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, Biblical, and Mythological References
- Brom is named Abraham
- Ichabod's name means "no glory" (1 Samuel 4:21)
- Katrina is another name for Demeter
- Baltus is named after Balthazar
- James Thomson, "The Castle of Indolence" (Epigraph)
- Ovid, Metamorphoses (1.1)
- Shakespeare, King Lear (1.3)
- Bible, Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1.8); Proverbs 13:24 (1.9); Abraham (1.26)
- John Milton, "L'Allegro" (1.16)
- Hercules (1.26)
- Achilles (1.29)
- Mercury (1.32)
Historical References
- St. Nicholas (1.1)
- Henry Hudson (1.3)
- Hessian (German) soldiers (1.4)
- The American Revolution (1.4, 1.48)
- No Man's Land (1.49)
- Cotton Mather (1.15)
- Tartars (1.26)
- Don Cossacks (1.26)
- Saint Vitus (1.47)
- Major John André (1.52)