THE FUNCTION OF ALLUSION IN MODERNIST POETRY
Keywords:
Key words: Modernist works, thematic exploration, intertextual connection, disillusionment, fragmentation.Abstract
Abstract: This article explores the function of allusion in modernist poetry, a key literary technique employed by poets to enrich meaning, critique societal norms, and engage with literary traditions. Allusion, as a reference to historical, cultural, or literary texts, is not merely decorative in modernist works but serves as a vital tool for addressing themes of fragmentation, disillusionment, and existential crisis. Through a close examination of poets such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, W.B. Yeats, and others, the essay demonstrates how allusion deepens thematic exploration by tapping into shared cultural knowledge, while also fostering intertextual connections that both challenge and transform prior literary traditions. Furthermore, allusion in modernist poetry functions as a powerful vehicle for social critique, juxtaposing contemporary realities with past ideals to reveal the disjunction between the two.
References
1. Gold, David "Allusion and Intertextuality in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land and Ezra Pound's Cantos." Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1991): 151-168.
2. Brooks, Cleanth The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry (1947)
3. Schneider, Daniel "T.S. Eliot’s Modernist Innovation: Allusion, Intertextuality, and the Breakdown of Language." Studies in Modern Poetry, 19.1 (2012): 12-29.
4. Habermas, Jürgen The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1962)
5. Hillis Miller, J. The Linguistic Moment: From the Structuralist Revolution to the Age of the Signifier (2000)
6. Perloff, Marjorie The Poetics of Indeterminacy: Rimbaud to Cage (1981)
