Donovan Rossa, or a ballad about the troubles in our native land.
Related Themes:
