Classical Literature and Philology Commons^™

Deathly Erichtho As Vital To Lucan’S Bellum Ciuile, John Byron Young

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Lucan’s Bellum Ciuile has provided much difficulty for scholars in the identification of a hero, as none of the main characters of the epic, Caesar, Pompey, and Cato, fully become a hero. I argue that a minor character, Erichtho, the necromancer in book 6, is not only the hero, but also the supreme uates and reflection of the poet. Through her comparison with Scaeva in book 6 as well as Aeneas of Vergil’s Aeneid and her interactions with Sextus Pompey, her heroism becomes fully developed. She creates a corpse uates through her vatic powers and gains access into the Underworld …

A Poet's Request : Text And Subtext In Horace's Odes 1.1, Virginia C. Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As the first poem within Horace's original publication of Odes, Odes 1.1 embodies aspects of theme and style representative of the poet's approach to the genre of lyric poetry. The Odes of Horace allow various interpretations by the reader based on construction, vocabulary and imagery. This thesis explores Odes 1.1 in its entirety through such approaches and focuses on the text and subtext incorporated by the poet. The first chapter sets the foundation needed in order to begin a study of Horace's lyric poetry, detailing the genre as a whole, the life of the poet, as well as the contradiction …

The Postcolonial "Knight‘S Tale": A Social Commentary On Post-Norman Invasion England, Ruth M.E. Oldman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Every author injects a purpose into his or her works; in Chaucer‘s case, he scribed The Canterbury Tales, which tackles and successfully demonstrates various aspects to fourteenth century English society and culture. "The Knight‘s Tale" is no different; the tale is almost identical, plot-wise, to Giovanni Boccaccio‘s Teseida, and yet Chaucer weaves a tale that is distinctive. The tale reflects Chaucer‘s views on his society, in particular post-Norman attitudes. By examining the text with a post-colonial theoretical approach, Chaucer‘s "The Knight‘s Tale" is a subaltern commentary on the colonization of England after the Norman Conquest.

Ariadne As The Exemplum Of The Virtutes Of Heroes In Catullus Carmen 64, Chad P. Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In Carmen 64, Catullus establishes Ariadne as an exemplum of a new type of hero whose uirtutes are motivated by love rather than by the desire for glory that motivated traditional male epic heroes. Catullus utilizes the ecphrasis, a literary device which is traditionally a digression from the main narrative, to place Ariadne in this new heroic role. The first chapter reviews the past scholarship of Carmen 64. The second chapter examines how Catullus makes Ariadne the exemplum of this new type of hero while presenting a negative portrayal of Theseus. The third chapter discusses how the wedding of Peleus …

Body Parts And Their Epic Struggle In Ovid’S Amores, Leisa M. Muto

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis examines how body parts in Ovid’s Amores provide the location for an epic battle between the conflicting genres of Tragedy and Elegy. The first chapter summarizes past Ovidian scholarship. The second chapter examines how Ovid separates body parts of the amator and the puella in Amores 1.4 and 1.5 in order to deny the lovers complete unification. The third chapter expands the conclusion of the second by analyzing poems in Books 2 and 3, which contain a significant number of body parts, to determine how the amator’s interaction with the puella’s body parts reflects his lack of union …

Aesthetic Revolutionaries : Picasso And Joyce, Joy M. Doss

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Picasso’s Cubist works and Joyce’s Ulysses transcend tradition, merge time and space, and radicalize form. By accomplishing these feats, the two men become seminal embodiments of Modernism. This thesis examines the conceptual and formal qualities shared by Cubism and Ulysses. With particular attention given to changing concepts of space and time, similarities between the works are related to four characteristics generally attributed to Modernism: deviance from tradition, an emphasis on form, fragmentation, and appropriation of popular culture. The monumental effects of these works on society are examined in the conclusion. The legacy of these aesthetic revolutionaries is unavoidable and continues …

Coyote Tracks: Examining The Trickster In The Works Of Leslie Marmon Silko, Jeffrey A. Green

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current work is to extrapolate an understanding of the trickster figure as it is used in the literary works of Leslie Marmon Silko, a contemporary Laguna Pueblo author. Trickster analysis in Native American literature is primarily relegated to the study of traditional myths and stories, and only a few scholars approach the topic in contemporary Native American literature. Of those who do, none have chosen Silko’s works as the primary focus of their analysis. An examination of this type will contribute to and expand the existing literary criticism of Silko’s writings. Leslie Silko utilizes the traditional …

Christina Rossetti: Pre-Raphaelite Poet, Linda S. Baird

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Considered by her contemporaries to be one of Victorian England's greatest poets, the writings of Christina Rossetti clearly exemplify the work of a Pre-Raphaelite artist ("CR and the Visual Arts"). The publication in 1862 of Goblin Market and Other Poems represented the first literary success of the Pre-Raphaelites, although Christina herself was not a bona fide member ("CR's Literary Career"). Much speculation exists as to the reason that the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Several biographers/critics postulate that some of the members refused to allow her admittance because she was female; however, an actual letter from Gabriel suggests that she was asked, but …

Henry Iv, Part Two: A Modern Stage History, Calisa A. Pierce

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part Two has too often been neglected in comparison with its predecessor, Henry IV, Part One, or its successor, Henry V. In the latter half of the twentieth century, major productions of the drama have been performed only in conjunction with Part One1, and often with Henry V, Richard II, and other plays added in a Tillyardian cycle.

Although this trend has benefitted audiences who see the characters of Henry IV, Hal, and Falstaff develop over the course of several plays, it has tended to obscure one of the major themes of Part Two, that of …