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Alliteration
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
Book 1, Chapter 1: The Eve of the War
Explanation and Analysis—Biblical Allusions:
The War of the Worlds contains many biblical allusions. These allusions ground the story in a real-world religious context. They also challenge certain elements of religious faith. For example, in Book 1, Chapter 1, the narrator references Psalm 49:12:
Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
Here, the narrator describes the way the Martians viewed humanity before the invasion. They looked "across the gulf of space" and decided to wreak havoc upon earth. They considered humanity to be among "the beasts that perish"—a line taken directly from Psalm 49. This line appears in a hymn about the fleeting life of a human. According to this hymn, people do not endure and are like animals who perish from the earth without doing anything of much importance. It makes sense that the Martians would view humanity this way; otherwise, they might not have been confident enough to invade the planet.
Another important allusion appears in Book 2, Chapter 8 in a description of a handling machine:
I came upon the wrecked handling-machine halfway to St John’s Wood station. At first I thought a house had fallen across the road. It was only as I clambered among the ruins that I saw, with a start, this mechanical Samson lying, with its tentacles bent and smashed and twisted, among the ruins it had made.
Here, the narrator references the biblical story of Samson. Samson was the hero of the Israelites whose story appears in Judges 13-16. He tears down the temple of the Philistines with his bare hands. Thus, the term "mechanical Samson" refers to a machine that destroys human infrastructure.
Many other biblical allusions appear throughout the story—like, for instance an allusion to cities destroyed for their sinfulness like in Genesis 19. There's also an allusion in Book 1, Chapter 11 to the "pillars of fire" from Exodus 13:21. Each of these allusions refer to different moments of utter destruction, whether of a person, a city, or the entire world. The Bible never becomes a source of comfort or joy in The War of the Worlds, functioning instead as a sign of doom.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 13: How I Fell in With the Curate
Explanation and Analysis—Natural Disasters:
The War of the Worlds contains strategic allusions to major natural disasters. For example, in Book 1, Chapter 13, the narrator references a major real-life earthquake that hit Lisbon:
Had they left their comrade and pushed on forthwith, there was nothing at that time between them and London but batteries of twelve-pounder guns, and they would certainly have reached the capital in advance of the tidings of their approach; as sudden, dreadful, and destructive their advent would have been as the earthquake that destroyed Lisbon a century ago.
On November 1, 1755, a massive quake devastated the city of Lisbon and killed 50,000 people. In this passage, the narrator draws a direct comparison between the quake and the "sudden, dreadful, and destructive" presence of the Martians. This comparison makes the aliens' invasion seem more real and gives a sense of the scope of their destructive power.
Similarly, in Book 2, Chapter 1, the narrator references the destruction of Pompeii while describing the aftermath of a battle with the Martians:
In Sunbury, and at intervals along the road, were dead bodies lying in contorted attitudes, horses as well as men, overturned carts and luggage, all covered thickly with black dust. That pall of cindery powder made me think of what I had read of the destruction of Pompeii.
The Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 B.C. Much like the Earthquake of Lisbon, the eruption of Vesuvius is one of the most well-known natural disasters in history. It was also, like the Martian invasion, very unexpected—so unexpected that some of the bodies, preserved by volcanic ash, were found petrified in the very gestures of shock and fear in which they died.
Such historical allusions ground the fanciful science-fiction elements of The War of the Worlds in a sense of reality. Comparisons of the Martian invasion to past events evoke the extremity of the war's destruction. Throughout the story, Wells seems to drop hints and reminders that when humanity becomes too confident in its own safety, the earth (and the galaxy at large) have a way of reminding it of its ultimate vulnerability to any number of natural (or perhaps intergalactic) disasters.
Related Themes:
Book 2, Chapter 8: Dead London
Explanation and Analysis—Biblical Allusions:
The War of the Worlds contains many biblical allusions. These allusions ground the story in a real-world religious context. They also challenge certain elements of religious faith. For example, in Book 1, Chapter 1, the narrator references Psalm 49:12:
Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
Here, the narrator describes the way the Martians viewed humanity before the invasion. They looked "across the gulf of space" and decided to wreak havoc upon earth. They considered humanity to be among "the beasts that perish"—a line taken directly from Psalm 49. This line appears in a hymn about the fleeting life of a human. According to this hymn, people do not endure and are like animals who perish from the earth without doing anything of much importance. It makes sense that the Martians would view humanity this way; otherwise, they might not have been confident enough to invade the planet.
Another important allusion appears in Book 2, Chapter 8 in a description of a handling machine:
I came upon the wrecked handling-machine halfway to St John’s Wood station. At first I thought a house had fallen across the road. It was only as I clambered among the ruins that I saw, with a start, this mechanical Samson lying, with its tentacles bent and smashed and twisted, among the ruins it had made.
Here, the narrator references the biblical story of Samson. Samson was the hero of the Israelites whose story appears in Judges 13-16. He tears down the temple of the Philistines with his bare hands. Thus, the term "mechanical Samson" refers to a machine that destroys human infrastructure.
Many other biblical allusions appear throughout the story—like, for instance an allusion to cities destroyed for their sinfulness like in Genesis 19. There's also an allusion in Book 1, Chapter 11 to the "pillars of fire" from Exodus 13:21. Each of these allusions refer to different moments of utter destruction, whether of a person, a city, or the entire world. The Bible never becomes a source of comfort or joy in The War of the Worlds, functioning instead as a sign of doom.
Related Themes:
