Digital Commons Network^™

The Voice Unbound : Mary Shelley's Vision Of Romanticism, Courtenay Noelle Smith

Master's Theses

Mary Shelley was propelled into fame while still a teenager because of her powerful and "gothic" novel Frankenstein. This novel and several facts about the author's personal life have kept her in the public eye since her death. Though Frankenstein has long been a subject of scholarship, Mary Shelley has been little studied directly in relation to the great literary movement, Romanticism, in which she participated Romantic literature is pervaded by numerous political and aesthetic tensions, in particular the paradox of the ideals of genius and fellowship. In many of the Romantic works readers and scholars will find that the …

Shakespeare And Astrology, William Bruce Smith

Master's Theses

The popular ity of astrology in Elizabethan England is ref lected by the large number of references to it in the works of William Shakespeare. The majority of astrological references in the Shakespearean canon are "commonplaces" and do not add signif icantly to our understanding of his work, although they are of interest in studying exactly how much astrological knowledge he possessed. There are astrological references in the plays, however, that are of significance in the study of character in Shakespeare. In certain plays (Romeo and Juliet, The Winter' s Tale) a judgement concerning various individuals ' inner nobility may …

An American Myth : James Dickey's "The Zodiac", Arthur Gordon Van Ness

Master's Theses

In the brief explanatory preface of "The Zodiac" Dickey says: "Its twelve sections are the story of a drunken and perhaps dying Dutch poet who returns to his home in Amsterdam after years of travel and tries desperately to relate himself, by means of stars, to the universe." The question immediately arises as to how a Dutch poet, and particularly one living in the Old World city of Amsterdam, relates to an American myth. What, in other words, does a Dutchman returning to his home in Holland nave to do with the New World?

Meredith's Women In Time : Diana Merion And Clara Middleton, Dana Sims Brewer

Master's Theses

In The Egoist and Diana of the Crossways, George Meredith joins the ranks of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill in a slowly evolving cultural crusade to gain self respect, dignity, and independence for Victorian women.

The Post-Postmodern Aesthetics Of John Fowles, Claiborne Johnson Cordle

Master's Theses

Because a thesis is by definition a proposi­ tion to be argued, I feel some obigation to make strong assertion--either John Fowles is a post­ modernist writer, or John Fowles is not a postmodernist writer. What is immediately "problematic" about such an either/or proposition is that each side can be argued convincingly by a careful process of selection of examples to support the prospective cases (and omission of those which refute them). I cannot easily dismiss the wisdom of Northrop Frye's statement that, "They think of ideas as weapons; they seek the irrefutable argument, which keeps eluding them because all …

A Kierkegaardian Reading Of Three Novels By Faulkner, Francine Marilyn Hall

Master's Theses

William Faulkner and S¢ren Kierkegaard, although separated in time by almost a century, possess a common concern: both are deeply interested in the numerous ways in which individuals live out their lives in either hope or despair. Exploring the avenues which might alleviate this despair and providing a basis for hope are tasks both authors have accepted as theirs.

This paper relates three novels by Faulkner to the stages of existence set forth by Kierkegaard in much of his philosophical writing. I intend to show that Faulk­ ner's characters serve as illustrations of different ways in which an individual may …

Meaning And Method : A Comparative Study Of Edmund Husserl And Ezra Pound, Jesse N. Mayo Jr

Master's Theses

In his essay entitled "Phenomenology of Heading" Georges Poulet explains how a "reading" is possible"

The universe of fiction is infinitely more elastic than the world of objective reality. It lends itself to any use; it yields with little resistance to the importunities of the mind. Moreover - and of all the benefits I find this the most appealing - this interior universe constituted by language does not seem radically opposed to the me who thinks it.... In short, since everything has become part of my mind, thanks to the intervention of language, the opposition between the subject and its …

The Females Within The Design/Debris Motif In Three Novels By John Hawkes, Evelyn Carol Sweet

