Questions tagged [allusions]
Questions about references to other works, external incidents, etc. in literature. Use this tag with the relevant author and work tags if applicable.
92 questions
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Source for Spenser’s story of Ptolemy and his lover Phao in “The Faerie Queene”
In book 3 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene, the poet describes a tower built by Ptolemy for his lover Phao:
Who wonders not, that reades so wonderous worke?
But who does wonder, that has red ...
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Mary Renault's describing the island of Keos as "a stern land" in "The Praise Singer"
In the opening of Mary Renault's novel The Praise Singer (1978), the narrator, Simonides, says this of the island where he was born:
KEOS IS STERN. YOU’D not suppose so from the proverb, that it ...
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Why does Murakami attribute the song "South of the Border" to Nat King Cole?
The title of Murakami's 1992 novel South of the Border, West of the Sun takes its title in part from a popular song from 1939 about a trip to Mexico, "South of the Border". Within the novel ...
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Origin of the idea that the Chaldeans believed the world was ringed by mountains, in Montalbán's Carvalho series
Pepe Carvalho, the central character of the series of detective novels written by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, has a next-door neighbour named Enric Fuster. Fuster is a fellow gastronome, a confidant, ...
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Why does Truman Capote refer to Little Three Eyes instead of Two Eyes?
In Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms, thirteen year old Joel Knox is on a ferris wheel with twenty-five year old Miss Wisteria, who molests him:
She placed her hand on his thigh, and then, as ...
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Does Rajiv Mohabir's "Boy with Baleen for Teeth" allude to Seth's An Equal Music?
An astonishing poem of Rajiv Mohabir's tells the story of a "Boy with Baleen for Teeth." Here are a few lines from the poem:
My baleen burst through
pursed lips. When I smiled
Sunday's ...
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What is this iconic line from Yeats doing in Vikram Seth's "An Equal Music"?
Vikram Seth's novel An Equal Music contains the following paragraph, when Michael is reminiscing about a restaurant that he and Julia used to frequent:
I was happy here once. But what kind of life ...
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Why is the main character's automated assistant named "Sisyphus" in Greg Egan's "Distress"?
Andrew, the main character of Greg Egan's Distress, is a science reporter in the year 2055. He has a personal "knowledge miner" named "Sisyphus" (bold in original). It scans the ...
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In *The Catcher in the Rye*, what Bible verses is Holden referencing about the "lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs"?
At the start of Chapter 14, Holden shares his views on the Bible and mentions the figure he finds most compelling. He ultimately says:
If you want to know the truth, the guy I like best in the Bible, ...
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Name of the dog in Kolatkar's "Pi dog"
The first poem in Arun Kolatkar's 2004 collection, Kala Ghoda Poems, is narrated by a pi dog. The poem is replete with geographical particulars, historical details, and mythological allusions, most of ...
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Why "Candlelight Club"? What is the Yeats reference here?
There is a reference in "Memoirs of a Master Forger," by Graham Joyce, that I don't understand.
We belonged to an unofficial club, Stinx and I. A society of abandoned men. We called ...
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Does Denise Levertov's poem "To The Snake" have an allusion to Adam and Eve?
Does Denise Levertov's poem "To The Snake" have an allusion to Adam and Eve? Also, what does "leaves" refer to?
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‘To Certain Critics’ by Countee Cullen
Here’s the poem ‘To Certain Critics’ by Countee Cullen:
Then call me traitor if you must,
Shout treason and default!
Say I betray a sacred trust
Aching beyond this vault.
I'll bear your censure as ...
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Why does Dashiell Hammett associate the "Blind Man" with Tad?
In the The Dain Curse (1929) by Dashiell Hammett, Chapter IX is titled "Tad's Blind Man".
In this chapter, we have
I thought of Tad's blind man in a dark room hunting for a black hat that ...
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Who were Lambert and Edson, mentioned in "White-Jacket" as examples of fat and lean men?
In chapter 1 of White-Jacket, Herman Melville mentions "Lambert and Edson" (no first names) as examples of fat and lean men.
Me? Ah me! Soaked and heavy, what a burden was that jacket to ...
