Allusion as a stylistic device in a poetic text. Allusions are something new with a hint of the old. What is an allusion?

allusion

and. A stylistic device that involves using an allusion to a real, well-known, political, historical or literary fact.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

allusion

ALLUSION (from Latin allusio - joke, hint) is a stylistic figure, a hint through a similar-sounding word or mention of a well-known real fact, historical event, literary work ("the glory of Herostratus" - cf. Herostratus).

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. Catchwords and expressions are often used as a hint (for example, “the glory of Herostratus,” “cross the Rubicon,” “I came, I saw, I conquered,” “Demyan’s ear”).

Wikipedia

Allusion

Allusion(“hint, joke”) - a stylistic figure containing an indication, analogy or allusion to a certain literary, historical, mythological or political fact, enshrined in textual culture or in colloquial speech. The material for formulating an analogy or a hint that forms an allusion is often a well-known historical statement or some catchphrase. Biblical stories can also be used. For example, the title of the film “V. Davydov and Goliath” refers to the well-known biblical story about David and Goliath.

In other cases, titles of earlier works may be used. For example, Dr. James Tiptree Jr. made her debut in science fiction literature with the story "Birth of a Salesman" (1968), the title of which contains an allusion that refers the reader to the title of the play by American playwright Arthur Miller "Death of a Salesman" (1949), and in the title of the series " Always say "always" is an allusion to the James Bond film Never Say Never.

Unlike reminiscence, it is more often used as a rhetorical figure that requires unambiguous understanding and reading. Difficulties often arise with the use of the term allusion, namely with the choice of control. On the one hand, the definition of allusion as hint prompts the writer to control with a preposition on. On the other hand, the allusion is like reference assumes that a preposition will be used To .

Examples of the use of the word allusion in literature.

Biblical allusion to the fall of Adam and Eve, who were seduced by Satan in the form of a snake.

BMS EARTHLANDER'S BURDEN, THE GREAT MISSION OF HUMANITY - terms used to justify the expansion of humanity, the first - allusion to the formulation of R.

I ENTERED INTO AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP - allusion to an anecdote: a translator leads a delegation around the plant and they ask him - what are the master and the apprentice talking about?

Very important specific allusion is contained in an address to Queen Anne, when the poetess says that her early years were illuminated by the favor of the great Elizabeth.

Obviously, Smirnov was not aware allusion John Florio on the literary work of Rutland in the dedication of an Italian-English dictionary to him, Johnson's words in a message to Elizabeth Rutland that her husband loved the art of poetry, not to mention many other facts.

Interesting and allusion that the Sidney family had income from publications.

Mourning allusion addressed to John Salisbury, who died in the summer of 1612, allowed me to determine the true date of the book’s appearance, and through it to identify the prototypes of the Dove and Phoenix - the extraordinary Rutland couple who left this world at the same time as Salisbury.

However, at the same time, they removed a very important comma from the text, which is why the allusion, which determines the meaning of the poem.

Description of Lyapis-Trubetskoy's scams in the editorial offices of departmental magazines and the quote given by Persitsky - allusion to the story by V.

Oxfordians have to assume that plays that appeared after this time were written before 1604, but were published later, although the contents in them allusions the events of 1605-1610 definitely speak against such an assumption.

Numerous allusions show that the author of this additional epilogue poem describes the Rutland castle of Belvoir and is sad about the absence of its owner, Elizabeth Sidney-Rutland, who wrote the earlier appeals to the queen and the most noble ladies - her friends, and the poem itself about the passion of Christ, which gave the name to the book.

Political allusions were largely eliminated during the preparation of the magazine version, and some parodies were also removed.

These parodies in detail, as well as some political allusions, discussed in the comments.

The principles of commenting are traditional: first of all, realities, quotes and reminiscences, literary and political are explained allusions, parodies, specific events, one way or another connected with episodes of the novel, textologically significant discrepancies.

Many fellow countrymen and friends of the authors of the novel published in this magazine, in particular Kataev, allusions the stories of which are encountered later.

Biblical stories can also be used. For example, the title of the film “V. Davydov and Goliath" refers to the well-known biblical story about David and Goliath.

In other cases, titles of earlier works may be used. For example, Dr. James Tiptree Jr. made her debut in science fiction literature with the story “Birth of a Salesman” (1968), the title of which contains an allusion that refers the reader to the title of the play by American playwright Arthur Miller “Death of a Salesman” (1949), and in the title of the Russian TV series "Always say 'always'" - an allusion to the James Bond film "Never say 'never'" [ ] .

