Allusions Defined
An allusion is a figure of speech that refers to a well-known story, event, person, or object in order to make a comparison in the readers' minds. For instance, imagine a writer needs to explain her main character's struggle against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. She wants to get across the idea that her character is righteous and stands a chance of winning the battle, even though that chance appears to be a remote one. She might refer to the confrontation as 'a meeting of David and Goliath.' The writer alludes to a well-known biblical story, the one of David and Goliath, to bring to readers' minds the idea that the confrontation will look like a one-sided battle but that the underdog stands a chance of triumph.