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Female Torture Poetry: Petrarchan Love And Carpe Diem, Luke C. Widlund

Theses and Dissertations

My MA thesis examines sixteenth and seventeeth-century lyric poetry by the male poets Sir Philip Sidney, John Donne, Thomas Carew, and Andrew Marvell. These poets make use of different lyric genres and forms, including Petrarchan sonnets and carpe diem arguments, to torture the purported female mistresses. A close examination of specific works, including Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella, Donne’s “The Apparition”, Carew’s “Song: Persuasion to Enjoy”, and Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” demonstrates that they all share a preoccupation with weaponizing poetry in their depiction of mistresses and female lovers in pain and punishment. Poetry functions as a tool for imposing …

A World Ruled By Unknowns: The Psychological Effects Of The Supernatural And Natural Worlds In Emily Brontë'S Wuthering Heights, Jordan Cymrot

Student Theses and Dissertations

Emily Brontë (1818-1848) wrote Wuthering Heights in 1847 at a point of collision between Romantic thought and Victorian ideals. Her novel exemplifies a developed and deliberate effort to represent a world ruled by forces out of one’s control, the most evident example of this being the supernatural force that overtakes the novel. In her precise focus on the language and natural landscape that bind this novel together, her characters emerge as representative of the psychological complexity produced by the coexistence of the mundane and the extraordinary. My thesis focuses on the effects of the natural landscape and the forces that …

Habituation And The Aesthetics Of Disenchantment In Proust’S Search Of Lost Time Vols. I-Ii, Hayley C. Nusbaum

Theses and Dissertations

Habit is a central theme for Proust. The rich discourse on habit died in the early twentieth century, and little has been written about habit in Proust since. Proust’s understanding of habit stems from the philosophical traditions of habit and memory; he reproduces these ideas to draw the crucial connection between habit and disenchantment.

The Unicorn As The Embodiment Of The Numinous In The Works Of Peter S. Beagle, Weronika Łaszkiewicz

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This article examines Peter S. Beagle’s depiction of unicorns in his two recent works, In Calabria (2017) and “My Son Heydari and the Karkadann” (2017), in order to demonstrate how these mythic creatures embody Rudolf Otto’s concept of the numinous (defined as mysterium tremendum et fascinans) and thus expand the unicorn imagery developed by the writer since his 1968 The Last Unicorn.

“Something Has Gone Crack”: New Perspectives On J.R.R. Tolkien In The Great War, Edited By Janet Brennan Croft And Annika Röttinger, James Prothero

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers And Her Oxford Circle Remade The World For Women By Mo Moulton, Barbara L. Prescott

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

Re-Envisioning Mythopoeia By Nancy-Lou Patterson, Edited By Emily E. Auger And Janet Brennan Croft, Kris Swank

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

No abstract provided.

The Object Of Affection: Metamorphosis And The Unbound Subject In Early Modern English Literature, Emily Barth

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This project explores examples of metamorphoses in early modern English literature, and argues that metamorphosis becomes a means of affective expression for characters who are otherwise constrained. The Ovidian assault on the firm distinction between subject and object tells us something about affective life in the early modern world – and perhaps especially, if not exclusively, the affective life of early modern women. My primary texts include Thomas Lodge’s Scillae’s Metamorphosis and William Shakespeare’s Rape of Lucrece; Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Book III Cantos 10-12, and Book IV through Canto 10; Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and John Lyly’s Woman in …

Se Dice Pelo Bueno: Black Affirmations In Contemporary Puerto Rican Literature, Amaryllis Lopez

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In recent years, the natural hair movement has demanded social, political, and cultural acceptance of Black hair on a global scale. Particularly in the Hispanophone Caribbean, the natural hair movement has been a tool to not only promote the acceptance of curly, kinky hair but to combat Latin America’s anti-Blackness. I have found that although Black hair in the Hispanophone Caribbean is constantly compared to textures found in nature such as wool and pajón, it has also been regarded as unnatural. My work has been largely inspired by the essay “Beyond blanqueamiento: black affirmation in contemporary Puerto Rico,” in which …

W. H. Auden’S Proto-Queer Theology Of 1939-1941, Aaron Bisson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

With the advent of queer theory in the early 1990s, critics have increasingly sought to “queer” texts; that is, seeking out demonstrations of identity that do not fit conventional norms of sex, gender, and sexuality. Given the historic persecution of homosexuals and other “deviants” in the twentieth century, W. H. Auden is an interesting case when viewed through this lens because his expansive career brims with homoerotic (and equally homosexual) undertones.

