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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
Key Examples in War and Peace
Volume 2, Part 1: Chapters 1–6
Explanation and Analysis—French Revolution:
When Pierre begins to suspect that his wife, Hélène Kuragin, has conducted an affair with his former friend Dolokhov, Pierre challenges Dolokhov to a duel, despite Dolokhov's reputation as a skilled duelist. After his surprising victory, which leaves Dolokhov in a grievously injured state, Pierre begins to feel that he had no right to take, or attempt to take, the life of another. In his agitated reflections, he alludes to various figures from the French Revolution:
“Louis XVI was executed for being, as they said, dishonest and criminal,” came into Pierre’s head, “and they were right from their point of view, and equally right were those who died a martyr’s death for him and counted him among the saints. Then Robespierre was executed because he was a despot. Who’s right, and who’s wrong? No one. You’re alive—so live: tomorrow you’ll die, just as I could have died an hour ago. And is it worth suffering, when there’s only a second left to live compared with eternity?”
Related Themes:
Volume 2, Part 5: Chapters 18–22
Explanation and Analysis—The Comet of 1812:
Though Pierre worries for Natasha after her impulsive attempt to elope with the bigamous Anatole, putting an embarrassing and potentially ruinous end to her engagement with Prince Andrei, he is nevertheless struck by the grateful look she gives him when he offers to help her in the home of Marya Dmitrievna. Outside, he continues to dwell pleasurably upon Natasha's gratitude. At this pivotal moment in the novel, Tolstoy employs allusion, simile, and imagery in his depiction of the Great Comet of 1812:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Almost in the middle of that sky [...] stood the huge, bright comet of the year 1812—surrounded, strewn with stars on all sides, but different from them in its closeness to the earth, its white light and long, raised tail [...] Pierre, his eyes wet with tears, gazed joyfully at this bright star, which, having flown with inexpressible speed through immeasurable space on its parabolic course, suddenly, like an arrow piercing the earth, seemed to have struck here its one chosen spot in the black sky and stopped, its tail raised energetically, its white light shining and playing among the countless other shimmering stars.
Volume 3, Part 3: Chapters 1–4
Explanation and Analysis—Zeno's Paradoxes:
While reflecting upon the nature of history and historical narratives, Tolstoy alludes to one of the famous paradoxes of the Ancient Greek philosopher Zeno:
Unlock with LitCharts A+A well-known so-called sophism of the ancients posits that Achilles can never overtake a tortoise that is walking ahead of him, even though Achilles walks ten times faster than the tortoise: while Achilles covers the distance that separates him from the tortoise, the tortoise will get ahead of him by one tenth of that distance; Achilles covers that one tenth, the tortoise gets ahead by one hundredth, and so on to infinity. The ancients considered this problem insoluble.
Related Themes:
