The Three Musketeers Analysis

Swords are typically used as phallic symbols in literature, and that remains true with this novel. Recall the beginning of the novel where, at the Jolly Miller inn, D’Artagnan attempts to dra...

Since The Three Musketeers is a work of historical fiction, its setting definitely plays a large role. Dumas uses history for his own literary ends. For instance, in real life the Duke of Buckingha...

This reflects the plot-driven nature of the tale. Although most of the action focuses on D’Artagnan, there are quite a few chapters that concern other characters. While the narrator is omnisc...

Sword fighting plus damsels in distress plus narrow escapes from death equal an adventure story. In The Three Musketeers, all the elements of a proper adventure story are present. To make it more c...

Lots of nightmare-ish events happen in The Three Musketeers. Several people are killed, including our hero’s true love. The people of La Rochelle are starving to death. The Queen is stuck in...

Dumas frequently manages to condense a lot of information into a small space. Masters are calling for their lackeys, notes are being sent all over town, and plots are being hatched while the conspi...

First of all, the Musketeers were an elite French military unit charged with protecting the King. They were kind of like the Secret Service, except they could also go to war. The three Musketeers o...

In the conclusion, the brave friends slay an evil dragon (in this case, an evil-yet-hot woman named Milady) and settle down to enjoy the fruits of their success. It’s your basic happy ending....

D’Artagnan arrives in Paris with almost no money, hoping to become a Musketeer.A penniless youth arrives in the city who has a lot of pride and mad sword fighting skills, so let’s see h...

Chapter One, Chapter Twenty-One This stage takes up just about the first half of the novel. We are distracted by other adversaries – the Man from Meung, Cardinal Richelieu. In Chapter One, ou...

D’Artagnan arrives in Paris with not much more than the big dreams of becoming a Musketeer.D’Artagnan becomes best friends with three Musketeers, and together the four of them have all...

Alexandre Dumas wrote over 277 volumes over his lifetime. He didn’t write them alone, however, he collaborated! Chief among his collaborators was a history teacher named Auguste Maquet.Dumas...

Very James Bond, now that we think about it. Sex one night, fights to the death on the next. D’Artagnan seduces Milady’s maid, then sleeps with Milady pretending to be someone else, and...

Don Quixote, (1.3, 1.10), Rosinante (Don Quixote’s horse), (1.4)Achilles, Ajax, Joseph, (7.29) The Bible (9.7) Circe (36.26) If you want a good description of who Circe is, check out Shmoop's...