English Language and Literature Commons^™

Bridging Fantasy And Identity Through Narrative, Washington C. Pearce

New Jersey English Journal

In this personal essay I explore the connection between fantastical literacy and a student's perception of their own identity. As we explore fantastical narrative worlds, we learn the vocabulary to describe our own lives and write our own life-stories.

Falling Stars, Veronica D. Gollihue

New Jersey English Journal

A reflection and reminder that learning begins when we foster deeper connections with our students. As teachers, we can use our students’ experiences to help find new ways of learning, bridge gaps, and create positive classroom environments.

The Crucible Of Marriage: Faith, Formation, And Spiritual Autonomy In Jane Eyre, Diana Pitsch

Masters Theses

This thesis treats marriage in Jane Eyre as the crucible of Jane's unique, experiential, and individually crafted faith. It examines marriage as the primary arena in which Jane's faith is shaped, tested, and, ultimately, fulfilled. Situated within Victorian Evangelical culture and restrictive gender ideology, the study examines how Jane’s spirituality is shaped through personal discernment rather than submission to institutional authority. Through close readings of Gateshead, Lowood, and Jane’s encounters with Rochester and St. John Rivers, the thesis demonstrates how Jane’s faith is tested against both passionate attachment and prescribed religious duty. Her refusal of both proposals reveals a developing …

A Tiny Battle: Conflict, Structure, And Satire In "The Rape Of The Lock", Helen R. Ball

The Confluence

Writing in London during the eighteenth-century, the poet Alexander Pope earned an enduring reputation in literary canon as a master of satire. His well-loved poem The Rape of the Lock exemplifies his biting wit and characteristically satirical heroic rhyme couplets. In my article, I use a formalist literary approach to examine Pope's stylistic, literary, and rhetorical strategies throughout the climactic third canto of the poem. Performing a close reading, this essay analyzes the intricacies of the poem through its use of diction, rhyme, and dramatic subject matter, ultimately arguing that Pope achieves a complex balance of satirizing and sympathizing with …

Navigating Kingship: Sea Power And Sovereignty In Gower's Confessio Amantis, Elizabeth D. Brissey

Accessus

This article examines John Gower’s Apollonius of Tyre in the Confessio Amantis through the lens of the blue humanities, giving special attention to the ways in which the tale treats the sovereign’s maritime domain as integral to the terrestrial. Apollonius depicts sovereignty over aquapelagic space, with the sea serving both as a channel of exchange and as a figurative medium through which sovereignty is negotiated. The crucial issue that aligns the Apollonius tale with the concept of English sovereignty lies in its vision of thalassocratic space in which kingship is grounded in sea power and the sea as a connecting …

Hoccleve Vs. Mowbray: Whose Book Is It?, Joyce Coleman

Accessus

Writing in 1994, Derek Pearsall suggested that, c. 1411-14, the future Henry V had commissioned Thomas Hoccleve to write The Regiment of Princes, and then to oversee the creation of copies to distribute among important courtiers, in “a concerted attempt ... to cement relationships with possibly doubtful friends” (Pearsall 1994: 396).

Ten years earlier, however, Kate Harris had proposed that the arms in the initials under the famous presentation image and on ff. 1 and 71 of London, BL Arundel 38 were all linked to John Mowbray, the future duke of Norfolk—not to the prince and to Thomas FitzAlan, earl …

Scriptor Latinus Morigeris -- Some Aspects Of Gower’S Latin Usage, Mark T. Riley

Accessus

This paper describes the distinctive characteristics of John Gower’s Latin as illustrated primarily by his Vox Clamantis, although his shorter Latin works are occasionally mentioned. Topics include Gower’s Latin education, his extensive Latin vocabulary and mythological references, the paragraphing of his poem, his procedures for using or adapting quotations, as well as his characteristic wordplay and punning. Further topics cover Gower’s medieval use of various verbs, pronouns, and conjunctions, with the accompanying grammatical structures, some of which may present difficulties for the translator. Also included is a section on the meter of the Vox Clamantis, with some notes on …

Preface, Georgiana Donavin, Eve Salisbury

Accessus

Preface for Accessus 9, no. 1.

