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Word or phrase that describes when a fictitious character quotes real writing/speech etc


Is there a word or phrase to describe when a fictional character quotes/references something that exists in the real (our) 'universe' (but can also therefore exist in the fictional 'universe'). Either a piece of fiction, like Shakespeare or something real like Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a dream speech etc.


That reads as complex but it is a pretty simple idea really, some examples (and please note that it isn't limited to film and TV):



  • in Star Trek "The Voyage Home" McCoy quotes Hamlet: "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!".

  • in Star Trek "First Contact" they refer to Moby Dick - Lily compares Captain Picard's desire to kill the Borg to Captain Ahab and Moby Dick (also an extended metaphor in the film), and then Picard also quotes from it "And he piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it."

  • in the TV show Lost, Sawyer and Ben discuss Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck

  • in Die Hard, Hans quotes Plutarch's Life of Alexander "And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." (though if you search online there is debate about the accuracy of the quote)


Please note - I actually intended on using the word/phrase to describe how ineffective it can be, how it can break the illusion, to have fictional characters quoting etc.



Answer



These references are called allusions. To allude to real literary works in a movie might contribute to verisimilitude, that is, these allusions might help the audience to forget that they're watching a fiction. Or they could be pretentious and heavy-handed, and remind the audience that they're watching a movie.


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