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Washington Irving: Artist Of The Picturesque, Dana Dewey Woody

Master's Theses

Living in the period of romanticism in art and literature, Irving reflects the spirit and taste of the times. His choice of subject matter and his attitude toward it were romantic. He wrote about things that were old, unusual and strange-Spanish castles, English churches and manor houses, Hudson River area legends and traditions. He found nature delightful and was sympathetic toward humble creatures, such as the noble savage and animals.

Art of the romantic period pleased without disturbing and pictured common human situations, painted sentimentally and with a touch of humor. The beauty of primeval nature was painted with tenderness …

Shakespeare's Use Of Letters In Twelve Representative Plays, Clara Beery Mcilwraith

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study of Shakespeare's use of letters is twofold. First, representative plays will be examined to determine some of the ways in which letters contributed to such important elements as plot structure, character delineation, creation of atmosphere, heightening of suspense, or a combination of two or more of these and possibly other uses. In addition, the letters will be studied for the evidence they may furnish in themselves, of the development of Shakespeare's dramatic technique and artistry.

The Method In Beckett's Madness : A Critical Study Of Samuel Beckett's Drama, Robert Grattan

Master's Theses

This paper presents an argument for a better under­ standing of Samuel Beckett's drama, a type of drama which is typical of our modern world, a drama of experimenta tion, of revolt, and of paradoxes. This is the Theater of the Absurd.

Henrik Ibsen And Thomas Hardy : A Sociological Comparison, Garland Karr Linkous Jr.

Master's Theses

Although much has been written about the plays of Henrik Ibsen and the novels of Thomas Hardy, there have been no notable comparisons of the works of the two men, perhaps because they wrote in the two different media. Another possible explanation is the fact that Ibsen is universally regarded as the father of modern drama, but Hardy's status-whether he is the last Victorian novelist or the first modern one-is disputed. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate, by comparison, that Hardy should very definitely be classed with the modern, realistic writers.

The final Chapter of this paper …

Sir Gawain And The Green Knight And The Chivalric Ideal Of The Fourteenth Century, Nancy Lenz Harvey

Master's Theses

The fourteenth-century alliterative, metrical romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one or the most brilliant examples or medieval verso. In spite of persistent study, scholars have been unable to identify the poet, but the genius of the man is easily realized. The Gawain poet, as he must be called, combines brilliant realism with the fabulous, elements of the Christian ideal with pagan folklore, as the nuances of mood balance on the exactness of wording and description.

The following pages will attempt to show how the poet shaped his numerous resources to present a poem vital and alive with …