Meghan Brockmeyer

Mrs. Lake

AP Literature, A4

11/17/2008

Allusion: A reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another

work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-
known characters or events. Allusions are often used to summarize broad,
complex ideas or emotions in one quick, powerful image. Allusions serve an
important function in writing in that they allow the reader to understand a
difficult concept by relating to an already familiar story.

Example: "If I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the 'Ancient
Mariner'...Like one, on a lonesome road who/Doth walk in fear and
dread/And, having once turned round, walks on, /And turns no more his
head;/Because he knows a frightful fiend/Doth close behind him a tread"
(Frankenstein, 6, 36)

Function: This excerpt told by Victor Frankenstein immediately after he creates his
monster recalls a tale of a man who killed an albatross on his journey to the
poles and was cursed to roam the earth telling his story, burdened by grief.
Ironically, the Mariner’s story parallels that of Frankenstein. Both the Mariner
and Frankenstein demonstrated disrespect for nature (trying to create life from
death and killing an innocent animal) and both had to endure the torturous
grief and suffering caused by their mistakes. This allusion reinstates the utter
misery Frankenstein will encounter, as he relates his torment after creating the
monster to the Mariner’s tale. Specifically, this allusion is ironic because at
the time Frankenstein mentions the passage he has not yet encountered the
intolerable suffering that will occur later in his life. His comparison and use of
the Mariner’s tale signifies his own lonesome burden. It is the turning point in
the novel from which Frankenstein realizes he will be unable to change what
he has done, and he will forever walk with the worry of his creation, much
like the Mariner and the death of the albatross.