Master's Theses

John Hawkes, according to Tony Tanner, is perhaps the most "disturbing" contemporary American writer. Many people would agree with this commentary on Hawkes, a man whose work has moved from the surreal in The Cannibal (1949) toward the more realistic, a movement predicted by Albert Guerard in his introduction to The Cannibal. As this movement away from the surreal has occurred, then why does Tanner find Hawkes' "disturbing" in a review of his most recent novel, Travesty? Perhaps because this movement was not from the surreal to the realistic as we generally use the term, but rather a movement from …

Antithesis And Reconciliation In W. B. Yeats' "Under Ben Bulben", Cary Albert Mcbean

Master's Theses

An investigation of the life and writings of William Butler Yeats reveals a man extremely sensitive to antithesis in human experience. This sensitivity, it is seen, greatly influenced the course of his life, inciting him to seek harmony or reconciliation of the perceived antithesis. As one would expect, Yeats' writings reflect this life struggle. Much of his prose is colored by expressions such as "contraries," "antinomies," or "consciousness is conflict," while the poetry often deals with the course between "extremities" or "eternities." A study of his works is, to an extent, necessarily a study of opposition and reconciliation.

A Certain Solid Ground : The Mary-Martha Motif In The Fiction Of Katherine Anne Porter, Rosemary Mulvaney Dietrick

Master's Theses

She had spent years of strategic warfare trying to beat those people out of her life; then more years trying to ignore them; to forget them; to hate them; and in the end she loved them as she knew well she was meant in simple nature to do, and acknowledged it; it brought her no peace, and yet it put a certain solid ground under her feet.

The preceding passage from Katherine Anne Porter 's Ship of Fools reveals the rebellious thoughts of a young American artist named Jenny, an almost autobiographical heroine, who inveighs against the pragmatic women in …

Goe, And Finde A Mistris : The Concepts Of Woman In The Poetry Of John Donne: The Elegies, The Anniversaires, The Songs And Sonets, Leanne Wade Beorn

Master's Theses

This study of the concepts of woman in the poems, combined with an analysis of the poems' internal structure and content in relation to the literary background, seems to me to be a most profitable approach to the whole of Donne's love poetry. By focusing on the concepts of woman I shall provide a common basis for comparison, since woman figures in all of the poems but one. By summarizing the characteristics of the major literary traditions about love operative in Donne's time, I shall provide information which is essential to understanding the diversity of attitudes in the poems. And …

The Destructive Messiah : A Study Of Henrik Ibsen's Search For Truth As Portrayed By Rebel Heroes In Brand, An Enemy Of The People, And The Wild Duck, Susan Taylor Soyars

Master's Theses

Having read Henrik Ibsen's major plays, I became interested in his treatment of truth. Brand, Doctor Stockman, and Gregers Werle all represented varied degrees of the truth, each embodying Ibsen's own ideas. It is specifically Gregers Werle' s treatment of the truth that resulted in the conclusions found in this paper.

As Ibsen explored his personal convictions about the truth, a new type of rebel hero began to emerge, a destructive savior. Through this messiah, a Christ-like figure, Ibsen allows the truth to be exploited, which brings about complete destruction to communities,families, and friends.

Biographical material has been deleted. By …

Patterns Of The Negative Epic Quest And Three Modern Novels By Andre Gide, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, And Malcolm Lowry, John Robert Greer

Master's Theses

Many critics have approached the subject of modern epic, but like E. M. W. Tillyard, they dismiss "eccentric" literature from consideration on the claim that the execution of epic requires "balance" and "objectivity." It seems unfortunate to dismiss works that--while remaining essentially negativistic and subjective in their impact-uniquely capture the spirit of their milieu and refract in a singular way a "choric" effect (to borrow Tillyard's term); that is, "the unconscious metaphysic of a group." To accommodate the inverted comparison between epic and certain individuated works by modern authors, I here attempt to define a form I call the "negative …

Characters As Functions Of Landscape In Seven Poems By Lawrence Durrell, Richard King Leroy

Master's Theses

No single theory explaining the creative process has won the assent of writers and critics. Most scholars agree that the process has sub-conscious origins and that it concludes only when the last revisions reveal the entire finished composition. However, the act of creation is de- pendent upon numerous aesthetic factors, and artists have given credit to various stimuli which have produced their special inspiration.

