When poets 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
- William Shakespeare
- Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales and famous British writer (20)
- Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queen and famous British writer (20)
- Beaumont, famous British dramatist and poet (20)
- John Lyly, famous British dramatist, poet, and playwright; author of Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England (29)
- Thomas Kyd, famous British playwright; author of The Spanish Tragedy (30)
- Christopher Marlowe, famous British poet and playwright; author of Doctor Faustus and The Jew of Malta (30)
- Aeschylus, ancient Greek tragedian and author of Prometheus Bound (33)
- Euripides, ancient Greek tragedian (34)
- Sophocles, ancient Greek tragedian and author of Antigone and Oedipus the King (34)
- Pacuvius, tragic poet from ancient Rome (35)
- Accius, Latin poet to whom Aesop's Fables are attributed (35)
- Seneca the Young ("him of Cordova dead"), Roman philosopher and playwright (35)
- Aristophanes, comic playwright from ancient Athens commonly known as "The Father of Comedy" (51)
- Terence, ancient Roman playwright (52)
- Plautus, ancient Roman playwright (52)
Historical References
- Poet's Corner, a famous area of Westminster Abbey where great authors are traditionally buried or memorialized (19-22)
- Eliza, reference to Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England and fan of Shakespeare's plays (74)
- James, reference to King James of England, the present King of England when Jonson was writing (74)