1. By Jack Christensen Literary Characters and Allusions

3. 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

4. Captain Ahab Ahab 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. Nature Man Vs. Self

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Famous for betraying his best friend Often alluded to in regards to love triangles Also alluded to because of his skill in fencing and horseback riding Lancelot continued

9. 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 love Haste is waste Romeo

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 journeys Wandering Odysseus

13. 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: Arrogance Playing with fire Iccarus

14. “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

15. “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

16. 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