Although its theme is universal rather than regional, both structurally and stylistically Lie Down in Darkness belongs to the Southern tradition. The novel's ornate diction owes much to Thomas Wolfe. Its use of interior monologue in Peyton's section recalls Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1929). The novel's composition, on the other hand, is heavily indebted to Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying (1930).

Critics have also pointed out that Milton's predicament and character resemble that of Dick Diver in Scott Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night (1934).