Literary Laboratory: Allusion in Pop Songs

 Are we sitting comfortably? Good.

Hello and welcome to the first edition of “Literary Laboratory.” Literary Laboratory will be an ongoing exercise in teaching the children of the world how to use and abuse figurative techniques, as learned in the medium of pop music.

Literary Allusion-- Allusion, used effectively, can be a neat shorthand to demonstrating a certain amount of culture, connectedness, and education. It can create an instant connection with a reader or listener, making them feel as though they’re part of an inside joke, or a little secret. But naturally, if you try to be too showy and arcane, you can alienate people who don’t understand the reference.

But getting allusions wrong can ruin any credibility given to your honesty, your knowledge, and more to the point, can make you look twice the fool you’d have looked if you’d kept your mouth shut.

Hall of Fame:
Bangles: Dover Beach

We could steal away
like jugglers and thieves,
Well we could come and go, oh
And talk of Michelangelo.

On the surface, the allusion is to Michelangelo. More importantly, the last two lines quoted allude to T.S. Eliot. However, it doesn’t interfere with enjoyment of the song if you don’t know that, and there’s not much reason you would unless you’re a librarian or a lit major. If you don’t get the reference, it’s still a nice expression of transience. Subtle and perfect and a lovely song to boot.

Hall of Shame:
98 Degrees: The Hardest Thing

Like Dr. Zhivago
All my love I'll be sending
And you will never know cuz
There can be no happy ending

Main problem? It’s utterly incredible that any of those lunkheads have any idea who Dr. Zhivago is! The way they slur over it, they were probably just trying to get past it as quickly as possible. Oh, and it makes no sense, and adds nothing to the song.