Allusion examples from fiction. The meaning of the word allusion in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, BSE. Excerpt characterizing Allusion

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An allusion is a literary figure that expresses an analogy, indication, allusion to a frequently used and known fact, a person, an idea, an episode (historical, literary, political, mythological or any other) that is established and widespread in speech. It is used to introduce the necessary subtext into a text or oratory. Such literary elements are representatives of allusion and are called markers.

The meaning of the word allusion comes from alludere (Latin), meaning “to play or joke.” The technique of allusion has long been used to compose and enrich written and oratory texts. As a term, allusion appears in the 16th century, and only four centuries later began to be studied as a phenomenon. This stylistic device is necessary to simplify complex ideas or, by referring to already described multifaceted facts or creating the necessary background, for example, fairy-tale or mythical.

What is an allusion

The tendency towards symbolism in literature especially began to manifest itself in the last century, despite the fact that this is an ancient technique for composing text. With the growth of popularity, this aspect has become increasingly attractive to study for researchers of figures and methods of literature.

When borrowing elements of another text that are a reference to the source text, it becomes possible to give the described situation or person a certain sign that will serve as a code or a means for understanding certain characteristics. This is a very useful technique in cases where the author does not have the opportunity to express his ideas openly, or when the explanation required will take an excessive amount of resources.

Allusion, what is it? This technique, as a form of intertextuality, is sometimes incorrectly confused with a quotation. In the case of a quotation, we get an exact reproduction of the text, while an allusion is the borrowing of a certain part of the text that does not represent an integral component, due to which the necessary reference in the final text is recognized. A quote gives us information directly and openly, but to understand an allusion requires certain knowledge and effort. The purpose of this application is to draw analogies between the newly created work and the existing ones.

There are various examples of allusion catchphrases(“I came, I saw, I conquered”, “ great schemer»).

A fairly close concept to allusion is reminiscence, which is applicable mainly in a psychological or comparative historical context. Reminiscence denotes the unconscious, referring the reader to what the author previously read or heard. This is a quote not enclosed in quotation marks, not intentionally. It is quite difficult to make a clear distinction between allusion and reminiscence, since the concepts are often defined using each other, but the main distinguishing quality is the consciousness of the reference text included.

The technique of allusion is used in psychocorrection and serves as a way to reorient a person in the necessary, initially given direction. Since during the application of this technique the person is not directly spoken about, his defense mechanisms of resistance recede, and the reaction is involuntary, coming from the unconscious. Often found in diaries and memoirs, which gives the author the opportunity for a calm narrative, at the same time, the reader can easily guess characters, places of events.

This technique can be difficult to understand because it only hints at something other than what appears to be the main theme of the story. Accordingly, when a person has not read the work to which the reference is made, is not familiar with the story or person referred to in the allusion, he is not able to understand the hint or will simply miss it, brushing it aside.

To actualize the presence and meaning of an allusion in the reader’s or listener’s own perception, the following components are necessary:

Recognizing the marker (i.e. noticing the allusion itself, when it is heavily disguised, the whole meaning of what is being stated may be lost),

Text (i.e. a transcript of which source the author refers to, if not widely known material is used, there is also a chance that the hint will be understood by a very small percentage of readers),

A modification of the original meaning of the text, based on the new semantic loads introduced by the allusion.

Types of allusions

The meaning of the word allusion includes high information content, which allows you to get acquainted with the information directly discussed, as well as with the author’s personal attitude to events or characters. They have certain differences regarding the semantic load of their application. With this literary device the author can make a reference not only to any work, but to a person, historical period, mythical plot. There are several types of allusions, depending on their semantics and the source from which they take their root.

Literary allusions are aimed at shortening the narrative text, reminding the reader of what is happening, adding depth and emotionality.

Examples of allusion in literature are “his nose does not grow like Pinocchio’s”, “she acted like Scrooge”.

Biblical and mythological devices that use references to religious texts. Examples of allusions using the Bible are “the good Samaritan”, “she turned the other cheek”, etc. They are the most emotionally charged and are used to give the characters a certain characteristic.

Historical allusions are aimed at indicating certain historical facts and figures. The most precise and specific, easy to understand, but least emotionally charged, they convey meaningful information.

Proper names (frequent names of animals, birds, geographical names, works of art, names of gods).

There are several other ways to classify this phenomenon, for example, as the fact that it can be used in a direct context or be veiled, constructed as a riddle. Allusions also vary in context and generality. The first are accessible and understandable to people living in a certain era or moving in a certain circle; the latter are publicly available. In its structure, it can be expressed in a word, several words, or even an entire verbal construct.

