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With an heroic poem as sprawl as the oneStephen Kingcreated withThe Dark Towerseries , it ’s inevitable that a fascinating constellation of kit and boodle that came before went into influencing it . King’sDark Towerseriesis challenging , a grand intermixture of genres and inspirations , both clear and elusive . The shading of Western , repugnance , dark fancy , sci - fi , quantum physic , pop culture , and more create a alone earth that borrows from what came before while alchemizing it into something that is wholly its own write up .
That ’s what the best writers do , building off the ideas and motif of others , but shaping them in brand - raw way , construction and layering . Stephen King has always been a writer secure to acknowledge neither his coevals , nor the influence of writers and artist of older eras . It ’s what makes hisDark Towerseries , start withThe Gunslinger , so potent and profound , and knowing the influence behind it makes it an even rich reading experience .
9"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"
Robert Browning
Of of course , the first and most obvious influence on King’sDark Towerseries is Robert Browning ’s poem " Childe Roland to the Dark Tower come . " It ’s the fabric upon which the entire wholesale series sit , tell the story of a knight of sorts who is determined to extend to the fabled Dark Tower . Once a member of a banding of knights , they have all lessen - including his friend , Cuthbert - and he is the only one who rest .
Stephen King tease apart a young project that could bring together two of his universes that have long been the subject of some muddled canon eubstance .
His journey find him crossing an apocalyptic wasteland of nightmares and monstrosities , a journeying that starts with him being enticed by a Devil - like liar and figure who leads human being wide . In the remainder , while he finds the tug , his destiny remains a mystery , the ending ambiguous . While King , of course , spread out greatly upon the 204 - line heroic verse form , the big major beats , the framing , and even some of the backstory andtie - Immigration and Naturalization Service to Stephen King’sDark Towerseriesowe a debt to Browning ’s 1852 poem .
8"The Waste Land"
T.S. Eliot
Browning ’s verse form is n’t the only epic poem that work King during his committal to writing ofThe Dark Tower . Specifically , the third book , The Waste Lands , was inspired by T.S. Eliot ’s 1922 poem of ( almost ) the same name , " The Waste Land . " The epic poem is about London post - World War I , name in emblematic terminus the flop , destruction , and decay of a once - corking nation , extraordinarily alike to Roland ’s own world that had " moved on . " Like Roland ’s fib , Eliot ’s " The Waste Land " meanders through desert and ocean , a harry landscape that mirror Eliot ’s own mental DoS after the warfare . The influences are unmistakable , with Jake even muttering a telephone line from the poem at one item : " I ’ll show you fear in a smattering of junk . "
7Man With No Name Trilogy
Sergio Leone
Of naturally , anyone who has readThe Dark Towerand been innovate to the type of Roland understands the expectant inspiration for the gunslinger : Clint Eastwood . Specifically , Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Namefrom legendary westerly film director Sergio Leone’sDollarstrilogy , A handful of Dollars , For a Few dollar More , andThe Good , the Bad , and the Ugly . The physical description of Roland is unmistakably based on Eastwood , as is the famous illustration of Roland standing in front of the tugboat in the field of rose wine by Michael Whelan in the original impression ofThe Dark Tower .
The physical verbal description of Roland is unmistakably base on Eastwood , as is the famous illustration of Roland stand in front of the tug in the field of roses by Michael Whelan in the original printing process ofThe Dark Tower .
also , Roland ’s personality is also study from the character : a solitary spider , terse , and taciturn . Roland is the quintessential westerly archetype of a lone gunslinger , crystallize to perfection in Leone ’s cinema trilogy .
6The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
King has previously said that he began his body of work onThe Dark Towerafter read J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy and despairing that he could ever write something that good . He think his serial publication to be his attempt at an epic that wove together its own mythology and language . What followed was wildly different from Tolkien ’s epic fantasy , but a tarradiddle that share a standardised sweeping vibe as it tell a tale of a fellowship of allies spring together by a partake destiny .
Book / Story Title
Publication Year
The Dark Tower : The Gunslinger
1982
The Dark Tower II : The Drawing of the Three
Custom image by Simone Ashmoore
1987
The Dark Tower III : The Waste Lands
1991
The Dark Tower IV : Wizard and Glass
1997
" The Little Sisters of Eluria "
1998
The Dark Tower V : Wolves of the Calla
2003
The Dark Tower VI : Song of Susannah
2004
The Dark Tower VII : The Dark Tower
The Wind Through the Keyhole
2012
On top of that , the similarities between Sauron ofThe Lord of the Ringsand the Crimson King fromThe Dark Towerare unmistakable – and if you squint , Walter / The Man in Black could be an allegory for Saruman , particularly the minion - master kinship between Walter and the Crimson King and Saruman and Sauron . Tolkien may not be the strongest influence on King ’s series , but its threads are still clearly bound throughout .
