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
- Paul Verlaine, "Colloque Sentimental" (Title of the Play)
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, "Oh, woe is me, / T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see." (1.1)
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, "Ensign crimson. Pale flag." (1.1)
- John Milton, Paradise Lost, "Oh fleeting joys – oh something lasting woes" (1.1); "Hail, holy light." (2.1)
- William Shakespeare, Cymbeline, "Fear no more the heat o' the sun." (1.17)
- Edward Fitzgerald, "The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám," "Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!" (1.29)
- Thomas Gray, "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College," "laughing wild / Amid severest woe." (1.29)
- W.B. Yeats, "Down By the Salley Gardens," "But I was young and foolish, / and now am full of tears." (1.31)
- Aristotle, De Generatione Animalium, "post coitum omne animal triste est sive." (2.1)
Pop Culture References
- "I Love You So" from The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár (1.31, 2.4)