Amatonormativity, Aromanticism, And What Defines A Relationship, Rilee Granger

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Romance is seen in many aspects of western culture, from movies and tv, to songs and language, but beliefs about romance go beyond what is portrayed in the media. Portrayals of romance with the marriage plot in movies show the underlying belief that romance is a goal everyone is striving towards. This belief that all people are striving towards an exclusive, romantic coupling is called amatonormativity. Professor Elizabeth Brake coined the term amatonormativity and defines it as “the assumption that a central, exclusive, amorous relationship is normal for humans, in that it is a universally shared goal, and that such …

African American Vernacular English: A Language Necessarily Adorned, Christelle Lauture

Honors Program Theses and Projects

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has been spoken by African Americans for centuries but has only recently been acknowledged as a distinct dialect. It is often used in tandem with Standard English, through a concept referred to as code-switching. Although linguists have done substantial work to validate AAVE, there is an incomplete understanding of why the dialect developed, and, in particular, what functions the dialect serves for its speakers. In order to begin the work of discovering why AAVE developed the specific features it manifests, I synthesized other linguists’ observations into a taxonomy of five categories that account for most …

“Pen Is Envy”: Education, Feminine Sexuality, And Fruitfulness In Christina Rossetti’S “Goblin Market” And “An Apple Gathering” And Margaret Atwood’S The Handmaid’S Tale And The Testaments, Hannah White

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Victorian era was a time in which people were very much interested in morality and sinning, especially when it came to women’s sexuality. It was also time in which conversations about women and education often linked women to their bodies—even medical doctors during this era spoke of the dangerous consequences education might have on a woman’s reproductive capabilities. While men’s sexual transgressions were often viewed as a natural result of their being in the public sphere, women were expected to be the pure and domestic moral compass there to guide men that could not help but sin because of …

European Imperialist Violence And Feminine Influence In Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness, Katlyn S. Davenport

English Department Theses

This thesis explores themes of influence and resistance to imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. To contextualize the feminine control and resistance of imperialism and colonialism, the thesis first examines Marlow’s and Kurt’s roles as agents and representatives of the Company, and thereby reveals their complicity in the brutalities carried out against the native people of the Congo. Additionally, it compares the vivid descriptions of violence inherent in imperialist domination with the vaguer characterization of violence among the tribespeople. Finally, by examining relationships between male and female characters as well as the ideals of the Anglo/American New Woman, this …

Another Likable Serial Killer: Fans' Representation Of "You"'S Joe Goldberg Through Memes, Carlisle Lynch

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

America is no stranger to likable serial killers in the media and Netflix's "You" with its protagonist Joe Goldberg is an example of this trope. Fans are taking to Twitter and TikTok to share their opinions about their new favorite serial killer, and the opinions are similar. The purpose of this research is to discover what the limited ideas on Twitter and TikTok reveal about how fans view Joe. Scholarly research shows that social media platforms have shifted fans from observers to participants, with the ability to create and share their own content across the Internet. The snowball effect that …

Super Heroes V Scorsese: A Marxist Reading Of Alienation And The Political Unconscious In Blockbuster Superhero Film, David Eltz

Kutztown University Masters Theses

As superhero blockbusters continue to dominate the theatrical landscape, critical detractors of the genre have grown in number and authority. The most influential among them, Martin Scorsese, has been quoted as referring to Marvel films as “theme parks” rather than “cinema” (his own term for auteur film). Despite this, these films often possess considerably challenging views in regards to social justice, and continue to interface with the pervading theme of alienation in increasingly abstract and progressive ways.

This thesis considers four films (1978’s Superman, 2000’s X-Men, 2013’s Captain America: Winter Soldier, and 2018’s Black Panther) from a Marxist perspective, viewing …

User Experience As A Rhetorical Medium: User At The Intersection Of Audience, Reader And Actor, Áine Doyle

English Honors Theses

The goal of this project is to demonstrate how digital interfaces are bodies of visual language that can be “close-read” and interpreted critically, just like any other traditional text; digital user interfaces, like poetry and novels, have form and content that complement and shape the meaning and interpretation of the other. It is meant to encourage academic discussions about digital interfaces to go beyond whether social media is “good” or “bad” to how digital interfaces are structured, why they are structured the way they are, and what effects these structures have on the way they communicate information and content to …

Septimus Smith Had To Die: An Examination Of Virginia Woolf’S Frustration With The Mental Health System After Wwi, Mackenzie K. Mccotter

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In 1922, Virginia Woolf began writing Mrs. Dalloway as reports of shell shocked soldiers began coming out. Treatments were being created and doctors were putting those treatments into practice at the same time. Woolf was armed with her own experiences in the area of treatments for mental health and created Septimus Smith to display how wrong the contemporary treatments are for those struggling with their mental health. Septimus’ doctors, Dr. Holmes and Sir William Bradshaw, were examples of the way doctors ignored the trauma many patients were processing after coming back from the war. By creating these characters and having …

More Than A Language: A Detailed Look At The English Major, Hannah Woods

Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the perceptions of the English Major in order to come up with suggestions for the Univeristy of Mississippi English Department with the purpose of increasing enrollment in the English Program. The last decade has seen a large decrease in the number of English Majors throughout the country, and this decrease has been reflected in the University of Mississippi. This thesis looks at recent opinions of the English Major in society, including popular criticisms of the major and responces from the English community. It was found that the two main criticisms of the English Major are that graduates …

Iron Manicures: Sex, Power, And Sedition In Margaret Atwood's Writing, Anna Zarra Aldrich

