When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- References and quotes from the Catholic Mass appear throughout the text, as do uncountable images of the Virgin Mary..
- Dante Alighieri (Stephen’s aunt Dante, a recurring character in Chapter One)
- Gaius Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico (1.4.23)
- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (2.1.7, also, any time Mercedes is mentioned)
- Lord Byron (2.2.22, 2.3.31)
- Captain Marryat (2.3.28)
- Cardinal Newman (2.3.29, 5.1.10)
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson (2.3.30)
- Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Art Thou Pale for Weariness" (2.4.21, 3.1.3)
- Joseph Addison (3.2.13)
- Victor Hugo (4.2.8)
- Louis Veuillot (4.2.9)
- Gerhart Hauptmann (5.1.10)
- Guido Cavalcanti (5.1.10)
- Henrik Ibsen (5.1.10)
- Ben Jonson (5.1.10, 5.1.43)
- Aristotle (5.1.10, 5.1.38, 5.1.124)
- Ovid, Metamorphoses (5.1.17, see also "Epigraph")
- Horace (5.1.18)
- The national poet of Ireland represented in the statue is Thomas Moore (5.1.19-20)
- St. Thomas Aquinas (5.1.35, then throughout Chapter Five)
- Epictetus (5.1.38, 5.1.61)
- Jean Jacques Rousseau (5.1.104)
- Plato (5.1.134)
- Charles Darwin , The Origin of Species (5.1.134)
- Venantius Fortunatus, Vexilla Regis, a religious hymn (5.1.136)
- William Butler Yeats, The Countess Cathleen (5.3.8)
- Thomas Nashe, Summer’s Last Will and Testament (5.3.55)
- The Bible, character of St. John the Baptist (5.4.3)
- William Blake, "William Bond," (5.4.11)
- William Butler Yeats, "Michael Robartes Remembers Forgotten Beauty," "Michael Robartes Remembers Forgotten Beauty," The Wind Among the Reeds (5.4.25)
Historical Figures
- Charles Stuart Parnell (first occurs in 1.1.7; referenced innumerable times throughout the book)
- Michael Davitt (1.1.7)
- Wars of the Roses (1.2.19)
- Kitty O’Shea (1.3.49-55)
- Bishop Lanigan (1.3.62)
- Terence Bellew MacManus (1.3.62)
- St. Francis Xavier (1.4.67, 3.1.15-17)
- Buck and Burnchapel Whaley (5.1.29-30)
- St. Stephen (5.4.9)
Pop Culture
- Friedrich Halm, Ingomar (2.5.4)
- Edward Bulwer-LyttonThe Lady of Lyons (2.5.4)
- W.S. Sullivan, The Mikado (5.1.53)