Rhetorical Awareness And Vision In The Four Speeches Of Ellison’S Invisible Man, Asif Ibrahim

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates Ralph Ellison’s account of rhetoric’s role in establishing, disguising, and contesting racism in the early- and mid-twentieth-century United States. The thesis is structured around four pivotal public orations by the protagonist of Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man. Drawing on Ellison’s private letters and essays to further illuminate his concern for the relationship between speech, public engagement, and self-perception, I propose that Ellison’s novel dramatizes some ways that shifts in speech style, technique, and addressee enable intellectual development and political efficacy. Even techniques that initially appear self-sabotaging and “blind,” Ellison suggests, have the potential to develop into politically …

The Decadent Bible: Biblical Intertextuality In Flaubert’S Herodias And Wilde’S Salome, Shoshana Mintz

Theses and Dissertations

This paper argues that Gustave Flaubert’s Hérodias and Oscar Wilde’s Salomé incorporate biblical intertextuality throughout their work as a means to showcase Decadent technique and themes. Both authors weave direct quotations from biblical sources such as the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Revelation, and Acts into their texts, layering biblical passages with themes of excess, eroticism, and decay central to the Decadent movement. Drawing on Julia Kristeva’s theory of intertextuality, I show how these biblical fragments intersect with narrative voice to destabilize meaning and form a unique, new work of writing that intertwines their own words with biblical …

"The Very Milk And Sperm Of Kindness": Democratic Pleasures And Echoes Of Intimacy In Moby-Dick And Absalom, Absalom!, Nicholas Profeta

Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines homosocial relationships in Moby-Dick and Absalom, Absalom! to evaluate the ways male bonds have transformed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how these relationships comment on the strength and possibilities of American democracy. I argue that Melville’s novel presents a utopian vision of America defined by democratic bonds developed through labor and homoerotic intimacy that cut across racial lines and melt individual identities, while Faulkner’s novel reflects many of those imagined possibilities, only to see them wither away under the weight of racial divisions. Ishmael and the crew of the Pequod embrace this erasing of self, …

An Introduction To Oral Traditions And Poetry Of The Baloches, Emran Dorrazehi

English Dissertations - Archive

There is not much known about the history and literature of the Baloches besides the translation and transliteration of Mansel Longworth Dames. Dames while serving as an official in the region wrote a book, Popular Poetry of the Baloches (1907) in two volumes. Dames translated a series of oral poetry of his subjects. This dissertation utilized 13 poems from Dames’ transliterations and employed a compensatory, creative and restorative translation to recreate their earlier states.  It is the assertion of this dissertation that the poems given to Dames by minstrels were already heavily censored to reflect Islamic, Mongol and Mughal identities. …

Laila: A Doll Memoir Of 1947 Partition Of India And Pakistan, Maleeha Malik, Maleeha Fatima Malik

Children's Literature (MFA) Theses

This abstract examines a creative and critical work centered on the 1947 Partition of India, which displaced approximately fourteen million people and caused one million deaths. The narrative introduces Laila, an anthropomorphized doll who functions as both witness and archive, embodying the memories and traumas of multiple child survivors. Through Laila’s journey across India, Pakistan, and the diaspora, the text explores themes of identity, belonging, loss, and intergenerational memory.

Blending personal family history with historical analysis, the author situates Laila within lived experiences of migration, silence, and religious marginalization, particularly as part of the Ahmadi Muslim community. The narrative foregrounds …

Reconstructing The Medieval Palette: Making Paints And Inks Using Medieval Recipes, Cael Sinclair

Graduate Research Posters

When considering the medieval period, most people imagine brilliantly painted and gilded manuscripts but not many people actually imagine the labor behind making those manuscripts. Similarly, modern perception of a scribe tends to be a single, solitary person slaving away at the entire manuscript. Contrary to these beliefs, the process of producing a manuscript was a highly collaborative and, more importantly, highly documented process. Throughout the period, numerous treatises (or handbooks) were created documenting instructions and advice for making ink and paint, for drawing and painting, and everything in between. While it is possible for one to just read these …

