Allusions in Song

Allusions in Song

What is allusions?

Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly.It is left to the audience to make the direct connection.Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as opposed to indirectly implied) by the author, it is instead usually termed a reference. In the arts, a literary allusion puts the alluded text in a new context under which it assumes new meanings and denotations.It is not possible to predetermine the nature of all the new meanings and inter-textual patterns that an allusion will generate.Literary allusion is closely related to parody and pastiche, which are also "text-linking" literary devices.

Example allusions in song : Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody is a song by the British rock Band Queen. This song is about unconventional lifestyle, bohemian means unconventional person and rhapsody means an instrumental composition irregular in form and suggestive of improvisation. 

The allusion in this song : 

I see a little silhouetto of a man./ Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?

These lines refer to Scaramuccia, a 17^th century clown like comedian. The name Scaramuccia literally translates to “skirmish”. Adding Scaramuccia to the song helped with the opera like theme of the song. It’s referring to Freddie's old self as a silhouette and to Scaramouche (a clown character from Italian traditional theatre who often wore a mask and who was a rascal) as being the new Freddie. He’s asking here whether he will proceed into the world of being bisexual (doing the Fandango – a Spanish dance done in triple time – 3 beats to the bar). The relevance of this dance is that it is in a different time signature to traditional music and a little offbeat.

Galileo Figaro Magnifico

Galileo” was the name of Jesus Christ in the ancient Rome. I take this phrase to mean that he feels the only way to escape his horrible predicament is to magnify Jesus Christ and ask for his help. The phrase Galileo Figaro Magnifico is translated from latin as, “Magnify the Galilean’s image”.