English Language and Literature Commons^™

Journeys And Places: A Study Of The Poetry Of Edwin Muir, J. Brooks Bouson

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Dionysius The Areopagite On John Colet, Daniel T. Lochman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

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.

Anais Nin's Under A Glass Bell : From Interior Fatality To Psychological Motion, John Harty

Master's Theses

Most of the critic ism on Anais Nin has been an overview of her entire work. Under A Glass Bell is included but, to my knowledge, no one has explored each individual story deeply enough since Nin herself recommends Under A Glass Bell as the book to begin with when reading or studying her works. Ibelieve that her recommendation is correct because Under A Glass Bell contains the nucleus of themes which she conc entrates on in all of her works, including the Diaries.

Through Love To Death : The Structure Of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's The House Of Life, Michael Dennis Hughs

Master's Theses

This study offers an explanation of the structure of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's The House of Life. It does not attempt to elevate Rossetti to a new position of pre-eminence among the Victorians or to make extravagant claims for h1s genius. What it tries to provide is a descriptive analysis or the poems taken together as a unit of meaning. No effort has been made to deal adequately with Rossetti's biography nor his output in the realm of painting. While these matters certainly have an important place in Rossetti studies, there is also a place for an intensive study of the …

An Analysis Of Form And Vision In Chekhov's Major Plays, Mary Moylan Oppenheimer

Master's Theses

In his art Chekhov confronted and gave expression to the major questions of man's existence. It is the thesis of this paper that Chekhov saw the central fact and problem of life as that of displacement: that in life man frequently finds himself "out of place" either psychologically or physically (sometimes both) and that inevitably he is completely displaced by death.

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 …

Images Of Despair And Hope In Three Plays By Jean-Paul Sartre, Philip Lewis Preston

Master's Theses

Jean-Paul Sartre has altered his outlook on life and his intellectual involvement in society several times during the last forty-five years, and further changes are certainly possible. Nevertheless, through his pro-communist stance during the years of French Occupation, his denouncement of the Communists after the 1956 Hungarian revolt, and his more recent position of anti-intellectualism, Sartre has endeavored to define how a man can achieve freedom and hope.

The Moral Of Ulysses, Charles Carlyle Cosby

Master's Theses

Many critics are confused about the total meaning of James Joyce's Ulysses. David Daiches in The Novel and the Modern World states that "critics can acclaim the style, the organisation, the complexity, the insight, the ingenuity, and many other separate aspects of the work, but what are they to say of the whole?" Daiches is obviously among those critics who pass Ulysses off as art for art 's sake. On the other hand, William M. Schutte points out that critics who have a good deal to say about Ulysses as a whole are unfortunately saying the wrong things. These critics …

Shakespeare's Treatment Of Love : The Mature Tragedies, Albert E. Clark

Master's Theses

The machinery of criticism has been extensively applied to those plays in the Shakespeare canon often referred to as the mature tragediess Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Antony and Cleopatra, One seeking enlightenment in veritably any area of interest will find the means in the varied approaches which have proliferated through four hundred years of Shakespeare criticism. New and valid interpretations testify to a continuing need for insight into Shakespeare's arts nevertheless,. the word "supererogatory" must surely have occurred to even the moat resilient seeker after Shakespearean truth. A spate of learned articles and scholarly tomes inundate, and the burden is …

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 …

Reconstructing Shabazz : Images Of The Black Man In Four Black Plays, Joyce Wise

Master's Theses

It has been conjectured that, if art follows life, the black theatre is a case in point. Critic-playwright Lindsay Patterson has stated that all of black literature is more or less consciously preoccupied with precisely pinpointing and defining the specific moment when a black man discovers he is a "nigger" and begins the "long, uphill climb to bring psychological order out of chaos."

"It is an elusive, complex moment, with complex reactions, and can occur at four or forty, and its pursuit, I believe, will continue to occupy serious black writers for decades to come."

Thus, dramatizing the black experience …

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 …

Milton's Eve : A Comparison With Eve In The Major Analogues Preceding Paradise Lost, Charlene Dellinger Wheeler

Master's Theses

Milton's character of Eve in Paradise Lost has been interpreted by critics as both the vehicle for Milton's abuse of women, and the example of Milton's favoritism towards them. The great variety of interpretations of the same character seems to be the result of not considering Milton's Eve as a combination of qualities gathered from both the Biblical and literary traditions and influenced by Milton's theological beliefs and his intentions for Paradise Lost. By comparing Milton's Eve with her major predecessors, this thesis will interpret Milton's characterization according to the literary history of the character, and show how Milton's particular …

Sherwood Anderson, Christopher Sergel, And Winesburg, Ohio, Frank Stoddert Johns

Master's Theses

In 1936, Sherwood Anderson read a stage version of Winesburg, Ohio to his friends Roger and Christopher Sergel. For Anderson the play marked the culmination of his efforts at playwriting. He had adapted his finest collection of stories for the stage, and it would now be the responsibility of the theatre and particularly of his producer, Jasper Deeter, to see that the play succeeded. Deeter produced the play at the Hedgerow Theatre in 1937. Anderson had no doubts concerning the merits of his play.

For Christopher Sergel, however, Sherwood Anderson's reading was only a beginning. Anderson's masterpiece, he felt, had …

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 …

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 …

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.

