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TJMF Publishing - Open Mike Cafe Editor's Desk Staff Editor Patty Zion |
Your Own Devices, Your Own Poem, Part Five
Allusion
By Patty Zion
Literary allusion is almost as magical as illusion! When you want to infuse a poem with instant magic, flair, and a grand theme, you have a technique at your fingertips that has been used for centuries by the poetic masters.
Allusion, in poetry, is a reference to a person, place, or thing the reader is already familiar with. This simple but profound method allows the poet to create an image or emotion in one or two words. The technique is simple; by calling up a familiar reference, the poet entices the reader to remember and re-experience everything associated with the allusion.
Let's take a look at how this works. We use allusion all the time in our everyday language. For instance, we might describe someone by saying, "He's a Benedict Arnold." No further explanation is needed. The listener recognizes the name Benedict Arnold as a well-known traitor, so the person being described is seen as a traitor, too. Likewise, we might say to a friend, "Don't be a Scrooge." The friend instantly knows she needs to take a more congenial, generous view of life, because Scrooge is a widely recognized character who was stingy and disliked the Christmas giving season.
When we allude to something or someone, we take advantage of all the writing and publicity received by that something or someone. It's the easiest and most free of the poetic devices. Allusion is there for the taking.
The most common allusions in poetry refer to Bible characters, nursery rhymes, historical events, mythology, or other fictional characters. Classic poetry often uses mythology to tell a tale in the simplest, quickest way. Since poetry usually relies on economy of language to do its work, allusion shines as the brightest poetic device, only requiring one or two words to relate an entire story.
Influence the reader. I remember the first time I realized the persuasiveness of allusion. In a poetry workshop, the instructor asked us to write a simple piece of poetry describing our origins. One of my classmates used a phrase to describe her hometown:
My Brigadoon.
Immediately, the entire class sighed! The image of Brigadoon, so easily recognized as a beautiful Scottish village you can never really leave, worked its own magic. Consequently, the remaining words she had written about her hometown took on more intense life.
Robert Frost used a quick allusion to a sonnet by John Keats when he wrote, in Choose Something Like a Star:
It gives us strangely little aid,
But does tell something in the end.
And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,
Not even stooping from its sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
The sonnet he referred to is Bright Star! Would I were steadfast as thou art, and the allusion obviously works because of the similarity in themes between the two poems. This particular allusion does not require the reader's understanding or knowledge of the Keats poem, since Frost tells us the Eremite is steadfast. So he helps the reader to recall the sonnet, but makes allowance for those who are not familiar with Keats' work.
Circumvent cliche. As poets, we know the dangers of using cliche phrases in our work. Every critic seems to look down on a cliche expression; we cannot slip one by our readers. Allusion provides the perfect cure for the cliche. When you find a cliche in your work, think about a way you can allude to another work, character or event the reader will be familiar with. For instance, instead of the cliche, an easy target, we might use the words like the son of William Tell.
I used an allusion which defined the poem in my epigram, Rakish Grin:
I live the myth of Sisyphus today;
I rake the scarlet maple leaves, one pile.
The wind drops in and sweeps them all away,
then pulls my hair. I'll be here quite a while.
Sisyphus, a mythological character who was destined to pushing a huge rock almost to the top of a hill, only to watch it roll back down, tells half of the story for me. Like pushing the rock up the hill repeatedly, raking leaves is a neverending battle. In this instance, a reader who does not recognize Sisyphus can still understand the poem in a limited way; however, the reading experience becomes stronger and more meaningful if the reader comprehends the allusion.
Every poet who uses allusion must make a conscious decision on this point. Will the allusion be vital to the story or simply an added bonus? Depending on the educational level we intend to reach and the nature of the narrative, the decision may go either way, but the poet must know which level of allusion he or she uses.
Exercise:
1. Open a volume of classic poetry or locate some poetic classics online. Find an allusion which makes sense to you. Decide what the poet achieved by using this allusion in the exact spot where it exists. (Hint: To quickly spot allusions, look for capital letters within a line.)
2. In a different poem, find another allusion which does not register in your mind, and look up the definition of the person, event, or work contained in the allusion. Note the richness you sense in the poem after realizing the meaning of the allusion.
3. Find one of your poems containing a cliche expression. Instead of the cliche, think of something you might allude to. Edit the poem using the allusion.
Once you recognize the power of allusion to bring higher meaning to poetry, you will find yourself using this poetic device more often. When in a poetic plight, use your latitude. Allude!
Staff Editor Patty Zion welcomes your editing questions and comments.
You may reach her by e-mail at