In a few select works, authors have endowed the term “illusion” with a quality akin to a hue—imbuing it with a luminous, almost tangible character rather than relegating it solely to the realm of deception. For example, one passage speaks of a “crowning illusion of light, shadow, and atmosphere” [1], where the interplay of visual elements suggests that illusion itself takes on a chromatic brilliance. Similarly, another text describes a “radiant illusion” that seems to wash over the mind with the vibrancy of youth and an ephemeral glow [2]. In yet another instance, the image of a “magnificent illusion [that] rose” evokes a scene so rich in visual texture it appears colored by the very magic of its transient beauty [3]. These examples show how, in literature, the notion of illusion can be transformed into a metaphorical color—one that paints reality with shifting, dreamlike tones.
- st a vision by the crowning illusion of light, shadow, and atmosphere.
— from Under the Redwoods by Bret Harte
- The youth in her brain created a radiant illusion of immortality.
— from Life and Gabriella: The Story of a Woman's Courage by Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow
- [Pg 240] But fair as now the green earth spreads, with woods, Champaign, and hills, and many winding streams 280 Robed, the magnificent illusion rose.
— from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1
With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes
by George Gilfillan by William Lisle Bowles