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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
Key Examples in The Time Machine
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Lotus-eaters:
In The Time Machine the Time Traveller's description of the future society of the Eloi alludes to the ancient Greek myth of the lotus-eaters, a society of people who lived on the isle of Lotus and ate the plant's fruit, causing them to forget their past lives and exist in a state of constant leisure and contentment:
Under the new conditions of perfect comfort and security, that restless energy that with us is strength, would become weakness.
Related Themes:
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Utopian Fiction:
The Time Machine is part of a lineage of utopian fiction novels and alludes to them often. Utopian fiction was a popular genre in the late 1800s, as civilization was undergoing dramatic change and the possibility of societal reconstruction and improvement was emerging. Two novels that may have influenced Wells are Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward (1888), which revolves around a utopia in which class issues are resolved, and William Morris’s News from Nowhere (1890), in which work and labor have become enjoyable.
H.G. Wells alludes to his peers' utopian fiction in his reference to a “cicerone,” a type of guide who walks the narrator through the utopian world in which he finds himself, and a figure present in many canonized works of utopian fiction. The Traveller states:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I had no convenient cicerone in the pattern of the Utopian books.
Related Themes:
