Glossary
Allusion
A brief and indirect reference to a well-known historical event, literary work, cultural figure, or place, used to add depth and context by tapping into shared knowledge and experiences.
Example:
T.S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' contains an allusion to Shakespeare's Hamlet, suggesting Prufrock's own indecisiveness and inability to act.
Conceit
A complex, extended metaphor that runs throughout a poem, developing a single idea or theme by comparing two strikingly dissimilar things in an imaginative and often elaborate way.
Example:
John Donne's 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning' uses the conceit of a compass to describe the unbreakable bond between two lovers, where one's absence causes the other to lean but remain connected.
Symbol
An object, image, or action that represents something beyond its literal meaning, adding layers of depth and evoking emotions or ideas within a literary work.
Example:
In The Great Gatsby, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock is a powerful symbol of Gatsby's unattainable dreams and longing for the past.