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Allegory
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
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis—Invisible World:
In this passage the playwright makes an allusion to the pseudoscientific practices of the 16th century to highlight Reverend Hale’s confidence in his intellectual pursuits. Hale addresses the law books and books about witches when his audience fearfully asks what they contain:
HALE, with a tasty love of intellectual pursuit: Here is all the invisible world, caught, defined, and calculated. In these books the Devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises. Here are all your familiar spirits – your incubi and succubi; your witches that go by land, by air, and by sea; your wizards of the night and of the day. Have no fear now – we shall find him out if he has come among us, and I mean to crush him utterly if he has shown his face.
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Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Beautiful Lucifer:
Reverend Hale warns against taking prior knowledge of a person’s goodness as evidence that they aren’t a witch. As Proctor rails against him for suggesting Rebecca Nurse is a witch, Hale mournfully reminds him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+HALE: Man, remember, until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.
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