Abstract
In choosing Willie Talos as the original name for his strongman governor in All the King’s Men,Warrenwas explicitly drawing upon Edmund Spenser, but his allusion to the Faerie Queene remains puzzling. Spenser’s “robotic” character would seem to have more in common with a dehumanized figure in the novel like Sugar Boy, who is often presented in mechanistic imagery.Warren’s ultimate decision to change Willie’s name from Talos to Stark seems a wise one.
Recommended Citation
Weatherby, Harold L.
(2005)
"Warren’s Willie Talos: Reflections on the Name,"
Robert Penn Warren Studies: Vol. 5, Article 14.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/rpwstudies/vol5/iss1/14