allusively
Through indirect reference
In an allusive manner—by indirect reference rather than explicit statement.
A writer who mentions "thirty pieces of silver" without explaining the Judas story is speaking allusively, trusting readers to catch the reference.
The poem allusively invokes Paradise Lost without naming it.
Symbolic rather than literal
- symbolicRepresenting through signs
- allegoricalExpressing meaning through symbols
- emblematicServing as a symbol
- parabolicShaped like a conic section
analogical · archetypal · representational · abstract · conceptual · mythological · fabled · personified
Hinting at impropriety
- insinuatingIndirectly suggesting something
- intimatingConveying indirectly
- implyingSuggesting without stating directly
- obliqueAngled, not straightforward
veiled · subtle · tacit · indirect · elliptical · covert · guarded · sly
Naming a source
- echoingReflecting sound repeatedly
- invokingCalling upon formally
- evokingCalling into consciousness
- noddingMoving head affirmatively
gesturing · pointing · recalling · summoning · conjuring · channeling · quoting · paraphrasing
Linking between texts
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- biblicalOf sacred texts
- mythologicalOf traditional sacred narratives
- ShakespeareanOf the Stratford playwright
scriptural · canonical · learned · erudite · scholarly · annotated · footnoted · referenced
metaphorical
Symbolic rather than literal
- symbolicRepresenting through signs
- allegoricalExpressing meaning through symbols
- emblematicServing as a symbol
parabolic · analogical · archetypal · representational · abstract · conceptual · mythological · fabled · personified · epitomizing
suggestive
Hinting at impropriety
- insinuatingIndirectly suggesting something
- intimatingConveying indirectly
- implyingSuggesting without stating directly
oblique · veiled · subtle · tacit · indirect · elliptical · covert · guarded · sly · coy
citing
Naming a source
nodding · gesturing · pointing · recalling · summoning · conjuring · channeling · quoting · paraphrasing · borrowing
intertextual
Linking between texts
- classicalOf ancient Greece/Rome
- biblicalOf sacred texts
- mythologicalOf traditional sacred narratives
Shakespearean · scriptural · canonical · learned · erudite · scholarly · annotated · footnoted · referenced · sourced
allusivelyexplicitly
Stated in clear terms
directly · plainly · straightforwardly · overtly · bluntly