Craft of Writing: Allusion, Tmesis, and Euphemism

It's been a while since I posted some Craft of Writing activities so I thought this rainy Sunday might be a good time to continue. You can find previous, similar Craft of Writing resources here. If you haven't seen them before, the approach involves covering a writing technique in a ten minute segment at the start of the lesson. Students are shown how to use a technique, alongside examples, and then asked to put it into practice. 

There are hundreds of literary techniques that we don't usually touch on in the English classroom. There can be a danger in visiting too many of the more obscure techniques so it's up to teacher discretion on how you want to approach these and with which students (Standard, Advanced, or even Extension). I find that Advanced students, at least, are often genuinely fascinated in hearing about some of these techniques as it can illuminate some things that they might already be doing with their own writing. I always caution students with a reminder that they don't need to memorise all of these - just pick the ones they like!

Allusion

What is it: An 'allusion' is a reference, either implicit or explicit, to something outside of the text. Allusions can be categorised in various ways by adding a qualifying adjective, such as Historical allusion, Literary allusion, Religious allusion, Folkloric allusion, and Mythological allusion, and are mentioned in passing rather than described in great detail. 

Examples: 

• (RELIGIOUS) "Only you can see (...) the glasses of teeth, Thou Shalt Not on the wall" - Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
• (FOLKLORIC) "Sucking him down deep into the Davy dark" - Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
• (LITERARY) "Along with your whoreson cigarettes, may the red plague rid them" - Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood.

Why use it:

• Writers may use it as a means to connect with their audience as the allusion usually requires the responder to understand what it is in order for them to grasp the author's meaning.
• Helps to simplify complex ideas through the drawing of a comparison.
• Can add emotional weight to a text when the reader brings their own knowledge of the allusion with them (EG. Religious or mythological allusions). 
• Can direct the reader towards exploring big ideas in other texts or areas of knowledge. 

Quick Activity: Use a mythological allusion to describe a character.

Tmesis

What is it: Meaning 'to cut', tmesis describes the process of breaking a phrase or word apart through inserting a new word into its middle. 

Examples:

• "Milk waking wood", "Captain napping Cat" - Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
• "Fan-bloody-tastic" - Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw.

Why use it:

• Can be used to create humour by emphasising a particular phrase or word.
• Places stress on a particular part of a text by forcing the reader to re-frame their understanding of a word or phrase - they will see the broken-up phrase first before realising what it would say without the inserted word.
• Can be used to add informality to speech, or to exaggerate.  

Quick Activity: Think of three common two-word phrases and insert another word to break them up BUT consider what this word adds or changes in this phrase and why/how it could be used.

Euphemism

What is it: Using a polite or indirect expression to replace a harsher or more unpleasant truth. It is a form of a figurative language in that the euphemistic phrase does not mean what it literally appears to mean. 

Examples:

• "Your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" - Othello by William Shakespeare.
• "His father Esau (...) undogcollared because of his little weakness" - Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.
• Common ones in English language: 'Passed Away" (meaning to die), "Negative patient outcome" (dying on the operating table), "Downsizing" (to fire people from their jobs), "In the family way" (pregnant). 

Why use it:

• Euphemism is highly reliant on context - some euphemism are constructed for purposes of relaying information that may be considered offensive or inappropriate in certain situations or with certain audiences.
• Allows writers to express ideas that are considered 'taboo' or embarrassing.
• Can be used humorously when broaching difficult subject matter.
• Can be used to political purposes to disguise the true meaning of something.

Quick Activity: Think of one of the many awful things to happen in any of the main texts you've looked at for the HSC and use a euphemism to describe it. 

Here are these three writing elements all in one sheet for ease of use:

• Writology Issue 11

Happy writing!