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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—The Fearfulest Thing:
After Maurya follows Bartley down to the sea in order to give him his bread and a blessing, she returns home and tells her daughters about a vision she had of Michael, using a hyperbole and allusion in the process:
I’ve seen the fearfulest thing any person has seen, since the day Bride Dara seen the dead man with the child in his arms […] I went down to the spring well, and I stood there saying a prayer to myself. Then Bartley came along, and he riding on the red mare with the gray pony behind him […] I seen Michael himself.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Pagan Rites:
Throughout the play, Synge intentionally alludes to different Irish pagan rituals and rites. The following passage—in which Maurya laments the loss of all of her sons—includes two such allusions:
Unlock with LitCharts A+They’re all gone now, and there isn’t anything more the sea can do to me.... I’ll have no call now to be going down and getting Holy Water in the dark nights after Samhain, and I won’t care what way the sea is when the other women will be keening.
Related Themes:
