White Knowledge and the Cauldron of Story: The Use of Allusion in Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA (Master of Arts)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - unrestricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.issued

2002

Author dc:creator

• Abbott, William Thomas

• Science fiction
• Terry Pratchett
• Allusion
• Fantasy
• Folklore
• Myth
• Arts and Humanities
• English Language and Literature

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/630

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-1787