Allusions in Context

In the networks included on this page, the points on the graph, or nodes, are organized based on the “thing referred to.” For example, in The Player Queen by W.B. Yeats, found in The Dial, one character mentions that “my saviour was content with a stable,” which alludes to the birth of Jesus, so the allusion appears as a node called “Nativity.” From the alluded-to nodes come a variety of lines, or edges, that connect them to nodes with information about their Location (what piece from the magazine they come from, or what section of “The Wasteland” they come from), their Source (Dial, Criterion, or “Wasteland”), and what type of allusion it is (place, religion, literature, etc.). By moving the nodes around to see where their connecting edges are pulled, patterns start to emerge.

In the networks included on this page, the points on the graph, or nodes, are organized based on the “thing referred to.” For example, in The Player Queen by W.B. Yeats, found in The Dial, one character mentions that “my saviour was content with a stable,” which alludes to the birth of Jesus, so the allusion appears as a node called “Nativity.” From the alluded-to nodes come a variety of lines, or edges, that connect them to nodes with information about their Location (what piece from the magazine they come from, or what section of “The Wasteland” they come from), their Source (Dial, Criterion, or “Wasteland”), and what type of allusion it is (place, religion, literature, etc.). By moving the nodes around to see where their connecting edges are pulled, patterns start to emerge.

Network A: Allusions in “The Wasteland”

Network A: Allusions in “The Wasteland”

Identifying these patterns opens up new questions about the nature of the allusions that may never have been asked without visualizing the information in this way. For example, knowing that there are so many subtypes of religious allusions, it might be helpful to picture what that distribution might look like.

Identifying these patterns opens up new questions about the nature of the allusions that may never have been asked without visualizing the information in this way. For example, knowing that there are so many subtypes of religious allusions, it might be helpful to picture what that distribution might look like.

Network B: Religion in “The Wasteland”

Network B: Religion in “The Wasteland”