Honors Scholar Theses

Margaret Atwood has often been criticized as a bad feminist writer for featuring villainous, cruel women. Atwood has combatted this criticism by pointing out that evil women exist in life, so they should in literature as well. Every story requires a villain and a victim, for Atwood these roles are both usually played by women. This thesis will explore the idea of the woman as spectacle in both behavior and body. Women are controlled by the idea that they must care. When they stop caring, they become a threat. At the heart of Atwood’s writing are the relationships between women …

Lord Of The Beasts: Animal Archetypes In C.S. Lewis, Nancy-Lou Patterson

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

Explores Lewis’s use of talking animals in the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy (and even his childhood writings about “clothed animals”). Traces the use of animals in religious and spiritual imagery from prehistoric times through pagan religions and fairy tales and discusses critical theories of Jung, Eliade, and other writers. Finds a parallel between a passage from Carlos Casteneda’s Teachings of Don Juanand Aslan’s post-resurrection romp with Lucy and Susan.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Narnia And The Seven Deadly Sins, David Hulan

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

Theorizes that each book in the Chronicles is centrally concerned with one of the medieval Seven Deadly Sins; that in each book, a character commits one of these sins, and generally no other sins are foregrounded in that volume. The author’s theory equates LWW with gluttony, PC with Envy, VDT with Avarice, SC with Sloth, HHB with Lechery, MN with Pride, and LBwith Anger. The author feels this was not planned as a major structural theme but was mainl y coincidental.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Lilith In Narnia, Glen Goodknight

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

After examining the history of the figure of Lilith in Judeo-Christian myth, Jungian psychology, and Western literature, this paper discusses the three major Lilith-characters in the Narnia series—the White Witch, the Lady of the Green Kirtle, and Jadis, Queen of Charn.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

The Rise Of Totalitarianism, Colonial Mimicry, And Gender And Sexuality In The Twentieth Century English Literature, Shahin Hossain

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

In this portfolio, Shahin Hossain provides an alternative reading of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, and Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable.

Lost Voices: William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, And The Nature Of History, Luke Hardin

Undergraduate Theses

The novels of William Faulkner and Toni Morrison are nothing if not haunted. Though the authors themselves remain, in many ways, diametrically opposed, their works remain inextricably entangled due to the looming specter of history that hangs over their pages. Perhaps more-so than any other writers in the 20th Century, these two towering figures of American fiction took seriously the task of unpacking the migrainous burden of history. Read together, they offer differing perspectives on the nature of writing one's own past, and how this is informed by race and class. Specifically, Faulkner's novel Absalom, Absalom! has long been regarded …

Ma Final Portfolio, Jessica Puder

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio features a revised syllabus for an online writing course, job application packet, and two researched papers.

“Well, I’Ve Whispered ‘Racism’ In A Post-Racial World”: Satire And The Absurdity Of “Post-Racial” America, Joseph Gorman

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this thesis project is to look at the works of contemporary African American satirists as they confront post-racial ideology. In looking at the works of Jordan Peele, Paul Beatty, Mat Johnson, and Boots Riley, thematic threads emerge to form a portrait of dire unrest amongst those non-white identities living in an allegedly post-racial world. Before analyzing the works, I first contextualize the thesis with a brief discussion of satire as a literary genre and African American satire as a literary subgenre, as well as address the emergence of post-racial ideology during the tenure of Barack Obama as …

Commensality And Connection: How Shared Food Experiences Connect Characters In Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials, The Book Of Dust And ‘Lyra’ Stories, Susan Anna Grace

Articles

Commensality is an inherently social activity that shapes society and enacts social dynamics. Consequently, these shared exchanges can reveal much about the society and the individuals who engage in the act. This thesis explores commensality in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, The Book of Dust Series and companion texts to the novels. The research investigates how commensal exchanges create and maintain connections between characters across the collection. In doing so, it considers how literary characters differ from real-life humans and how the existing body of knowledge on commensality can be applied to literary figures. A qualitative approach was …

Music And Infrasound In Horror Movies - How They Can Be Used To Enhance Horror Films, Isabella Sills

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The purpose of this project is to research and investigate the effect music and sound effects have on horror films, specifically, the natural phenomena known as infrasound will be explored in depth. Just outside our range of hearing at 20 Hz, infrasound may not be audible, but can still cause physical reactions such as anxiety, uneasiness, and extreme sorrow (Morrow, 2017). I am looking to create a horror comic in the form of a video that heavily relies on musical cues and the incorporation of infrasound to build up parts of the story told in the form of a comic. …

The Fallen Woman: An Exploration Of The Voiceless Women In Victorian England Through Three Plays Of Oscar Wilde, Marco Randazzo

English (MA) Theses

This essay establishes the Christian myth within Wilde’s three plays, calling attention to the gender politics that he fought against in the Victorian era. Through Salomé, A Woman of No Importance, and An Ideal Husband I will prove the Christological myth that each play adopts and establish Wilde’s ability to make the religion “transformational.” Wilde’s productions of characters like Salomé, Mrs. Allonby, Mrs. Arbuthnot, and Hester are examples of the “fallen woman” of Victorian England. The treatment of women by women will illuminate the passiveness of the Victorian Woman and their compliance with the patriarchal norm. This norm continues through …