Allusion

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Allusion is a stylistic device in which one references an object or circumstance that has occurred or existed in an external context. In the most traditional sense, allusion is a literary term regarding the use of previous texts, though the word also has come to encompass references to or from any source, including film, art, or real events.

Allusion is an economical device, drawing upon the wealth of ideas or emotion associated with a topic in a relatively short space. Thus, an allusion is understandable only to those with prior knowledge of the reference in question. (See Cultural literacy)

Allusion differs from the similar term intertextuality in that it is an intentional effort.

An eponym is a similar phenomenon where a real or fictional person's name is given to something.

Examples

The title of James Joyce's novel Ulysses is an overt allusion to the hero of Homer's Odyssey.

Utopian discord
A Pearl Harbor sneak-attack
All roads lead to Rome (often an idiom)
A Draconian law
In The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Morpheus states, "I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me [sic]", which alludes to a quote by King Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 2:3 of the Old Testament. This is known as a religious allusion.
Halcyon days is a reference to calm days once believed to surround the brooding of the Halcyon (Genus).
Land of the Morningstar is a reference to Hell arising from a common misreading of Isaiah 14:12 that names the Devil as the Morningstar. This reading is a misappropriation of the Latin word Lucifer that fails to match a careful reading of the original Hebrew.
Salad days is a reference to Shakespeare's description of youth as a time of naïvité and indiscretion.
A son of the morning is a traveler; an allusion to the practice in the Middle East of rising before dawn so one wouldn't have to travel in the heat of day.

The poetry of T.S. Eliot is often described as "allusive", because of his habit of referring to names, places or images that may only make sense in the light of prior knowledge. This technique can add to the experience, but for the uninitiated can make Eliot's work seem dense and hard to decipher.

References

Preminger & Brogan (1993) The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Princeton University Press.

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