Unlike reminiscence, it is more often used as a rhetorical figure that requires unambiguous understanding and reading.

Difficulties often arise with the use of the term “allusion”, namely with the choice of control. On the one hand, the definition of allusion as hint prompts the writer to control with a preposition on(allusion on something). On the other hand, the allusion is like reference assumes that a preposition will be used To(allusion to something).

Literature

Types of Literary Allusions

The most popular form of literary intertextuality is the introduction of one text into another in a fragmentary form. Such “inclusions” and “references” to previous literary facts are usually called allusions and reminiscences. These forms of intertextuality are the most developed. The boundary between allusion and reminiscence is difficult to establish.

Following previous traditions of literary criticism, N.G. Vladimirova defined allusion as “a stylistic figure, an allusion to a well-known literary or historical fact, a rhetorical figure.” Reminiscence, in her opinion, is a memory of an artistic image, a work, or the author’s (usually unconscious) borrowing of an artistic image or any elements of a “foreign” work by N.G. Vladimirov. Convention that creates the world. V.Novgorod, 2001. P.144.. V.E.Khalizev calls reminiscences “images of literature in literature” and considers their most common form to be a quotation, accurate or inaccurate. Reminiscences, in his opinion, can either be included in a work consciously and purposefully, or arise independently of the will of the author, involuntarily (“literary recollection”) Khalizev V.E. Theory of literature. M., 1999. P.253. N.A. Fateeva believes that an allusion can often turn into a reminiscence, and vice versa. Following the concept of J. Genette, who defines allusion and quotation as equivalent categories of intertextuality, the researcher focuses on these forms. Fateeva defines a quotation as “the reproduction of two or more components of the donor’s text with its own predication.” An allusion is the borrowing of certain elements of the pretext, by which they are recognized in the recipient text, where their predication takes place. What distinguishes an allusion from a quotation is “that the borrowing of elements occurs selectively, and the whole statement or line of the donor text, correlated with the new text, is present in the latter, as if “behind the text,” only implicitly.” Those. in the case of quotation, the author primarily exploits reconstructive intertextuality, registering the commonality of “his” and “alien” texts, and in the case of allusion, constructive intertextuality comes first, the purpose of which is to organize the borrowed elements in such a way that they turn out to be cohesion nodes of the semantic-compositional structure of the new text Fateeva N.A. Counterpoint of intertextuality, or Intertext in the world of texts. M., 2000. P.122-129..

In this study, a clear boundary is not drawn between quotation, allusion and reminiscence, since researchers have not come to a consensus on the delimitation of these phenomena. Based on the above statements about the existence of “direct” (quoted) and “indirect” (indirect) allusion, we designate the three above intertextual inclusions as allusive.

Many researchers have made attempts to systematize the types and functions of allusions and allusive inclusions.

M.D. Tukhareli offers the following classification of allusions according to their semantics:

1. Proper names are anthroponyms. This group also includes: zoonyms often found in works of art - names of animals and birds; toponyms - geographical names; cosmonyms - names of stars, planets; kthematonyms - names of historical events, holidays, works of art, etc.; theonyms - names of gods, demons, mythological characters, etc.

2. Biblical, mythological, literary, historical and other realities.

3. Echoes of quotes, popular sayings, contamination, reminiscence.

From the point of view of structure, an allusion can be represented by a word, a combination of words, and verbal formations larger in volume and design. M.D. Tukhareli identifies allusions - superphrase unities, allusions - paragraphs, allusions - stanzas, allusions - prose stanzas, allusions - chapters, and finally, allusions - artistic works of M.D. Tukhareli. Allusion in the system of a literary work: Abstract. dis. Ph.D. Philol. Sci. - Tbilisi, 1984. - 18 p.. As for the last type of allusion, A. Mamaeva calls it architectonic. Such an allusion is represented by a whole work of art that repeats the arrangement of parts and features of another work of art. But only one example of this kind of allusion has been found in world literature - “Ulysses” by D. Joyce, duplicating Homer’s “Odyssey”.

In our opinion, the most complete classification is proposed in the work of D. Durishin D. Durishin. Theory of comparative study of literature. M., 1979. 397 pp. Among the integral forms of perception, he considers allusion to be the simplest, i.e. “appeal to a specific artistic technique, motif, idea, etc., predominantly by luminaries of world literature.” An allusion is distinguished by “a momentary inducement to associate with any component of the original source.” Among the most popular allusions, Durishin considers direct and veiled quoting of the original source. Quotational allusions constitute a significant type of “non-author” word. According to Durishin, this is “the simplest type of literary connection” [Diryushin D., 1979. 340]. Quotational allusions aimed at the “convex joy of recognition” can be both implicit and explicit. The purest form of direct quotation can be considered quotations with exact attribution and identical reproduction of the sample.

