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Allusions In The Lovesong Of J Alfred Prufrock

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Present in a preponderance of literary works, allusions serve as a device to further enhance the emotional and intellectual value of the writing. They are indirect references to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, or literary significance. By including allusions in pieces of writing, readers can make connections between the writing and the reference, allowing them to grasp the context through something familiar. In his poem, T.S. Eliot alludes to three well-known figures: Michelangelo, an artist, Lazarus, a biblical figure, and Hamlet, a Shakespearean character. T.S. Eliot’s use of allusions helps the poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, by providing a clearer understanding of the message being conveyed to the reader. In lines 94-95, Eliot writes “To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead. Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’. A biblical reference to the raising of Lazarus, the lines are alluding to the Gospel of John 11:1-46 in …show more content…

T. S. Eliot’s use of allusions is meant to easily communicate an idea through the use of familiar references the reader may catch on. In the poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Eliot alludes to Michelangelo, Lazarus, John the Baptist, and Hamlet, each adding to the notion that Prufrock struggles with social anxiety and love. Perhaps the most significant purpose of incorporating Biblical allusions is to invoke emotions and ideas that a reader, especially one with a religious background, may associate with a particular passage. His allusions also emphasize the theme of death and also seem to purposely undermine Prufrock’s self-worth. The presence of allusion referencing biblical and other literary works helps freshen the theme and message about Prufrock while altering the perspective of the text, creating not only and understanding but emotional mood for the

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The play by Lorraine Hansberry , A Raisin In The Sun, utilizes the use of allusions in order to supply the reader with historical background. Allusions create emphasis in the play, this allows the reader to understand and appreciate the text. Within the small details of the play, the use of allusions deepen the contextual support of the text. While reading A Raisin In The Sun, various allusions appear throughout the play. These allusions reference the outside world, but also give emphasis on the importance of the piece of the text references.

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Allusion is reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work or piece of art; it’s used to help clarify and emphasise certain ideas. For example, “He now proposed to narrate the principal incidents of that poem… And so for the rest of that night the Homeric demigods again walked the earth”. The Iliad is a heroic poem originally written by Homer around 8th century BC, it’s the story of the Trojan war and the weakness of Achilles' heel. This was used among the group of characters to pass the time and take their minds off the lack of food and weather conditions.

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In T.S. Eliot’s work “The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock”, he uses diction to give an underlying meaning and tone to his poem in order to express the downfall of a man. The author uses his diction to give this poem Its tone as if he regrets what he did in life. He also shows great tone changes in this work, giving this poem a dramatic, almost tragic outlook. Many of his word choices also give his work an underlying meaning and adds to his theme and messages. A large part of his poem is also using metaphors to add to this underlying meaning and give more force to this tone he is trying to create.

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In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the use of multiple literary devices makes the play interesting. Dramatic irony, which is when the audience knows more than the characters, occurs numerous times throughout the play and grabs the attention of the audience. Soliloquies, which are lengthy speeches by a character to project their thoughts and emotions to the audience, this allows the audience to be more attentive. Allusions are references by characters to well-known places, events from myths or other literature that cause the audience to be absorbed into the play. After reading this marvelous play, it is obvious that Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, allusions, and soliloquies all written in blank verse to grasp the undivided attention of the audience.

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Furthermore, alliteration is used to emphasize the woeful fate of Romeo and Juliet, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes”. The repetitions of the “t” and “f” sounds highlight

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Besides the author and the reader, there is the ‘I’ of the lyrical hero or of the fictitious storyteller and the ‘you’ or ‘thou’ of the alleged addressee of dramatic monologues, supplications and epistles. Empson said that: „The machinations of ambiguity are among the very roots of poetry”(Surdulescu, Stefanescu, 30). The ambiguous intellectual attitude deconstructs both the heroic commitement to a cause in tragedy and the didactic confinement to a class in comedy; its unstable allegiance permits Keats’s exemplary poet (the „camelion poet”, more of an ideal projection than a description of Keats actual practice) to derive equal delight conceiving a lago or an Imogen. This perplexing situation is achieved through a histrionic strategy of „showing how”, rather than „telling about it” (Stefanescu, 173 ).

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