Do writers really make references just to make them?

Do writers really make references just to make them?

  1. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Name one reference for the sake of the reference itsekf

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      the title

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        It's not a reference. It's a pseudoreference, the book in question is full of them.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        is not about returning to Ittaca?

        • 3 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Cuck O’Mcisraelitestein’s house is no where near Ithaca, either in Greece or the one in New York

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        It's a comparison between Ulysses (Odysseus and Bloom), how an ordinary man's day can be as epic as a long mithological journey. I agree with op that sometimes the reference seems to be for its own sake, but that's not the case with the title.

  2. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    why do art critics go absolutely wild over works containing references to other works?

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      It gives them a reason to exist

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      They don't read.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      It makes them feel smart because they get that twitch of dopamine for recognizing something

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I heard professor say that there’s a sort of dialogue between the great works of literature and that through including those references other writers are trying to add their own works to that dialogue.
      I oftentimes see really strong thematic connections between different works I’ve read so that seemed like a strong explanation to me at least.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Of course an academic would say that. Without such a paradigm they and their "criticism" would be redundant.

  3. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >read a sentence
    >interpret it on a basic literal level
    >find a reference
    >analyse (or intuitively understand the reference because you're not a pleb)
    >interpret the sentence on a deeper level
    >understand a hidden hint because the refered text reveals some meaning for the text at hand
    >be not filtered for once
    >read next sentence
    >???
    >profit
    do you have to have everything spoonfed to you, guys?

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      This board worships dostoevsky, so yes, they have to have.

  4. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Does Ulysses have reference besides Odysseus I should read before starting?

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Having read Hamlet may help in a later chapter.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Not just reading Hamlet, but reading some of the main theories for it. I was confused by what Stephen was talking about in that chapter until I took a class that focused on Hamlet

        • 3 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          true. that's the thing with Ulysses, you can handle it with sparknotes and a vague knowledge of Hamlet based on watching Lion King as a kid, OR you can devote a lifetime to figure out what was going through Joyce's mind and society in the 1920s

          • 3 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            >1920s
            The book takes place in 1904 though, no?

            • 3 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              I meant to say Joyce takes a lot from the discourse of his day. he meanders through questions of Ancient philosophy, medievil stuff, and yes, that one day he "got close" to his wife.

  5. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    references can be funny, references can be homages and tributes to writers you respect, references can be clues to deeper meanings, references can even be part of a stylistic choice. References in and of themselves are pretty empty, but they can work with a story to imbue it with deeper meaning.

  6. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    I make references all the time and I'm not even a writer. It's a great way of filtering people irl: if the people get the references I make I know they're legit and on my wavelength, if not I know they're not worth my time talking to and can safely be treated as NPCs from now on, and if they get annoyed at me making constant literary and historical references to shit they have no idea about, well it's always my pleasure to annoy the hoi polloi

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Give me an example of a reference you might make and the sort of reaction it provokes.

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