Allusion

From Freepedia

Allusion is a stylistic device in which one implicitly references a related object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. An allusion is understandable only to those with prior knowledge of the reference in question (as the writer assumes the reader has).

An eponym is a similar phonomenon where a real or fictional person's name is given to something.

Examples

• Utopian discord
• A Pearl Harbor sneak-attack
• All roads lead to Rome (often an idiom)
• A Draconian law
• A modern example of allusion at many levels is Nick Park's Oscar-winning Animation The Wrong Trousers (1993), where Shakespeare's problem play "All's Well That Ends Well" is alluded to by verbatim citation of the title by Wallace.
• An even more recent example in popular culture was cited recently in The Matrix Reloaded, wherein Morpheus states, "I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me (sic)", which alludes to a quote by King Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 2:3 of the Old Testament. This is known as a religious allusion.
• Halcyon days is a reference to calm days once believed to surround the brooding of the Halcyon (Genus).
• Land of the Morningstar is a reference to Hell arising from a common misreading of Isaiah 14:12 that names the Devil as the Morningstar. This reading is a misappropriation of the Latin word Lucifer that fails to match a careful reading of the original Hebrew.
• Salad days is a reference to Shakespeare's description of youth as a time of naïvité and indiscretion.
• A son of the morning is a traveler; an allusion to the practice in the Middle East to rise before dawn so one wouldn't have to travel in the heat of day.
• A son of Icarus is an allusion to the Greek mythological story of Icarus, who ignored his father's warning and perished flying too close to the Sun, melting the wax holding on the wings his father had crafted. Since Icarus died without children, the more sensible phrase might be "son of Daedalus" (the father); but Icarus is the one who is remembered, and so "son" is used allegorically, meaning foolish and over-exuberant like Icarus.