Allusion
A brief, often indirect reference to another work, person, place, or event.
An allusion borrows meaning from something outside the text, such as a myth, the Bible, history, or another story. Writers use it to enrich a passage quickly, drawing on associations readers already carry. Recognizing an allusion can unlock layers of meaning a literal reading would miss.
Example
Hawthorne’s references to Puritan figures and biblical temptation work as allusions that frame Brown’s night journey as a fall from innocence.
Young Goodman Brown · Nathaniel Hawthorne
See it in action
Analyses on StoryBites that use allusion: