The Black Prince Allusions & Cultural References

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

  • William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well (1.3.122)
  • Homer, Iliad (1.4.59)
  • Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy (1.4.59)
  • D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers (1.4.59)
  • Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (1.4.59)
  • Homer, Odyssey (1.5.16)
  • William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1.16.55)
  • Sigmund Freud (1.17.1)
  • Carl Jung (1.22.8)
  • William Shakespeare, Macbeth (1.23.100)
  • William Shakespeare, King Lear (1.23.100)
  • Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1.23.102)
  • Gustav Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1.23.102)
  • Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time (1.23.102)
  • Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (1.23.102)
  • William Shakespeare, Othello (1.23.134)
  • Plato (2.1.12)
  • Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (2.3.54)
  • Sappho (2.5.4)
  • Ludwig Wittgenstein (2.5.26)
  • William Wycherley (2.8.134)
  • Jane Austen, Emma (2.9.61)
  • Andrew Marvell (3.3.4)
  • Robert Browning (3.10.13)
  • Alfred, Lord Tennyson (3.10.13)
  • William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (3.13.157)
  • Dante Alighieri, Rime Petrose (3.15.36)
  • Socrates (Postscript by Bradley: par. 21)
  • J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (Postscript by Rachel: par. 4)
  • C. S. Forester (Postscript by Rachel: par. 4)
  • Robert Louis Stevenson (Postscript by Rachel: par. 4)
  • Clarence E. Mulford (Postscript by Rachel: par. 4)

Figures out of Religion, Myth, and Legend

  • Don Juan (Foreword by Bradley Pearson: par.8)
  • Aphrodite (1.12.5)
  • Jesus Christ (1.16.69)
  • Mary Magdalene or the Virgin Mary (1.16.69)
  • Buddha (1.16.69)
  • Shiva (1.16.69)
  • The Fisher King (1.16.69)
  • Eros (2.4.53)
  • Actaeon (2.8.33)
  • Narcissus (Postscript by Julian: par. 12)

Historical References

  • Gavrilo Princip (1.1.4)
  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1.1.4)
  • Julian of Norwich (1.4.8)
  • The Marie Celeste (1.11.6)
  • Bartolomeo Colleoni (2.12.5)

"High" Culture and Pop Culture References

  • Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird (1.4.4)
  • Sarah Siddons (1.18.131)
  • Sir Arthur John Gielgud (1.23.197)
  • Vittore Carpaccio, "Dream of St. Ursula" (2.8.25)
  • Inigo Jones (2.8.39)
  • William Hogarth (2.8.39)
  • Peter Lely (2.8.123)
  • Grinling Gibbons (2.8.123)
  • Arne and Ellen Terry (2.8.123)
  • Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier (2.8.125)
  • Tintoretto, "The Finding of the Body of St. Mark" (2.12.4)
  • Francisco Goya (Postscript by Bradley: par. 2)
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Editor's Postscript: par. 9)

Quotable Quotes from the Bible

  • Romans 8:28 (1.12.4)