Rhetorical devices

Allusions and direct references

Throughout the article “Robbie Williams: ‘My main talent is turning trauma into something showbizzy’ ”by Alexis Petridis, we find many allusions  (which are implied or indirect references to something outside the text) and direct references, which help both the interviewer and interviewee explain and prove their point. The allusions and direct references also make the article interesting and informative.

At the beginning of the article, Petridis uses allusion to remind readers that Robbie Williams is a wealthy celebrity. He is surprised that Williams lights up a cigarette in a hotel room but quickly finds an explanation: “we’re in the kind of central London hotel where you suspect it’s ruinously expensive to ignore the no-smoking rule, but then again, you probably don’t worry about that kind of thing when you’ve shifted something like 75m albums” (ll. 6-12).

The writer further references the time when Williams gave up smoking and alludes at how – in his opinion – Williams bragged about it in the media: “Williams made a bit of a song and dance about giving up smoking when his first child was born.” (ll. 15-17). Williams’ offers a different perspective and attributes his addiction to cigarettes to his addictive personality. By mentioning his addictive personality, Robbie Williams also alludes to his past issues with addiction to drugs.

Williams references the Daily Mail and a statement of theirs which compared his weight to that of Elvis when he died (ll. 27-31) to show that his weight gain made him look visibly different and attracted negative attention from the media. This also indirectly alludes to beauty standards in the entertainment industry and at how celebrities often feel pressured, especially by the media, to look a certain way. Thi...