An Interpretation Of Ecstasy As Found In The Poetry Of Emily Dickinson, Thomas B. Mccary

Master's Theses

Emily Dickinson was indeed used to grief, as the record of her life clearly indicates. She was disappointed in love and and disappointed in her efforts to achieve literary fame. Yet there was moments of happiness and even ecstasy in Emily Dickinson's life. The purpose of this thesis is to examine those moments of ecstatic elevation--the "Soul's Superior instants" as Emily called them--in order to achieve a better insight into the mind of the poet and the nature of often curious verse.

An examination of ecstasy requires a study of Emily's religious background her psychological make-up. It also behooves the …

"Mercy Seasons Justice", Robert Freeman Davidson

Master's Theses

This is a study of the development of the mind of William Shakespeare as it relates to justice which tries to show how certain of Shakespeare's beliefs and theories, those shared by most of his con­ temporaries, were altered in the course of that development. The plays chosen for this treatment of the mind of Shakespeare -- the historically related cycle of Richard II, Henry IV (I and II), Henry V, Henry VI (I, II, and III), and Richard III -- show the ideas in question in greater abundance than any other of Shakespeare's plays. The historical grouping consists …

Myths And Legends In The Stories Of Eudora Welty, Robert Keith Brower

Master's Theses

Wright Morris suggests that in The Territory Ahead that the American writer's imagination has been crippled by the nostalgia that drives it to a preoccupation with the mythic past. Like any other generalization, there are several glaring exceptions to this statement, and one of the most obvious of these exceptions ca be found in the case of Eudora Welty. Miss Welty has continually exhibited a great knowledge of mythology and American folklore, and has utilized this knowledge extensively in her stories. However, it is safe to say that rather than being crippled, Miss Welty's imagination has been greatly enhanced and …

The Protagonists Of John Updike, Charles Monroe Cock

Master's Theses

My purpose in this paper is to show that the protagonists of Updike can be categorized into groups and that these protagonists are as real for me as they are for Updike. It is because of these protagonists that the works of Updike will live for many years to come.

Sherwood Anderson : An Experiment In Journalism, Carol Senell Ware

Master's Theses

James Schevill in his Sherwood Anderson His Life and Work describes Anderson's plunge into journalism as "an episode unique in American newspaper history, the first time a mature writer of important stature had been completely responsible for the contents of two country papers." Although it ha s bee n generally acknowledged that Anderson's journalistic experiments are unique and make a significant contribution to the history of American journalism, these areas have never been analyzed in any detail by students of his work. This thesis will explore in depth the nature of Anderson's journalistic experiments and evaluate his achievement in the …

The Comic Vision Of Samuel Beckett, James Ambrose Walsh

Master's Theses

The twin poles of eating and excreting which he mentions point up Beckett's preoccupation with the physical over the spiritual, an interest which stands as a clue to tho understanding of his comic vision, the one element which remains constant and at the heart of his writing throughout bis career. At the center of this interest is a theory of comedy best investigated through his relationship to Henri Bergson, the French philosopher and author of Laughter, a theory of the comic. Though there is no concrete evidence of any direct influence on Beckett from Bergson, the incredible similarities in their …

Images Of Creation And Destruction In The Early Poetry Of Dylan Thomas, Willard Liston Rudd

Master's Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine the two major categories into which Dylan Thomas' images seem to fall: images associated with creation and images associated with destruction.

James Branch Cabell : Laughing Existentialist, George R. Hazelton

Master's Theses

In the history of American literature, there have been numerous authors whose popularity and critical acclaim were long in coming often delayed long past their deaths. Melville, for example, comes immediately to mind. Others have enjoyed a brief notoriety and have then slipped into oblivion for years until their "rediscovery."

