Question

Which excerpt from Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" contains an illusion?

A. "She looked at the stage door; she wanted to act, she said"
B. "Could she even seek her dinner in a tavern or roam the streets at midnight?"
C. "Chasity had then, it has even now, a religious importance..."
D. "Now and again an Emily Bronte or a Robert Burns blazes out..."

Answer 1

Answer and explanation:

I believe you are asking which excerpt contains an allusion.

An allusion is a figure of speech that refers to something or someone, but in an indirect manner. For instance, calling someone a good Samaritan is an allusion to a biblical story. The author does not feel the need to explain much, since he/she assumes readers know whom or what he/she refers to.

Among the options given, letter D is the one that alludes to two famous writers, Emily Bronte and Robert Burns. In truth, throughout the extended essay "A Room of One's Own", Woolf alludes to several other writers. This essay is considered a crucial feminist work. Woolf discusses how the literary world has been dominated by men, and how women need their space - physical and psychological - to write.

Answer 2

Allusion is when you reference some other work that the reader should know about, which means the correct answer is D. "Now and again an Emily Bronte or a Robert Burns blazes out..." because you need to know why she's calling out those two names.