In the novel “The Magus” by D. Fowles there is a direct quote from T. S. Eliot’s poem: “One of them marked the page on which someone had circled in red ink a quatrain from the poem “Little Gidding”:

We will wander in thought

And at the end of our wanderings we will arrive

To where we came from,

And we will see our land for the first time.

(Translated by A. Sergeev)

...I immediately realized that the owner of the villa was the same collaborator with whom Mitford had quarreled; but earlier he seemed to me like a cunning, cunning Greek Laval, and not a man of that level of culture that allows him to read - or receive guests who read - Eliot and Auden in the original.

In this case, the poetic allusive inclusion clearly stands out in the prose text and has increased recognition, since along with the quotation the name of the quoted work and the name of its author are mentioned. The quotation from Eliot is a hint at the future rebirth of the novel's protagonist. Thus, by turning to a similar motif of a famous author, the writer enhances the sound of his own. Shakespeare's The Tempest is also repeatedly quoted in The Magus. This is due to the allusive personification of the heroes of the novel with the characters of this tragicomedy. O. Huxley also refers to The Tempest. The hero of “Brave New World” speaks with Shakespearean quotes, contrasting the natural (Shakespeare) with the artificial (utopian civilization), the natural with the domination of technocracy.

An implicit quotation allusion does not directly indicate the author or work. Often we are talking about quoting fragments of famous works, so that the association with the pretext is “implied by itself.” An example of the simplest form of appeal to Shakespeare is a quotation, behind which the authorship is unmistakably guessed. This example is provided by Howard Brenton's play “Hitler's Dances,” which grew out of the actors' improvisation on a given topic. Gradually, the improvisation takes shape into the story of a girl who decides to go to the front to avenge the death of her loved one. When the heroine arrives at the recruiting station, the raid begins. Her future mentor, Captain Potter, locked himself in a dark room, drinks, trembling with fear. To the heroine’s knock on the door, he answers somewhat inappropriately: “Knock! Knock! It is precisely the fact that it is out of place that indicates the quotative nature of the answer. These are the words of the Gatekeeper from Macbeth, probably known to any English schoolchild. As in the original, this remark serves as a means of retarding the action. In Brenton, this retardation is achieved due to the reader's recognition of the words of the Shakespearean hero, which allows him to expand the playing field and the playing context of his play. It also enhances the overall comic character of M.M. Korenev’s episode. The artistic world of Shakespeare and modern English drama // English literature

tour of the twentieth century and the legacy of Shakespeare. M., 1997. P.23-24..

Thus, “a conscious quotation or allusion represents such an inclusion of an element of a “foreign” text into “one’s own”, which should modify the semantics of the latter due to associations associated with the source text, but if such changes are not detected, most likely we are dealing with unconscious borrowing." Unique “quotational” dialogues often arise between the characters of literary works. Intertextual reference acts as the primary means of communication, the appeal of one character to another. The exchange of intertexts during communication, determining the ability of communicants to adequately recognize them and guess the intention behind them allows us to establish a commonality of cultural memory and aesthetic preferences. An example of such “allusive-quotational” communication is presented in the novel “The Black Prince” by A. Murdoch. During a conversation with the daughter of his friend Arnold Baffin, the writer Bradley Pearson, who is in love with her, tries to praise her father’s books: “There is a great love of life in his things, and he knows how to build a plot. Being able to construct a plot is also an art.” Julian calls his father’s work “carrion.” Pearson playfully reproaches her with a quote from King Lear: “So young and so callous at heart!” The answer to this follows from the same work, moreover, from the same dialogue: “So young, my lord, and straightforward.” In this way, the girl makes it clear that she has understood the code of communication, recognized the quote given and is well acquainted with the source. “Quotation marks” here serves as a way of marking a quotation. The unattributed allusive inclusion is recognized and its meaning expanded beyond a particular style.

A paraphrased quotation has increased recognition and intensifies the moment of play in the text. Thus, in Fowles’s “Ebony Tower,” David Williams, characterizing Anna’s rude directness and artlessness, says: “Blessed are the poor in taste.” Fowles D. Ebony Tower. Kyiv, 2000. P.166.. A paraphrase of one of the Gospel commandments: “Blessed are the poor in spirit...” emphasizes the recognition of the intertextual element just as well as a direct quotation.