One of the prime vehicles for renewed interest in ignored American authors has been the critical consideration of American humorous literature that has flowered during the 1940's, 50's and the 60's, This criticism, given impetus by Walter Blair's Native American Humor (1937)has made Seba Smith, Edgar Wilson Nye, and Finley …

The Thematic Relationship Of Laurence Sterne To David Herbert Lawrence, Frederick Thornett Hardy

Master's Theses

Among the pioneer novelists of the eighteenth century, Laurence Sterne stands out as an unexplained curiosity. In many ways the most modern of the early novelists, he is regarded as the first stream-of-consciousness author, and thus the forerunner of the most significant school in today's fiction. Sterne constructed his original style from ideas derived from the seventeenth century philosopher, John Locke, in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding. A less obvious but equally defendable fact is that this philosophical work provided Sterne with a thematic as well as stylistic bridge into the twentieth century. The clearest illustration of this relationship is …

An Examination Of The Influence Of August Strindberg Upon Eugene O'Neill, Mary Emily Parsons Edwards

Master's Theses

Eugene O'Neill made no effort to hide the names of those writers and literary works which were important to him, and most of his biographers cite the fact that from the commencement of his playwrighting [sic] career O'Neill was influenced by the Swedish writer August Strindberg. O 'Neill himself was, in fact, one of the first to call attention to the kinship between his work and that of his "Master." In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he indicated that he was delighted to have an opportunity to discuss the debt Ameri­can drama owed to the modern drama of Europe, and, …

Ring Lardner As Dadaist, Buford Donald Fisher

Master's Theses

This thesis is not a history of Dada, nor does it attempt to trace any direct influences that Ring Lardner may have on current literature. What it does strive to achieve is proper understanding of one facet of Lardner's work.

During the period that the Dad ists were actively trying to establish a new order by destroying the old (and theoretically, Dada itself), Lardner was creating nonsense playlets . His critics, for the most part, could not comprehend his intentions, so this aspect of his work was relegated to obscurity.

Half a century later, Dada has become more relevant historically; …

Moral Basis In Fielding's Irony, Roger Paulson Hailes

Master's Theses

There rarely has been publishecl a book in any language which is lighter, brighter or more "mirthfully ironic" than Tom Jones . Yet, the modern emphasis on Fielding's serious concern for moral values tends to obscure the nature of his comedy. This comedy is an agent through which he shows his reader mankind's shortcomings. Specifically through the use of all types or irony, we are made to see the ridiculous nature of many of our actions as well as the necessary methods of correction.

Sherwood Anderson, Dramatist, Brenda H. Renalds

Master's Theses

Sherwood Anderson published only a few plays and, beside his lasting contributions to American literature (such as Winesburg, Ohio), these plays are of little literary value. To the student of Anderson, however, they are important not only because they reflect one of the many facts of Anderson's interest in literature but also because, near the end of his life, his dramatic attempts reflect concern for his literary career. Although his interest in the theater began early, he turned to the writing of plays later when suffered through long periods of time in which he could not crate the kind of …

The Individual And The Problem Of Self-Definition In Faulkner : Isolation And Gesture In Light In August, The Sound And The Fury, Absalom, Absalom!, And As I Lay Dying, Betty Jean Seymour

Master's Theses

Perhaps the primary task of the writer is the communication of that which is most significant in human experience. This paper has grown out of an interest in contemporary literature as an expression of this function. Literature, like other art forms, can appraise, analyze, reflect, and, sometimes, provide direction for, the plight of modern man.

Marlowe's Cosmology, William H. Caldwell

Master's Theses

A general study of Marlowe 's cosmology may by no means be original, for numerous critics have mentioned the subject in varying degrees; however, there is a wide disparity or opinion concerning the relative importance of the subject in relation to the playwright. This study is not exhaustive; it is significant, however, because it attempts to prove by means of biographical and historical backgrounds the idea that Mar­lowe had an intellect that was always "climbing after knowledge infin­ite."

In this study there are two obvious omissions: the plays Dido, Queen of Carthage, and The Massacre at Paris. …

Herbert's Household Imagery, Christina Hillquist Halsted

Master's Theses

The apparent simplicity of George Herbert's poetry has caused much comment and much misunderstanding of both the man and his poetry. The popular nineteenth-century picture of Herbert as the simple, tranquil country priest is being discarded, however, as twentieth-century scholars of metaphysical poetry re-exa mine both the works and life of George Herbert and find little simple about his life and a magnificent craftsmanship in his poetry.

Both the simplicity and the depth of Herbert's poetry lie in his imagery, in which concrete everyday objects and actions become high abstractions usually difficult to express. Of course, the presentation of abstractions …