Beyond Shakespeare: A close reading of the epigraphs in Justin Cronin's The Passage.

Abstract: One common phenomenon in literature is the use of epigraphs both at the beginning of a work and before the start of a chapter. Although the use of epigraphs is common in literary works, the purpose and function might differ; not only due to different intentions by authors but as claimed by French literary scholar Gerard Genette, the effect also relies on the interpretation of the reader. In this essay, the focus is on the use of seven of the epigraphs in Justin Cronin’s post-apocalyptic novel The Passage (2010), all of them originating from works of William Shakespeare. Tempting as it may be to examine the intertextual connections between the sources of the epigraphs from Shakespeare and the novel, this essay, contrary to previous critical readings of epigraphs in the novel, will mainly search for the answers to the effect and function of the epigraphs within the novel itself. This, to examine if the epigraphs can serve a purpose without an understanding of Shakespeare. Thus, performing a close reading of the epigraphs in relation to the novel, treating the epigraphs as isolated texts apart from when it is necessary to contrast with a further understanding of the sources of the epigraphs. A close reading of the epigraphs suggests that not only do they serve a purpose without an understanding of the sources of the epigraphs, one of the epigraphs also brings out self-reflexivity and self-consciousness concerning the novel’s intertextual connections with other works. Thus, this essay offers an alternative approach to interpreting the quoted lines by suggesting that in The Passage, in which the re-start of civilization is depicted, the events in the novel serve as the framework that gives new meaning and provides a purpose to the lines from Shakespeare.