Some literary texts become so popular that they turn into real “treasuries of quotes.” Using the example of Shakespeare's “Hamlet,” this phenomenon is clearly characterized by the character of the novel “The Black Prince” by Bradley Pearson: “Hamlet” is the most widely known work of world literature. Farmers of India, woodcutters of Australia, cattle breeders of Argentina, Norwegian sailors, Americans - all the darkest and wildest representatives of the human race have heard about Hamlet. ...What other work of literature has so many passages become proverbs? … “Hamlet” is a monument of words, Shakespeare’s most rhetorical work, his longest play, the most intricate invention of his mind. Look how easily, with what unconstrained, transparent grace he lays the foundation of all modern English prose.” Indeed, many quotes, for example, the famous “to be or not to be,” have become aphorisms over time. As a result, “popularized” quotes, separated from the general text, are likened to stereotyped speech metaphors and become elements of mass culture.

To eliminate the “weariness” of known pretexts, writers use the technique of “defamiliarization”. One such technique is the use of allusion in the form of paraphrase. It is more general in nature and less “recognizable” to a reader unfamiliar with the full range of literary associations evoked by the original source. Thus, Fowles’s novel “The Magus” is riddled with paraphrases of Shakespeare’s works. “We are all actors and actresses,” Lilia says to Nicholas, which is vaguely reminiscent of Shakespeare’s lines “All the world is a stage.” In the “theatrical” context of the novel’s events, the author makes us understand with the heroine’s remark that everything that is happening is just a game, and this game should not be taken seriously. Allusive allegory always goes through the path of “decipherment,” as a result of which projections onto the texts of predecessors are restored.

Subsequently, the “new” criticism developed a type of intertextual approach in which the text is included in a dialogue not only with literature, but also with various types of art and culture. This phenomenon is called “syncretistic intertextuality” and “intermediality”, which is understood as “intertextual relations between verbal and visual art” Arnold I.V. Problems of intertextuality // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. - 1992.p.132.. Such inclusions began to be called pictorial allusions. They are characterized by references to creations of various types of art, both real ones (numerous pictorial reminiscences in the novels by D. Fowles “The Collector”, “The Magus”, “The Ebony Tower”), and by a fictional writer (“Doctor Faustus” by T. Mann, extensively “ "drawing" pictorial and musical creations, "Collector" with "invented" paintings by the artist George Paston). Scientists have designated the last type of reference to non-existent works of art and literature as pseudo-intertextuality. W. Goebel and G. Plett noticed that pseudo-intertextual allusions are characterized by increased conventionality and an emphatically playful character. It should be noted that such a “game” with the reader is an advanced technique of postmodernist discourse.

The connections that exist between the characters of various works of fiction represent one of the most interesting and little-studied aspects of intertextuality. The introduction of the names of previously created characters, the allusive personification of “our” heroes with “strangers” are deliberately used by writers as references to other texts. This type of intertextual connection can be designated as interfigural allusions, using the term of the German scientist W. Muller “interfigurality” Muller W. Interfigurality. A Study of Interdependence of Literary Figures // Intertextuality, Berlin and New

York, 1991. P.176-194.. According to the researcher, complete or partial identity of the names of characters in different works of art is always an interfigurative element (except for cases of unconscious borrowing). The scientist also argues that, like a quotation, the name of a famous literary character turns out to be a “foreign” element, “built in” into its text, and, like a quotation, a borrowed name is often doomed to transform not only its form, but also its content. For example, in T. Stoppard's play, the minor characters of Hamlet Rosencrantz and Guildenstern become the central figures of the action. The author gives their names a modern twist, shortening them to the familiar “Roses” and “Gils.” Adapted from Shakespeare's Macbeth, Barbara Garson's political satire MacBed! (“MacBird!”): The name Duncan transforms into O'Dank, which is a nod to the Irish roots of the Kennedy family.

Another form of interfigurative transformation is the contextual adaptation of the names of characters in foreign language works. Thus, Don Juan Tenorio is “anglicized” in “Man and Superman” by B. Shaw. The result of this transformation is the name John Tanner. The “coded” interfigurative allusion requires decoding and is aimed at a competent readership. The unchanged name of a famous literary character is most recognizable in the context of a “new” work. It carries a certain semantic load, is a container of certain qualities, or “semes” (R. Barthes), one way or another characterizing the “new” character. Thus, in “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco, the figures of the protagonists William of Baskerville and Adso are based on the images of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. But if the “detective in a monastic robe” is given away by his “Conandoyle” surname, then in the case of Adso we are faced with allusive personification, as well as a language game with a pretext: “Adso - Watson”. Sometimes the characters themselves choose their “prototype,” which is often determined by the circle of their reading. It is no coincidence that Miranda from Fowles's The Collector bears the name of Shakespeare's heroine. However, when reading the novels of Jane Austen, the girl more often personifies herself with their heroines than with the image of her namesake from The Tempest.

