Editing Dead Man (section)

==Cultural allusions==
The film contains many references to [[William Blake]]{{'s}} poetry. Xebeche, aka Nobody, recites from several Blake poems, including ''[[Auguries of Innocence]]'', ''[[The Marriage of Heaven and Hell]]'', and ''The Everlasting Gospel''. When bounty hunter Cole warns his companions against drinking from standing water, it references the [[The Marriage of Heaven and Hell#Proverbs of Hell|Proverb of Hell]] (from the aforementioned ''[[The Marriage of Heaven and Hell|Marriage]]''), "Expect poison from standing water". Thel's name is also a reference to Blake's ''[[The Book of Thel]]''.

The scenes with Thel culminating in the bedroom murder scene visually enact Blake's poem, "[[The Sick Rose]]": "O rose, thou art sick. / The invisible worm, / That flies in the night / In the howling storm: / Has found out thy bed / Of crimson joy: / And his dark secret love / Does thy life destroy." The film's [[Dead Man (soundtrack)|soundtrack album]] and promotional music video also features Depp reciting passages from Blake's poetry to music Neil Young composed for the film.

Although the film is set in the 19th century, Jarmusch included a number of references to 20th century [[American culture]]. Benmont Tench, the man at the campsite played by [[Jared Harris]], is named after [[Benmont Tench]], keyboardist for [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]]. Billy Bob Thornton's character, Big George Drakoulias, is named for record producer [[George Drakoulias]]. The name of Mitchum's character is a reference to rock producer [[Jim Dickinson]].

The marshals chasing Blake are named Lee Hazlewood and Marvin Throne-berry, after [[Lee Hazlewood]] and [[Marv Throneberry]], and also an allusion to the American actor [[Lee Marvin]].<ref name="ccat.sas.upenn.edu">{{cite web |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/105/Rea2.html |title=Rea, Jarmusch Interview |access-date=June 22, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227233624/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/105/Rea2.html |archive-date=February 27, 2008 }}</ref> Nobody's name ("He Who Talks Loud, Saying Nothing") is a reference to the [[James Brown]] song "[[Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing]]".<ref name="ccat.sas.upenn.edu" /> Michael Wincott's character is shown in possession of a [[teddy bear]]. Also, when asked his name, Xebeche answers, "My name is Nobody." ''[[My Name Is Nobody]]'' was an Italian Western film from 1973 starring [[Henry Fonda]] and [[Terence Hill]], and the clever answer of [[Odysseus|Ulysses]] to [[Polyphemus]] when asked [[Outis|the same question]].