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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Lovely Ladies:
While praising Maria at a gathering hosted by Lady Sneerwell in Act 1, Scene 1, Mr. Crabtree alludes to two famous women who have been immortalized in poetry for their loveliness:
Fore heaven, ma’am, they’ll immortalise you!—you will be handed down to posterity, like Petrarch’s Laura, or Waller’s Sacharissa.
Petrarch, an Italian Renaissance scholar and humanist, was a poet of extraordinary craftsmanship known for a vast body of work, including a series of poems dedicated to a mysterious woman known only as Laura. Edmund Waller was an English writer and member of Parliament who dedicated many poems to the monomial Sacharissa. Both Laura and Sacharissa were not only the inspiration for many of these poets’ works, but also the subject of the poets’ unrequited romantic attentions: the Laura in Petrarch’s poetry is thought to refer to Laura de Noves, a married countess who refused his advances; while Shacharissa is the name Waller used to discuss Lady Dorothy Sydney (also a countess), who likewise refused his attempts to woo her.
Another similarity between these two women and their respective poets is the fact that neither man was able to succeed in their quest to marry them—they forever remained in their minds as an untouchable ideal. Like Laura and Sacharissa, Maria is the play’s embodiment of the ideal virtuous woman. The allusion made in this early scene accordingly lays out Maria’s fate, as she too is the subject of unrequited love on the parts of Mr. Backbite and Joseph Surface.
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Act 2, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Witty Posturing:
Throughout The School for Scandal, Sheridan makes several allusions to figures and places related to Greco-Roman culture and mythology. Specifically, the play mentions both Phoebus and Apollo (who are actually one and the same), as well as the Pantheon. Making these allusions allows the characters to flaunt how cultured they are in a witty and off-the-cuff manner that, in reality, is meant to affirm and cement their class status, as is the case when Joseph Surface mentions Phoebus in Act 2, Scene 2:
A very Phoebus, mounted-indeed, Sir Benjamin.
Joseph makes this statement in response to Mr. Crabtree’s humorous summary of Sir Benjamin Backbite’s spontaneous equine poetry. By making this allusion to Phoebus in relation to Sir Benjamin, Joseph seemingly praises the man with a godlike comparison while actually poking fun at his pompous display of mediocre literary skill. In this way, Joseph subtly asserts his superiority while maintaining a friendly atmosphere.
Earlier, in Act 2, Scene 1, Sir Peter makes an allusion to the Pantheon in a conversation with Lady Teazle:
No, no, madam, you shall throw away no more sums on such unmeaning luxury. ’Slife! to spend as much to furnish your dressing-room with flowers in winter as would suffice to turn the Pantheon into a greenhouse, and give a fête champêtre at Christmas.
This allusion to the Pantheon is multilayered, as it is a direct reference not to the Roman temple dedicated to the 12 main gods (as a modern reader might assume), but rather to a famous 18th-century center for public entertainment located on Oxford Street in London. Heavily inspired by Roman architecture, the London Pantheon opened its doors in 1772, just five years before Sheridan’s play was first staged in 1777. Sir Peter’s allusion to the Pantheon in the quote above therefore functions as both a direct reference to a fixture of contemporary popular culture and an indirect callback to the ancient history of Rome. The image of either building decked out with enough flowers to constitute a “greenhouse” is equally hilarious.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Witty Posturing:
Throughout The School for Scandal, Sheridan makes several allusions to figures and places related to Greco-Roman culture and mythology. Specifically, the play mentions both Phoebus and Apollo (who are actually one and the same), as well as the Pantheon. Making these allusions allows the characters to flaunt how cultured they are in a witty and off-the-cuff manner that, in reality, is meant to affirm and cement their class status, as is the case when Joseph Surface mentions Phoebus in Act 2, Scene 2:
A very Phoebus, mounted-indeed, Sir Benjamin.
Joseph makes this statement in response to Mr. Crabtree’s humorous summary of Sir Benjamin Backbite’s spontaneous equine poetry. By making this allusion to Phoebus in relation to Sir Benjamin, Joseph seemingly praises the man with a godlike comparison while actually poking fun at his pompous display of mediocre literary skill. In this way, Joseph subtly asserts his superiority while maintaining a friendly atmosphere.
Earlier, in Act 2, Scene 1, Sir Peter makes an allusion to the Pantheon in a conversation with Lady Teazle:
No, no, madam, you shall throw away no more sums on such unmeaning luxury. ’Slife! to spend as much to furnish your dressing-room with flowers in winter as would suffice to turn the Pantheon into a greenhouse, and give a fête champêtre at Christmas.
This allusion to the Pantheon is multilayered, as it is a direct reference not to the Roman temple dedicated to the 12 main gods (as a modern reader might assume), but rather to a famous 18th-century center for public entertainment located on Oxford Street in London. Heavily inspired by Roman architecture, the London Pantheon opened its doors in 1772, just five years before Sheridan’s play was first staged in 1777. Sir Peter’s allusion to the Pantheon in the quote above therefore functions as both a direct reference to a fixture of contemporary popular culture and an indirect callback to the ancient history of Rome. The image of either building decked out with enough flowers to constitute a “greenhouse” is equally hilarious.
Related Themes:
Act 3, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Mistaken Shylock:
In Act 3, Scene 3, Sir Oliver (disguised as Mr. Premium) makes an allusion to Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice in the following quote:
What the plague, have you no bowels for your own kindred? Odd’s life, do you take me for Shylock in the play, that you would raise money of me on your own flesh and blood?
In his quest to decide whether Joseph or Charles Surface should inherit his wealth, Sir Oliver approaches each of them in disguise so that he may see how they treat others when unimpeded by the concern of potential consequences. Taking on the persona of the moneylender Mr. Premium allows Sir Oliver the chance to inquire about Charles’s spending habits without raising suspicion. Although he hopes to discover that Charles is a good and truthful young man, Sir Oliver cannot help but fear that the negative rumors of Charles’s character may be true. Therefore, when he discovers that Charles is willing to sell the family portraits, he is initially aghast, as Charles’s actions seem to confirm his worst worries are true.
Sir Oliver's shock leads him to invoke the character Shylock in an attempt to emphasize the reprehensibility of Charles’s decision. This allusion reinforces the antisemitic stereotypes in The School for Scandal, as Shakespeare’s Shylock is famously depicted as monstrous for demanding a pound of flesh from a wealthy Christian merchant in The Merchant of Venice. By invoking this infamous character, the extent of Sir Oliver’s distress is rendered in visceral definition, inviting the audience to sympathize with his disappointment over his nephew. Of course, Sir Oliver’s concerns are soon allayed, as Charles swiftly restores his uncle’s good opinion by refusing to sell Sir Oliver’s portrait.
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