In order for a stylistic device to be correctly interpreted, and generally noticed and understood, the author and reader must have unifying themes and knowledge. Often, techniques with references to another ethnic group significantly complicate the understanding of the text and the work of the translator. When interacting with allusions, the one who perceives the text may experience various associative series. In order to choose from all the options the one that the author wanted to convey, precedent knowledge and ideas (folklore, national and world classical literature, texts of major religions) are necessary, which will be common to the community to which the message is addressed. this text.

It is difficult to overestimate the influence of stylistic devices when creating subtext in a text; they also perform a number of functions:

Characterizing or evaluative (used to detail the image, by comparing the hero with other known objects or characters, in order to convey these qualities to him);

Text-structuring (introducing additional information and consolidating the general text of the work).

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

- (from Latin alludere to hint). A rhetorical figure containing an allusion to some object that is not directly named. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ALLUSION [fr. allusion hint Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

allusion- and illusion f., lat. allusio. 1690. Lexis. lat. Rhetorical figure. Hint, suggestion, guidance, foreshadowing. Jan. 1803. lit. a hint of which l. a known fact as a stylistic device in literature. Sl. 18. Doctors, when they come to a patient... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Hint, circumstance Dictionary of Russian synonyms. allusion see hint Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova. 2011… Dictionary of synonyms

- (allusion) a rhetorical figure consisting of a reference to a historical event or literary work, which are assumed to be generally known. These are eg. expressions: Pyrrhic victory, Demyan’s ear, etc. Sometimes A. presents an entire excerpt from ... Literary encyclopedia

- (from Lat. allusio joke allusion), stylistic figure, allusion through a similar-sounding word or mention of a well-known real fact, historical event, literary work (the glory of Herostratus cf. Herostratus) ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

AND; and. [from French allusion hint]. A stylistic device that involves using allusions to real, well-known facts and events. Political, literary allusions. * * * allusion (from Latin allusio joke, hint), stylistic figure, hint... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Allusion- (from Lat. allusio hint) a method of reference to any work of art, aesthetic fact, known social event, historical circumstance or person. Allusions can be playful, ironic, satirical... ... Aesthetics. Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (from Latin allusio joke, hint) in fiction, oratory and colloquial speech one of the stylistic figures: an allusion to a real political, historical or literary fact, which is assumed to be generally known. As... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

G. A stylistic device that involves using an allusion to a real, well-known, political, historical or literary fact. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Allusion, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions, allusions (Source: “Full accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznyak”) ... Forms of words

Books

Allusion of Love, Beauvoir S., Sartre J.. The authors of this book are famous philosophers XX century. Simone de Beauvoir is a French writer, philosopher, friend of Jean-Paul Sartre and at the same time an ideologist of the feminist movement. Jean-Paul Sartre -...
Golden Donkey, Elena Chernikova. An allusion novel about love and afterlife, written by a woman, in Russia, using domestic male material...

As you know, the term “allusion” is a rather old definition that has appeared in many European countries already in the 16th century. But nevertheless, if you do not take into account the ancient roots of the use of this word in foreign literature and linguistics, the phenomenon itself began to be actively studied only at the end of the last century.

Meaning of the word

An allusion is a kind of reference to famous sayings in literary, colloquial and oratory speech. It also refers to facts of historical or political life, and quite often to works of art. Taken from the Greek "allusion", synonym - joke, hint.

Allusion in literature

The word itself is used in literary criticism.

Scientists have determined that an allusion is a stylistic figure that contains a clear hint or explicit reference to some literary, historical, mythological or political facts enshrined in colloquial speech or textual culture. Such an element is called a marker, or a representative of an allusion, and the facts and texts of reality to which the reference is made are called denotations of allusions.

Literary scholars define an allusion as an indirect reference, using words or phrases, to any facts. Such appeals can also be associated with events in everyday human life.

Along with aphorisms, quotes and various stylistic inclusions, allusion can be the main marker, which means in any text in a linguistic way personifications of the category of intertextuality. Also, an allusion can be a means of expanding the transfer of qualities and properties of biblical, mythological, historical, literary characters and events to those that are discussed in this statement.

Structure of allusion

If we talk about composition, then an allusion can be expressed in a word, phrase or verbal formations large in design and volume.

Scientists distinguish the following types: allusions - superphrasal unity, allusions - paragraphs, allusions - prose stanzas, allusions - stanzas, allusions - works of art, allusions - chapters. Linguists argue that the last allusion is architectural. It is presented as voluminous a work of art, which repeats the features of the arrangement of parts of other literary texts. But in world literature only one example of this kind of allusion is known - duplicating Homer’s “Odyssey” D. Joyce, who wrote “Ulysses”.