5In The Court Of The Crimson King
King Crimson
Stephen King pulled inspiration from everywhere to writeThe Dark Towerseries – book , poem , movies , and even one record album . That album was the 1969 entry album of the British prog rock lot King Crimson , In the Court of the Crimson King . Similar to King ’s genre - philander serial publication , the isthmus ’s album meld various musical genres from stone , symphonic music , jazz , and classical elements .
This is never more apparent than in " The Court of the Crimson King , " which try from all of these as it weave a psychedelic , dreamy melody contain fantastical , slimly sorry and discordant lyrics that conjure up vaguely medieval imagery in court thatStephen King reimagines as his villain , the Crimson King .
4Arthurian Legend
However , the potent mediaeval influence onThe Dark Toweris doubtless Arthurian legend . Everything about Roland ’s lineage and the history of the gunslingers is adopt like a shot from King Arthur and his knight ; it ’s no secret that the gunslingers of Gilead are Stephen King ’s equivalent of Camelot ’s knights of the Round Table . Roland himself is descended from his macrocosm ’s interpretation of King Arthur , Arthur Eld .
Mike Flanagan ’s TV adaptation of Stephen King ’s Dark Tower serial needs to sport several key moments from the volume in rescript to do the story right .
Even his dual guns with the sandalwood bag and the singular blue - grey blade were mould from the sword of Arthur Eld himself , Excalibur , pass down through the ages until they ended up with Roland , the last of his agate line . alike , Maerlyn , the powerful sorcerer and demonic entity of King ’s earth , direct his name from the more benevolent Merlin of Arthurian legend .
3The Wizard of Oz
Frank L. Baum
A lesser - known but still clear aspiration behindThe Dark TowerisThe Wizard of Oz . Rather than strong story beats borrowed from the story of Dorothy in Oz , the ties are more visual and emblematical . This is especially lawful inWizard and Glass , where Roland’ska - tetfinds itself not only being dropped into a world determine by wizards and thaumaturgy , but also in a recreation of the Emerald City and even in a duet of crimson slippers they stumble upon .
It ’s not a inviolable influence throughout the entire serial , but it does really underscore at that moment how Roland and his friends are now out of their element and on a strange journeying for the last three books .
There , they discover Walter has tricked them into set up an alternate translation of the scene where Dorothy arrives in the Wizard ’s palace . As a booming vocalization greets them , Oy pulls back the curtain to bring out it is not Walter , the quasi - immortal hotshot , but his minion , the Tick - Tock Man . It ’s not a unattackable influence throughout the total series , but it does really underline at that moment how Roland and his friend are now out of their element and on a strange journey for the last three leger .
2Three Laws Of Robotics
Isaac Asimov
While most influences on The Dark Tower do in the physical body of the magical and mysterious , or the sweeping background of an larger-than-life , fabled sci - fi writer Isaac Asimov influenced the series in a more lineal , scientific way . Robotics play a enceinte use in King ’s series through the cellular inclusion of North Central Positronics and their " Asimov Robots , " which are humanoid robots intend to interact with mankind . The ka - tet hunt down into a few of these robots throughout their travel : Andy , Stuttering Bill , and Nigel .
Asimov conceived the concept of the " positronic mastermind , " along with the word " robotics . " Our mod understanding of robots , both in scientific ethics and fiction , owe a debt to Asimov ’s piece of writing .
unluckily , not all the Asimov Robots abided by Asimov ’s Three Laws of Robotics inThe Dark Tower , and , as such , they were exploited by the Crimson King to gestate out his orders :
1"Nyarlathotep"
H.P. Lovecraft
finally , there are strains ofthe oft - adapted H.P. Lovecraftthreaded throughThe Dark Towerseries . In particular , Stephen King borrowed elements of Nyarlathotep , a malign immortal from Lovecraft ’s Cthulhu Mythos . Nyarlathotep was first introduced in Lovecraft ’s 1920 verse form " Nyarlathotep " as the courier and minion Azathoth , the sovereign deity of the pantheon , though , in numerous manner , Nyarlathotep is considered the greatest adversary throughout Lovecraft ’s mythos .
Randall Flagg has appear in more Stephen King stories – or rumored to have appeared – than any other quality , but the precise number may surprise you .
If that sound intimate , it should , as it ’s the foundation for Walter’s / The Man in Black ’s part throughoutThe Dark Towerseries . Just as Walter Padick is a shapeshifting divinity in theStephen Kingseries , so is Nyarlathotep , with both entities please in visiting the human realm to torment and fake mankind . Sometimes , that ’s through a hideous test ; at other times , it ’s through amassing legion of craze - similar following . Both are deceivers , and their piece of work pave the way for the big goal of their masters to unleash chaos upon all the worlds .
