THE STYLISTIC

POWER OF ALLUSION
Never affirm, always
allude: allusions are
made to test the spirit
and probe the heart.
Umberto Eco

In the last decade the linguists take a great

interest not into visible, formal signs of expression
which report something supplementary to the primary
content, but such signs which can be found only due
to the deep intrusion into the context of work, its form
and facture of units of language as well.
In this case the great interest is put on the
research of such stylistic device as an allusion.

What is an allusion ?
The linguistic nature of allusions is rather broad and complex, so its not easy to
provide a clear definition of this term. The origin of the term " allusion " from the Latin
"alludere" to laugh, to hint ("luder" to play) dates to the middle of XVI century.
Considering the historical development of the concept, Harold Bloom highlights the word "
illusion " (illusion) as a synonym of allusion. During the early Renaissance allusion was
identified with a pun, play on words, so that it was used in the works of satirical nature. At
the time of Francis Bacon (1561-1626) under the allusion many linguists understood any
similarities to symbolic allegory, metaphor or parabola. Only since the beginning of XVII
century, H. Bloom developed allusion as indirect link that contained a hint.

According to I. R. Galperin allusion is an indirect reference, word or phrase, to a

historical, literary, mythological, biblical fact or to a fact of everyday life made in the
course of speaking or writing. The use of allusion presupposes knowledge of the fact, thing
or person alluded to on the part of the reader or listener. As a rule no indication of the
source is given.
According to Ckrebnev Y. M. allusion is a special variety of metaphor it is a brief
reference to some literary or historical event commonly known. The speaker (writer) need
not to be explicit about what he means: he merely mentions some details of what he thinks
analogous in fiction or history to the topic discussed. Of course, the educational level of the
listener (reader) is expected to be sufficient to grasp the level sense of the message.

Sources of allusions
The King James (Authorized) version of Bible
English literature (poetry, prose, drama) of different epochs
Shakespeares works
Ancient literature and mythology
Historical reminiscences
Utterances of historical persons and about them
Art
Music
History of literature
World literature (in the original and translation)
Folklore (proverbs, sayings)
Childrens verses

Classification of allusions
According to the English-language dictionary of literary terms most complete
classification of allusions include:
topical allusion (allusion - a reference to recent events);
personal allusion (a reference to the facts of the biography of the writer) ;
metaphorical allusion (aims to transfer more information);
imitative allusion (implicit allusion that mimics the style of other writers);
structural allusion (reflects the structure of another work) [Baldick C. The Concise
Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms / C. Balddick. Oxford, New-York: Oxford
University Press, 2008. 368 p.]

Russian researcher M. D. Tuhareli identifies the following kinds of allusions:

anthroponoms - proper names;
zoonyms - the names of animals and birds;
Toponyms - place names;
kosmonims - the names of the planets and stars;
ktematonims - the names of historical events, holidays, etc.
theonyms - the names of gods, demons, mythological figures,
biblical, mythological, literary, historical, and other realities [ . .
/ . . //
. : ., 1984. . 297 303.]

Stylistic functions of allusions

The main stylistic functions of allusions are:

the ideological function (the transmission of national mentality);

to strengthen the visual problems;

the function of reproduction of social and political atmosphere;

polemical function, based on the creation of ironic effect.
informative function;
entertaining function;
emotive function;

evaluative function;

aesthetic function.

Allusions can also play a significant role in the realization of the main functions - informative, contributing to a
better perception and memorization of content and involve associative possibilities for this recipient.

The example of geographical allusion

He said mechanically, Thats goods, while his
heart beat with its secret love. He said, Im very tired.
The police were near Zapata Why didnt you make
for Monte Cristo? [The power and the glory by
Graham Greene, 1940].
This geographical allusion refers to the famous
island in the Mediterranean Sea, which is the part of the
Tuscany Archipelago. The Italian "Isola di Montecristo",
means "Christs hill" This is one of the most famous
islands of the Mediterranean Sea due to A. Dumas novel
"The Count of Monte Cristo" Since ancient times, there
is a legend about this island, that there are hidden
treasures. The author uses this allusion to show the
attitude of the villagers to the priest who by his presence
puts them at risk.

The allusion expressing local coloring

At home I mean in England it was generally the
Laughing Cavalier I dont know why or else a Tudor rose.
But one cant pick and choose [The power and the glory
by Graham Greene, 1940].
The Laughing Cavalier is one of the most famous
portraits in the world, written by a Dutch Golden Age painter
- Frans Hals in 1624. In this novel, this picture means the
logo of beer (Mc Evran's beer) was founded in 1856. The
emblem shows how "Laughing Cavalier" enjoys beer. This
allusion transfers function of showing the local coloring in
which the use of English beer was a daily affair.

The example of biblical allusion

His mind was full of a simplified mythology: Michael
dressed in armour slew a dragon, and the angels fell
through space like comets with beautiful streaming hair
[The power and the glory by Graham Greene, 1940].
This biblical allusion (Revelation 12:24) is a
reference to the famous icon depicting St. Michael, who is
killing the dragon (Satan). This episode is described in the
"Book of Revelation", more known as"Apocalypse" - the
last book of the Christian Bible. This allusion is used to
show the ultimate victory of good over evil. This allusion
reveals conditions of validity of the protagonist, drawing
parallels between him and St. Michael.

The example of theonyms

It was too easy otherwise to idealize him as a
man who fought with God a Prometheus, a noble
victim in a hopeless war
"Prometheus" - in Greek mythology - is a titanium,
who is resoponsible for the creation of man from clay,
and who challenges the gods, and gives people the fire
for what would later be punished. Prometheus is
known for his wit and love for people. This allusion is
sarcastic in its nature, since in fact the author draws
parallels between the two characters, showing that
"whisky priest" has no intention of helping people and
think only about his own salvation.

Allusion as any other stylistic device is informative

and the level of its informativity is extremely high as
we can see from all the essential notes characterizing
informative report, the unit of language. Given stylistic
device lets the readers get not only the information
which is filled in the text but to know the authors
point of view on one or another describing
phenomenon.