"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 …

An Orientation Of The Theoretical Aspects Of Verbs In English, Mostafa Hedayatnia

Master's Theses

Traditional grammar originated in Greece in the fifth century B.C. and has been closely connected with philosophy and literary criticism ever since. Through the course of centuries, numerous grammars have been presented, with new ideas and definitions each "varying greatly in purpose, quality, basic assumption, and method of analysis." Each system of grammar has been productive in its own way as well as erroneous and has been succeeded by other systems still faulty. Consequently, in spite of the tremendous amount of theoretical data processed by investigators and experts, neither an explicit nor a complete grammar of a language has ever …

Chaucer's Criseyde : The Pressures Of The Courtly Love Code, Betty Ann Jaffee

Master's Theses

When Chaucer wrote the poem Troilus and Criseyde, he created a heroine who stands out from other romantic med­ ieval heroines such as Guinevere and Ysolt. He created a heroine of such complexities that critics have debated her motives endlessly and have explored the psychology of her emotions with every literary tool at their command. He created a heroirie whose sin was so damning that it inspired Robert Henryson to provide for her what he considered a fit­ ting punishment; and it inspired Shakespeare to try to salvage the wreck left by Henryson to create his masterful play.

It is …

Determinism And Freedom Of Choice Operating Through Five Experiences In Psychological Development In The Lives Of Three Of George Eliot's Heroines, Elisabeth Even Sale

Master's Theses

George Eliot's world is a deterministic world. She believed that circumstances and conventions imposed by society control events in an individual life; nevertheless, in the inevitable conflicts between inner desire and outer reality, the individual is responsible for his own choices and the acts which they direct. Furthermore, only in a deterministic world are intelligent, moral choices possible. The explanation or this seeming paradox lies in education or the individual by experience to learn to make satisfying choices and to develop a strong will. Through experience, the individual learns both the hazards of the selfish choice and also the lasting …

To Revitalize The Flaccid Garden : A Study Of Milton's Paradise Regained, Daniel Clyde Bartges

Master's Theses

By 1654, Milton had partaken of misery, neglect, frustration, poverty; temptation, and disillusionment, as do all men; and it was his hope to "justify" (actually to "explain" since, to Milton, God's "ways" do not lend themselves to mortal justification) these plights to his fellow man. He shared the troublesome question of the Puritans: why is there evil in a world created by a beneficent God? A sincere Christian, he hoped to find a solution to this religious embarrassment through Biblical interpretation and subsequent enlightenment.

It is my belief that Paradise Regained constitutes Milton's most concentrated effort toward solving this baffling …

The Glasgow Paradox : A Study Of Ellen Glasgow's Sad Ladies, Frank Alexander Lovelock

Master's Theses

This study intends to examine the career of Ellen Glasgow to determine how her personal philosophy is re­ flected in her work--and more especially in the characters of her long-suffering heroines (the sad ladies). It is hoped that the reader will come to understand how Glasgow moved from an initial phase of hope, through a period of pain and sorrow, and into a final time of despair .

For the purpose of this study, special emphasis has been placed. on the importance of the novels which were written after 1900. It is these novels that have come to be considered …

Irony In The Book Of Job And Three Modern Adaptations : J.B., A Masque Of Reason, And "A Job Of The Plains", Becky Bartholomew Hawkins

Master's Theses

The basic format of my thesis will include six chapters beginning with a general discussion of irony, emphasizing the specific ironies noted throughout the thesis. The next four chapters will deal with the ironies in Job, J.B., A Masque of Reason, and "A Job of the Plains." Finally, there Will be a closing chapter which will include a summary and concluding remarks.

Chaucer's Knight's Tale : A Symbolic Reading, Naomi Pasquine

Master's Theses

Chaucer's Knight Tale has called forth much critical comment. Individual lines have been commented upon, characters have been analysed and the resolution of the poem has been discussed. Critics have offered suggestions as to the poem's meaning, but an interpretation that encompasses all aspects of the poem and gives the reader the feeling that all the poetic elements of the poem have been resolved into that interpretation has not been presented. What the reader is looking for is an interpretation that will give the poem what we call today a sense of its own being or an existence of its …

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 Symbolist And Decadent Elements In The Lyrical Dramas Of Oscar Wilde, Nancy G. Nuckols

Master's Theses

The terms decadence, aestheticism, art for art's sake have been used interchangeably to describe the movement in literature that flowered during the 1890's in England. Despite the fact that the English aesthetics and decadents were a relatively small group, they were vocal and colorful. Many contributed to the numerous aesthetic and semi-aesthetic periodicals with such titles as The Chamelion, The Butter, The Rose Leaf, and The Hobby Horse. In this way the decadents presented the new trends in art and literature to the general public. In London during the 1890's the literacy taverns were full of these decadent artists who …

Mrs. Gaskell's Industrial Novels: Mary Barton And North And South, Yvette D. Marambaud

Master's Theses

Since 1910, when Mrs. Gaskell's centenary was celebrated, few articles have been written about her. Except for her Life of Charlotte Bronte, she is not really well known in America. Few people read her tales or her short stories, and her novels are quite neglected. Yet her industrial novels, Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1855), were very successful when they were first published. Mary Barton was an immediate success - perhaps in part because of the controversies it aroused.

Existentialism As Reflected In The Imagery Of William Styron's Work, Sally Yates Wood

Master's Theses

In Lie Down in Darkness, The Long March and Set This House on Fire. William Styron studies the modern condition of man and his world. Styron describes this situation according to an existential definition of existence. The world of his novels is depicted as a lonely and bleak realm where man finds no external means of support. As a result of these conditions, man flounders aimlessly. The reason for this erratic behavior is that man relies too heavily on finding guidance from the outside world. Styron contends that man will continue to stumble so miserably, until he realizes that he …