The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

petard, hoist with one’s own
368
got rid of the visitor he returned to his work, only
to fi nd that he could remember no more of the
masterpiece he had composed in his dream. Over
the years, many critics have speculated that the
person from Porlock was invented by Coleridge
to cover the failure of his own inspiration. “At least
no person from Porlock was likely to interrupt me
today” (Mary Stewart, Stormy Petrel, 1992).
petard, hoist with one’s own See hoist with
one’s own petard.
Peter Pan A person who never seems to grow
old. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the central character in the
play Peter Pan (1904) by the Scottish playwright
J. M. Barrie (1860–1937), which was later published
in book form (1911) and subsequently provided
the foundation for various pop u lar movies
and cartoons. Barrie’s Peter Pan is a young lad
who lives a life of perpetual boyhood with his gang
of friends, the Lost Boys, fi ghting pirates and pursuing
an existence blissfully free of the pressures
of adult responsibility. In creating his famous fi ctional
character, Barrie drew on the characters of
the fi ve young sons of his friends Arthur and Sylvia
Llewelyn Davies, although it was their son Peter
who was the chief inspiration. Sadly, several of the
Llewelyn Davies brothers met unfortunate ends,
George dying fi ghting in World War I, Michael
drowning while at Oxford, and Peter committing
suicide on the London Underground in 1960.
Michael was the model upon whom the statue of
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, London, was
based. Cliff Richard, with his youthful good looks, is
often described as pop music’s Peter Pan. See also nevernever
land.
Peter Principle <strong>The</strong> rule that all people within
an or ga ni za tion tend to rise to the level of their
own incompetence. It was named after the
Canadian- born U.S. educationist Dr. Laurence
J. Peter (1919–90), who devised it alongside
Raymond Hull in <strong>The</strong> Peter Principle: Why Things
Always Go Wrong (1969). <strong>The</strong> disastrously low caliber
of most of the company’s se nior management was an
ample demonstration of the Peter Principle in action. See
also parkinson’s law.
Petrarch and Laura (petrahk) Archetype of
unfulfi lled, idealized love. In 1327, while living in
exile in Avignon, France, the Italian Re nais sance
poet Petrarch (1304–74) fell passionately in love
with a woman now known to us only as Laura.
Petrarch immortalized Laura in his celebrated love
poetry, although it appears she did not return the
love he felt for her. She became his muse, although
their relationship was more like that of Petrarch and
Laura than Romeo and Juliet.
Peyton Place (paytbn) A seemingly respectable
community that is actually a hotbed of sex, violence,
and intrigue. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the highly
successful tele vi sion soap opera Peyton Place
(1964–69), which was in turn based upon a 1956
best- selling novel by Grace Metalious (1924–64).
<strong>The</strong> original book, which was apparently inspired
by the actual New En gland town of Gilmanton
Iron Works, New Hampshire, caused a sensation
with its exposure of illicit relationships and racy
goings- on in small- town America. With all these
rumors of adultery and betrayal the town was beginning
to feel like Peyton Place.
phaeton (faybtbn) A light, four-wheeled horsedrawn
carriage with two seats. In Greek mythology
Phaëthon (or Phaëton) was identifi ed as the
son of the sun god Helios (or Apollo), although
elsewhere he was also described as merops’s son