literary characters
TRANSCRIPT
By Jack Christensen
Literary Characters and Allusions
• An allusion, according to dictionary.com is: a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: an allusion to Shakespeare.
Allusions
The purpose of this Powerpoint is to provide you with a brief knowledge of important literary characters which other authors allude to
It will also provide a brief synopsis of the plot in order to contextualize the character
This in no way, is an exhaustive list
Purpose
Captain AhabAhab is a character from
Herman Melville’s Moby Dick
Ahab was obsessed with capturing the White Whale
Within the book, Ahab faces the dilemma of Man Vs. NatureMan Vs. Self
King Lear is a character from Shakespeare’s play with the same name
King Lear fell into madness after he was betrayed by his daughters Regan and Goneril
When alluded to, usually it is discussing a fall from grace
King Lear
Oedipus Rex is a Greek play by Sophocles
Oedipus is famous for marrying his mother and killing his father and is the source for the term Oedipus complex
The play focuses on how every person is bound by fate
Also famous for gouging his eyes out at the discovery of his transgressions
Oedipus Rex
Lancelot is not from a specific text, but hails from Arthurian legend.
Famous for being the best knight in King Arthur’s Court.
Best friend of King Arthur but also in love with King Arthur ‘s wife Guinevere
Lancelot
Famous for betraying his best friendOften alluded to in regards to love trianglesAlso alluded to because of his skill in fencing
and horseback riding
Lancelot continued
Romeo is one of literature’s most famous heartthrobs
He is famous for falling in love with and wooing Juliet in Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”
Often characterized as being “heart sick”
Also associated with:Forbidden loveHaste is waste
Romeo
Also comes from Arthurian legend
The illegitimate son of Lancelot
Famous for his passivity and purity
Also famous for finding the Holy Grail
Sir Galahad
The leading lady from Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”
After murdering the King, her mental state deteriorates to madness
Associated with:Madness from guilt“Out damned spot!”
Lady Macbeth
The main character from Homer’s The Odyssey
The story follows Odysseus as he attempts to sail home to his family after the Trojan war
Odysseus is associated with:Seemingly never-
ending journeysWandering
Odysseus
The story of Iccarus is a Greek Myth in which Iccarus escapes from prison with wax wings, but then flies too close to the sun and plummets to his death after his wings melt
Associated with:ArrogancePlaying with fire
Iccarus
“To be or not to be”From Shakespeare’s Hamlet referring to
Hamlet’s speech in which he contemplates death
Often cited when a big decision presents itself“His Achilles’ heal”
Taken from Homer’s The Iliad in reference to one of the main characters Achilles, whose one weakness is his heal
Usually in reference to one fatal flaw in a character or person.
Common Literary Allusions
“That’s a Catch-22”From Joseph Heller’s book Catch 22 which is
about airplane pilots in WWII who have to act crazy to get out of flying missions but are accused of faking being crazy and have to fly any way
Famous for damned if you do, damned if you don’t
“The situation was positively Dickensian” Alluded to novels by Charles Dickens in which
conditions are terrible and often dirty
Common Literary Allusions
Iccarus image: http://revolutioncontinues.com/wp-content/uploads/Daedalus-and-icarus1.jpg
Odysseus image: www.moyak.com/papers/odysseus.jpg Lady Macbeth Image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
Wd7-JfmR6c8/TZz63JlfXJI/AAAAAAAAA6U/E50yZlbaS-g/s1600/sargent_macbeth.jpg
Sir Galahad Image http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Sir_Galahad_(Watts).jpg/220px-Sir_Galahad_(Watts).jpg
Romeo image: http://www.meredith.edu/english/walton/images/romeo_juliet_baz.jpg
Lancelot image: http://www.sir-lancelot.co.uk/lancelot-images/lancelot-3.jpg Oedipus Rex image:
http://sumnonrabidus.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/oedipus-rex-gay-teachers-and-counting-no-mortal-%E2%80%9Chappy%E2%80%9D/
King Lear image: http://www.pathguy.com/lear300.jpg Captain Ahab: http://www.realmagick.com/captain-ahab/
Image Reference Page