Allusions are deeply significant in the artistic literature of different countries and eras. Such forms of allusiveness as myth, texts of canonical religions, masterpieces of world literature, have acquired a number of specific features in the modern literary process that distinguish them from their original forms. Using classical images and subjects, the artist expresses the ideals and moods of his era.

§1.3 Functions of allusions

As part of a work of art, allusion has enormous potential for creating subtext. This technique gives the author the opportunity to convey a large amount of information in a concise form, express his attitude towards characters or events, and lead the reader to a certain thought Evseev A.S. Basics of the theory of allusion. (In mat. Russian language): Author's abstract. dis. ...cand. Philol. Sciences / A.S. Evseev. - M., 1990. - 18 p.. Allusion performs the following functions:

Evaluative and characterizing;

“...Aunt Alexandra would have been analogous to Mount Everest: throughout my early life, she was cold and there” (Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird”).

As you know, Everest is the highest mountain in the world, located in the Himalayas. Such a comparison of a character with a mountain cannot but be done without additional decoding, since this allusion can cause a lot of different associations, which will be individual for each reader. It gives rise to images of greatness, strength, superiority, on the one hand, and inaccessibility, mystery, on the other. In this context, such aspects of this toponym as coldness and eternity of existence are highlighted.

Occasional;

The use of references to historical facts and personalities recreates the spirit of the era in which the work took place. Suffice it to recall Margaret Mitchell’s well-known novel “Gone with the Wind,” where the action takes place against the backdrop of the American Civil War in 1861-1865. The work contains many names of generals, battles and other realities associated with this historical event.

Text structuring;

The text is a symbolic-thematic formation: the text reveals a specific topic, which unites all its parts into an informational unity.

The intratextual connection carried out by allusion refers to a form of associative cohesion, since it helps in holding together a work of art and at the same time introduces additional information from the outside.

§1.4 The mechanism of action of allusions

The process of updating an allusion by the reader includes several stages:

1. Marker recognition. If the allusion is disguised or it is subtle (it does not appear in the quotations, has an attractive non-allusive interpretation, etc.), the reader may not realize that it is there. Some writers may use the device of allusion to satisfy some readers who enjoy the process of recognizing allusions. However, this raises the risk that the allusion may be lost and the real meaning, although plausible, will be weak, i.e. the reader may lose a lot. The writer can only hope that the reader will recognize the allusion later, or that only a certain circle of readers will understand it;

2. Identification of the text being read. Currently, there is no specific list of books that are required for everyone - the readership is wider, the Bible is less popular and there are many more books. Modern authors prefer to allude to dark, very personal, short-lived or even non-existent texts. Deciphering many allusions is sometimes impossible without footnotes and author’s explanations;

3. Modification of the original interpretation of part of the text. At this stage, there is a change in the initial understanding of the text containing the allusion;

4. Activation of readable text. While reading a text, the reader consolidates what he read in short-term memory. The activation of each idea activates the ideas adjacent to it. In this way, activation spreads through the entire memory structure, determining what must be added and moved from the interpretation of the text. This process continues until further activation of related assumptions changes the assumption of the overall interpreted text.

As you know, the term “allusion” is a rather old definition that appeared in many European countries already in the 16th century. But nevertheless, if we do not take into account the ancient roots of the use of this word in foreign literature and linguistics, the phenomenon itself begins 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 statements 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, and therefore in any text a linguistic way of personifying 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 a voluminous work of art that 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”.

Or a hint of some literary, historical, mythological or political fact, enshrined in textual culture or in colloquial speech. The material for formulating an analogy or hint that forms an allusion is often a well-known historical statement or some catchphrase. Biblical stories can also be used. For example, the title of the film “V. Davydov and Goliath" refers to the well-known biblical story about David and Goliath.

Unlike reminiscence, it is more often used as a rhetorical figure that requires unambiguous understanding and reading. Difficulties often arise with the use of the term allusion, namely with the choice of control. On the one hand, the definition of allusion as hint prompts the writer to control with a preposition on(allusion to something). On the other hand, the allusion is like reference assumes that a preposition will be used To(allusion to something).

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Literature

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