In creating works, Russian and Western classics used various means and techniques. At the beginning of the last century, a tendency towards symbolism and allegory began to appear in world literature. Such features are not only present in modern prose, but are also the subject of close study by literary scholars today. Artistic figures that researchers paid attention to special attention in the 20th century, allusions began. What is it? What are they for? And what forms can allusions take?

Origin of the term

More recently, literary theorists have formulated a definition of allusion. What kind of phenomenon this is, few people have previously thought about, and not because the masters artistic word didn't use it. Examples of allusion are found already in the poetry of the Middle Ages. Rather, the fact is that until the beginning of the last century, literary criticism did not develop so actively.

In modern philology, this term is used to designate one of the stylistic devices. Translated from Latin language it means "to hint." An allusion is an artistic image that the author borrows from biblical stories, ancient or medieval mythology or in the works of other writers. The purpose of such borrowing is to draw a parallel between one’s own literary creation and what has already been widely created before it. famous work. Thus, we can say that the author, using an existing image, “hints” at its similarity with the hero, plot or idea of his novel, short story or story.

Types of allusion

With the help of such stylistic devices, the author can refer not only to a well-known literary work, but also to any historical fact. Various elements from biblical or mythical stories can play the role of allusion. What is this artistic phenomenon, it is impossible to answer within one article. Many literary researchers devote their works to this topic, each of whom offers their own interpretation and classification. To get a general concept of allusion, you should give several examples from the literature and classify them according to their main characteristic, namely the source from which it can be borrowed. So, similar artistic images may be:

mythological;
biblical;
historical;
literary;
philosophical and aesthetic.

Allusions are used to form a plot, reveal the image of the hero or the idea of the author. They can be located in the title of the work or at its ending. These can also occupy a medial position.

"In the first circle"

The allusion in the novel by Alexander Solzhenitsyn is in the title of the work. In his " Divine Comedy» Dante Alighieri formed a strict structure the afterlife, dividing it into nine circles. The sinful soul, according to the plot of the poem by the Italian author, ends up in one of them. But each of the circles corresponds to the severity of the offenses committed during life. In the first there are the most harmless sinners, whose guilt is very doubtful: unbaptized infants, virtuous but unbaptized people. In Solzhenitsyn's novel, Dante's first circle is taken as an allusion. What kind of allegorical device this is and what function it performs can be understood by remembering the words of the author: “The most valuable thing in the world is to realize that you are not participating in injustice.” The heroes of the Russian writer are punished, suffer, like the inhabitants of the first circle of the Italian philosopher, innocently and are victims of a huge terrible system.

Shakespearean allusions

Elements borrowed from the works of William Shakespeare are actively used in the works of modern authors, especially English-speaking ones. One of these allusions is the image of the black prince from the novel. The plot of this work is a prehistory to the legend of the Prince of Denmark.

The English writer draws a parallel between the heroes of his novel “The Collector” and Shakespeare’s characters from the tragedy “The Tempest”. In both the first and second cases, the symbols occupy a medial position.

And as for the works of Russian classical literature, That a shining example allusions to images from creativity English playwright Leskov's story "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" is used.

Other artistic allusions

The choice of source of allusion depends on the time in which the author lives and on his ideas. In the novel “The Master and Margarita” there are allegories and subtle allusions to biblical images and plots everywhere. Bulgakov's work raises many questions and mysteries. But the references of the author of the cult work of the 20th century to Goethe’s Faust are obvious. Name main character- the main allusion. Bulgakov dedicated his main page to love and the theme of fleeting happiness storyline, which is also interesting subject studying by critics due to the abundance of images of the German poet in it.

Reminiscence is more general concept. Using different images and elements from the known can take different forms. Stylistic device, to which this article is devoted, implies the most unambiguous reading.

Allusion and reminiscence in the general understanding are almost synonymous. Great characters and plots may already have been created. To modern authors All that remains is to rethink them and transfer them to our time. And it’s worth saying that similar ones are used not only in literature, but also in cinema. An example from Soviet cinema is the film “Children of Don Quixote”. Main character of this film does good without expecting reward. He devotes himself to work with all his soul, not paying attention to ridicule. His actions may seem crazy to ordinary people. But these follies are noble. And this is the similarity between the movie character and the Cervantes character.

ALLUSION

(from Latin allusio - joke, hint), in fiction, oratory and colloquial speech, one of the stylistic figures: an allusion to a real political, historical or literary fact that is supposed to be generally known. Often used as a hint catchphrases and expressions (for example, “glory to Herostratus”, “cross the Rubicon”, “came, saw, conquered”, “Demyanov’s ear”).

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB. 2012