In the last twenty years, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series has become very popular. Pratchett's success hinges in part on his use of allusion, in what Tolkien called the \"Cauldron of Story,\" and what Pratchett refers to as \"white knowledge.\" This paper explores the Discworld novels and illustrates Pratchett's use and success of storytelling through a few key directions: folk tales, fantasy literature, movies, and rock music.
Pratchett has received limited critical review, mostly of a negative nature, while producing a strong literary series, one crafted with both obvious and subtle recognition of his genre's sources. While standing on the shoulders of giants, Pratchett both respects and scrutinizes the myths and stories that construct our reality. Critically, Pratchett's fiction deserves more respect and closer study; this paper attempts to give him his due.
","abstract_html":"<p>In the last twenty years, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series has become very popular. Pratchett's success hinges in part on his use of allusion, in what Tolkien called the "Cauldron of Story," and what Pratchett refers to as "white knowledge." This paper explores the Discworld novels and illustrates Pratchett's use and success of storytelling through a few key directions: folk tales, fantasy literature, movies, and rock music.</p><p>Pratchett has received limited critical review, mostly of a negative nature, while producing a strong literary series, one crafted with both obvious and subtle recognition of his genre's sources. While standing on the shoulders of giants, Pratchett both respects and scrutinizes the myths and stories that construct our reality. Critically, Pratchett's fiction deserves more respect and closer study; this paper attempts to give him his due.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Abbott, William Thomas"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2002,"date_issued":"2002-05-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2002-05-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:07Z","subjects":["Science fiction","Terry Pratchett","Allusion","Fantasy","Folklore","Myth","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/630","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Abbott, William Thomas"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2002-05-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Science fiction","Terry Pratchett","Allusion","Fantasy","Folklore","Myth","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1787/viewcontent/abbottw011702b.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/630"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the last twenty years, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series has become very popular. Pratchett's success hinges in part on his use of allusion, in what Tolkien called the \"Cauldron of Story,\" and what Pratchett refers to as \"white knowledge.\" This paper explores the Discworld novels and illustrates Pratchett's use and success of storytelling through a few key directions: folk tales, fantasy literature, movies, and rock music.
Pratchett has received limited critical review, mostly of a negative nature, while producing a strong literary series, one crafted with both obvious and subtle recognition of his genre's sources. While standing on the shoulders of giants, Pratchett both respects and scrutinizes the myths and stories that construct our reality. Critically, Pratchett's fiction deserves more respect and closer study; this paper attempts to give him his due.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["White Knowledge and the Cauldron of Story: The Use of Allusion in Terry Pratchett's Discworld."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Abbott, William Thomas"],"dc:date.issued":["2002-05-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the last twenty years, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series has become very popular. Pratchett's success hinges in part on his use of allusion, in what Tolkien called the \"Cauldron of Story,\" and what Pratchett refers to as \"white knowledge.\" This paper explores the Discworld novels and illustrates Pratchett's use and success of storytelling through a few key directions: folk tales, fantasy literature, movies, and rock music.
Pratchett has received limited critical review, mostly of a negative nature, while producing a strong literary series, one crafted with both obvious and subtle recognition of his genre's sources. While standing on the shoulders of giants, Pratchett both respects and scrutinizes the myths and stories that construct our reality. Critically, Pratchett's fiction deserves more respect and closer study; this paper attempts to give him his due.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1787/viewcontent/abbottw011702b.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/630"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Science fiction","Terry Pratchett","Allusion","Fantasy","Folklore","Myth","Arts and Humanities","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["White Knowledge and the Cauldron of Story: The Use of Allusion in Terry Pratchett's Discworld."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:19:07Z"}