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Allegory
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—The Trojan War:
Northumberland, father of Henry Percy (“Hotspur”) who was slain at the climax of Henry IV Part 1, alludes to the Trojan war upon learning of the defeat of the rebels at the Battle of Shrewsbury:
How doth my son and brother?
Thou tremblest, and the whiteness in thy cheek
Is apter than thy tongue to tell thy errand.
Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless,
So dull, so dead in look, so woebegone,
Drew Priam’s curtain in the dead of night
And would have told him half his Troy was burnt;
But Priam found the fire ere he his tongue,
And I my Percy’s death ere thou report’st it.
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—From a God to a Bull:
After Prince Harry and his companion Poins hear that Falstaff is enjoying an extravagant dinner with Mistress Quickly and Doll Teersheet, the two young men decide to pull a prank on their older friend, disguising themselves as waiters to listen to his conversation. In accepting the plan, Harry alludes to Greek and Roman mythology:
Unlock with LitCharts A+PRINCE
How might we see Falstaff bestow himself
tonight in his true colors, and not ourselves be
seen?POINS
Put on two leathern jerkins and aprons, and
wait upon him at his table as drawers.PRINCE
From a god to a bull: a heavy descension. It
was Jove’s case. From a prince to a ’prentice: a low transformation that shall be mine, for in everything the purpose must weigh with the folly. Follow me, Ned.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Worth Five of Agamemnon :
In a comic scene, a drunk Falstaff enjoys a rowdy dinner in Eastcheap, a low-class neighborhood in the play, with Mistress Quickly, the hostess of a tavern to whom he owes a good deal of money, and Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute. Teasing Falstaff, Doll alludes to a series of figures from Greek mythology and medieval history:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Ah, you sweet little rogue, you. Alas, poor ape,
how thou sweat’st! Come, let me wipe thy face.
Come on, you whoreson chops. Ah, rogue, i’ faith, I love thee. Thou art as valorous as Hector of Troy,
worth five of Agamemnon, and ten times better
than the Nine Worthies. Ah, villain!