The Monstrosity Of “Deor”: Apophasis In Character And Form, Ada Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

T. A. Shippey once referred to “Deor” as “that most perfect of Old English poems.” And indeed, the poem cannot help but inspire the reader to deep contemplation, even as it baffles scholars in so many ways. From its rare stanzaic structure to its anomalous refrain—“þæs ofer eode þisses swa mæg”—the elegy has inspired much debate within the scholarship. In fact, one of the few agreements among the scholars of “Deor” is the poem’s capacity to undermine all interpretations. The poem has the remarkable quality of mentioning many well-known legendary and historical figures while, at the same time, denying the …

Natureculture: Interdisciplinary Ecologies And Place-Based Writing For Student Success, Kerry Neville, Hedwig Fraunhofer

Academic Affairs

The NatureCulture collaborative study abroad course represents a central outcome of the Collaborative Research Grant and has undergone substantial conceptual, curricular, and pedagogical development. While finalization of a site-specific itinerary has been delayed due to unanticipated challenges in securing a stable and academically viable location, the collaborative course itself is fully designed and pedagogically complete. Grounded in interdisciplinary, team-taught instruction, the NatureCulture model integrates environmental humanities, creative writing, intercultural learning, and eco-pedagogy to foster place-based, experiential, and critically reflective learning. Within this framework, faculty have developed complementary courses that collectively serve students across multiple stages of the curriculum.

Dr. Neville’s …

Entry Nr. 487 Kossola, Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Robert Hanserd

500 African Voices

No abstract provided.

Children Past Curfew: Surveillance, Resistance, And Childhood In Philippine Martial Law Children's Literature, Krisna Marie T. Balolong

Children's Literature (MA) Theses

This paper examines how two Philippine children's books depict state surveillance and its effects on a child's perspective of family, authority figures, and childhood. Through analysis of Augie Rivera's Isang Harding Papel and Sandra Nicole Roldan's At the School Gate, this project makes a connection between children's literature and surveillance studies, offering new framework to engage with children’s literature depicting authoritarian regimes and state violence, especially in cases where children were targets of their governments. Each book is examined by their representations of state surveillance during the Martial Law era of the Philippines, as well as each characters’ individual …

Entry Nr. 134 Isaac Anderson, Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Robert Hanserd

500 African Voices

No abstract provided.

The Language Of Value: Lot Note Complexity And Auction Performance In Abstract Expressionism, Artur Sharifullin

MA Theses

This thesis asks a simple question: does the language in lot notes relate to price and to whether a lot beats or misses its estimate? I study eight Abstract Expressionist artists: Ad Reinhardt, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Robert Motherwell, and Sam Francis because their works are less representational and often need supporting text to explain the context. The main sample includes only lots sold for more than $1 million at Christie’s or Sotheby’s in New York or London over the past ten years. I measure a small set of writing features that are easy …

Syntax, Newsletter Of The Suffolk University English Department, Issue 16, Fall 2025, English Department

Syntax Newsletter of the Suffolk University English Department

No abstract provided.

A Kaleidoscope Of Sentiments, Emily Hartman

English Senior Capstone

This is a Creative Writing portfolio with many different genres and themes.

The Language Of The Eye: Affect In "North And South" And "Aurora Leigh", Gretl Holz

English Senior Capstone

This paper discusses how Elizabeth Barrett Browning in "Aurora Leigh" and Elizabeth Gaskell in "North and South use the eyes to express various character's emotions.

The Criterion Contributors

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editors

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Embodied Memory: Somatic Expressions Of Trauma In The Gathering, Caroline Kramer

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Coleridge’S Living Power: “The Eolian Harp”, Thomas Formichelli

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Truth In Fragments: Narrative Multiplicity In Gloria Naylor’S Mama Day, Lilly Patton

The Criterion

No abstract provided.

Looking Towards The Past And Future With Waiata: Māori Historical Traditions In Ka Eke Ki Wairaka, Nuala Reynolds

The Criterion

No abstract provided.