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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
Book 1, Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—With the Angel:
In Chapter 2 of The Sword in the Stone, Wart takes a walk with Kay, heading to the forest in order to let Cully, the hawk, hunt and have some exercise. But soon, the boys, who aren't very experienced in falconry, lose the bird, and Wart quakes at what the castle guard in charge of the birds will think:
Wart [...] knew that a lost hawk was the greatest possible calamity. He knew that Hob had worked on Cully for fourteen hours a day to teach him his trade, and that his work had been like Jacob's struggle with the angel. When Cully was lost a part of Hob would be lost too.
Book 2, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—An Austrian:
Kay and Merlyn are describing the upcoming war with King Lot. Kay says that one reason to start a war is if a king "discovered a new way of life for human beings." Merlyn, who ages backward, is reminded of Hitler:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos.
Related Themes:
Book 3, Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Ball Game:
As Elaine walks about the castle garden with Galahad, on the morning of Lancelot's return, they encounter a strange man. There are other children who live in the castle, playing out in the garden. The strange, shaggy man in the courtyard scares them, and the narrative alludes to Ulysses:
Unlock with LitCharts A+One of the girls who had been playing a kind of ball game to keep warm—the same game as Nausicaa was playing when Ulysses arrived—came running back to Elaine from the shrubbery by the well.
Book 4, Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Arras, Rats, and Rapier:
In Chapter 8 of The Candle in the Wind, White uses a reference to Shakespeare to describe the situation of the Gawaine family:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The Gawaine clan was waiting in the the Justice Room, a week later. The room looked different by daylight, because the windows were uncovered. It was no longer a box, no longer that faintly threatening or deceitful blandness of four walls, no longer the kind of arras trap which tempted Hamlet's rapier to prick about for rats.
