THE DOORS OF ALLUSIONS

Mr. Scaramella

Last updated: 12/20/06

Essential Question:
How do literary allusions create meaning?

Definition links / Graphic Illustrator / Poem 1 / Poem 2 / Brueghel Painting Link / Poem 3 / Assignments Page

 

What is an allusion?

View the links to some definitions of allusions.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0313546.html

http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/aesthetics/bldef_allusion.htm

Allusions may be made to art, music, literature or history. They may suggest an event, a painting, a piece of music, a setting, a famous historical figure, or a myth-- in essence, any well-known or presumably recognizable source.

In the study of literature, an understanding of how language creates meaning is essential. One way that writers heighten or create meaning is through the use of literary allusions. Naturally not all works of literature use allusions; allusions are simply one of many figures of speech available to a writer to make connections and instill meaning. Particularly in poetry, which by its very nature is intensive in the richness and economy of words, it is necessary to read alertly and to explore the poem's experience with an inquisitive and open mind. By enlarging the scope of one's reading, a perceptive reader increases the number of ways to comprehend and enjoy a work on both the sensory and intellectual level. Many times, however, a reader may be totally unaware of the basis of the allusion since it is not infrequent for writers to refer to works with a limited audience. In addition, in the case of old literature, history may not have recorded the event, context or person; consequently, the allusion is a literary dead-end or merely subject to supposition.

Some references in a literary work essential to understanding of the theme or subject matter require a critical reader to investigate the source.

Of course, it is not always the case that a poem or story's meaning depends totally on one's understanding of the allusion, but is always desirable and usually worthwhile to research the allusion.

The graphic below illustrates some of the ways that allusions enrich literature.

In some cases an allusion may be of a general nature. For instance, when Macbeth, his army reduced by desertion, faces the final attack by the English forces headed by Malcolm and Macduff, he asks, "Why should I play the Roman fool, and die/ On mine own sword? whiles I see lives, the gashes/ Do better upon them." His question refers to the Roman attitude toward suicide as a way of avoiding dishonor. It reveals Macbeth’s desperation and it signals the inevitable catastrophe that will follow in the final confrontation with Macduff, whose family Macbeth has viciously murdered. At other times allusions are specifically linked to people, places or events. Earlier in the tragedy, Shakespeare refers to the battlefield upon which the valiant warrior Macbeth achieves his acclaim as a "Golgotha." Golgotha was the place of Christ's crucifixion and the suggestion in the line presents an image of a bloody and horrible scene of death.

The Uses of Allusions

Let’s examine how allusions are used in poetry.

 

Study the following poem and the link to the myth. Then answer the questions that follow.

Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden   About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters: how well they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. In Brueghel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

1. Who are the "Old Masters"?

2. What is happening in the landscape at the time of Icarus' fall?

3. What is the poet's attitude toward the event?

4. Characterize the tone of the poem.

5. State the theme of the poem in a sentence and support your statement with specific words and phrases from the text.

 

link to myth

http://www.thanasis.com/icarus.htm

second link:

http://www.island-ikaria.com/culture/myth.asp

 

Answer the questions below.

1. Who was Icarus?

2. How does the mythical story help you understand the poem?

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus William Carlos Williams According to Brueghel when Icarus fell it was spring a farmer was ploughing his field the whole pageantry of the year was awake tingling near the edge of the sea concerned with itself sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax unsignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning

For Writing or Discussion Compare the two poems, "Musée Des Beaux Arts" and "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus."

Here is Pieter Brueghel's Painting.

 

Let's look at another famous poem written by the Romantic poet, William Wordsworth. England, at the time, was on the brink of the great Industrial Revolution that transformed the society and the landscape of England.

 

The world is too much with us; late and soon William Wordsworth The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers, For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be A pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

 

Link to myth of Proteus
http://www.proteusconsulting.com/Proteus%20Myth.htm

Link to myth of Triton
http://www.loggia.com/myth/triton.html

Responding to the poem:

Before you consider the response question, think about the following: What is wrong with the world as the speaker sees it? How do pagans relate to Nature? How does his perspective on paganism relate to the view he presents in the first line? How do the allusions to Proteus and Triton emphasize the theme?

Response Question:
Why does the speaker wish he were a pagan? Support your answer with reasons.

 

OTHER DOORWAYS

 

It's fun to examine how allusions are used in other genre. Look at a famous Van Gogh painting by clicking the link below.
http://www.vggallery.com/painting/p_0612.htm

 

Now read the lyrics to the song "Vincent" by Don Maclean.

http://www.katsandogz.com/starrynight.html

 

Finally, kick back and listen to the song at the Don MacLean website.

http://www.don-mclean.com/

What? More doors? Think about some allusions in art, music or other media and be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

THE ESSAY

Choose a poem that makes use of an allusion. You may choose from an anthology, use a site below, or explore the Internet. Make sure, however, that the poem has literary value and is written by a reputable poet.

 

Topic:

In a well-developed three-part essay, discuss the use of an allusion (or allusions) in a particular poem.

 

POETRY SITES

http://www.emule.com/poetry
http://www.bartleby.com/101/
http://www.ibiblio.org/dykki/poetry/
http://www.poetry.com/
http://www.poets.org/
http://www.onlinepoetryclassroom.org/
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/literature/poetry.html
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180

 

ESSAY EVALUATION RUBRIC

	SCORE OF 6   Outstanding demonstrates clear and consistent Mastery but may contain a few minor errors	SCORE OF 5   Effective demonstrates reasonably consistent mastery but may have occasional errors or lapses in quality	SCORE OF 4   Competent   demonstrates adequate mastery but may have lapses in quality	SCORE OF 3   Developing   demonstrates developing mastery but is marked by one or more of the following weaknesses	SCORE OF 2    Emerging  demonstrates little mastery and is seriously limited by one or more of the following weaknesses	SCORE OF 1   Fundamentally Limited   demonstrates very little or no mastery and is severely limited by one or more of the following weaknesses
Development	effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position	effectively develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position	develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position	point of view on the issue, demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position	develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or seriously limited, and demonstrates weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position	develops no viable point of view on the issue, or provides little or no evidence to support its position
Organization	is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas	is well organized and focused, demonstrating coherence and progression of ideas	is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas	is limited in its organization or focus, or may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas	is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas	is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay
Word Choice	exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary	exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate vocabulary	exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary	displays developing facility in the use of language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice	displays very little facility in the use of language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice	displays fundamental errors in vocabulary
Sentence Structure	demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure	demonstrates variety in sentence structure	demonstrates some variety in sentence structure	lacks variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure	demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure	demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure
Grammar, Usage, Mechanics	is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics	is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics	has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics	contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics	contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured	contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning

Revision 11/30/06

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