Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

Band Of Bastards: Rhetorical Parallels And National Memory In Shakespeare’S St. Crispin’S Day Speech, Patton’S Speech To The Third Army, And Olivier’S Henry V, Mitchell Ploskonka

Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

No abstract provided.

Skin As An Index To Moral Character In English Renaissance Tragedy, Uwe Klawitter

Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

No abstract provided.

A Case For Using The First Folio As Directing And Acting Text, Megan Burnett

Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Gabriel A. Rieger

Selected Papers of the Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference

No abstract provided.

Hobbits?...And What May They Be?, Michael Flowers

Journal of Tolkien Research

Hobbits…And what may they be? This study considers the possible origin of the word ‘hobbit’ on the eightieth anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Tolkien’s book - The Hobbit. It examines the most widely discussed supposed origin by contemporary commentators, and undermines its credibility. Instead, it foregrounds what was originally a medieval Welsh word widely used in agricultural circles, which Tolkien may have encountered in his youth. Proof that the word had a widespread use in a specific sector of the provincial Welsh press is amply demonstrated, and consideration is given to Tolkien’s childhood visit to …

Building Middle-Earth: An Exploration Into The Uses Of Architecture In The Works Of J. R. R. Tolkien, Johanna H. Brooke

Journal of Tolkien Research

Many aspects of Tolkien's Middle-earth have been the attention of scholarly interest since the boom of 'Tolkien studies' but an area that seems to be lacking in criticism, but is certainly full of detail and character in Tolkien's books, is architecture. This essay explores how important the creation of buildings and living spaces in Middle-earth is to the underlying messages of the tale and how the architecture of Middle-earth impacts the reader's journey.

This essay starts as we the reader does - in a hole - and explores the way that architecture is used to help explain hobbits, show their …

“The Lass Of Aughrim” – Love, Tragedy, And The Power Of The Past, Allie J. Kapus

The Kabod

The traditional Irish ballad “The Lass of Aughrim” appears in James Joyce’s short story “The Dead” and provides both significance to the unfolding of the story itself, as well as insight into the frailty of human relationships and the human condition. The song, while appearing only briefly in the story, is the point at which the story drastically shifts. “The Lass of Aughrim” is central to the development of Gretta Conroy as a character, to an understanding of the complexity of Gabriel and Gretta’s marriage, and to the tension present in the “The Dead” which allows the story to communicate …

It’S About The Journey: Lewis On Heroes And Personality In Out Of The Silent Planet, Jillianne L. Hook

The Kabod

In his novels, Lewis’s heroes come from humble beginnings and are shaped by circumstances until Lewis is satisfied with them; that is, until they reach their full potential. This draws on his belief that humans only attain true personality by surrendering their personalities to God, who then shapes them into true sons: “The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.”

Berth Of The Abergavenny, Richard Matlak

Texts relating to the Earl of Abergavenny (ship)

This essay serves as a brief introduction to the digital collection, Berth of the Abergavenny, by providing context for the historical and literary significance of the model East Indiaman, The Earl of Abergavenny, on display in Dinand Library at the College of the Holy Cross.

Intelligent Bodies And Embodied Minds: Reading Religious Performance In Middle English Writing From Syon Abbey, Nicholas Love, William Langland, And John Gower, Paul Holchak

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation argues for a new reading of the relationship that texts have to performance, bodies have to agency, and that social construction has to literary criticism as these matters relate to the study of religious practice in late medieval England. The project first asks what it meant to participate in religious practice in two, early fifteenth-century Middle English prose texts, The Myroure of Oure Ladye and The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ. The former work is a gloss of the Divine Service performed by the Brigittine sisters at Syon Abbey, and the latter consists of …

Romanticism And Christianity, Erin R. Toal

The Kabod

The fervency of Romantic notions sometimes caused the Romantics to stray from Christianity; nonetheless, Romanticism offers many insights that can enhance Christian life and inspire worship of God.

Impact Of Tuberculosis On Victorian England, Cara Caputo

Maria Dittman Library Research Competition: Student Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Oppressive Gender Roles In Crime Novels, Alexis Hardee

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

Throughout history, women have been perceived as unequal or lower-class in comparison to men. This misogynistic opinion makes its way into movies, history books, politics, mass media, novels, music, and employment. Mystery novels are no exception. In this essay, I will specifically target British mystery novels that include these gender stereotypes. The works I chose to research were written by three of the "Queens of Crime" who were extremely famous and influential authors: The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham, The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, and A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh. This analysis determines …

“Not As She Is” But As She Is Expected To Be: Representations, Limitations, And Implications Of The “Woman” And Womanhood In Selected Victorian Literature And Contemporary Chick Lit., Amanda Ellen Bridgers

MA in English Theses

In this thesis, I address the influences of the Separate Spheres ideology on representations of women in both Victorian women’s literature and modern Chick Lit. I analyze three primary images of women – the Angel of the House, the Governess, and the New Woman, the relationships between these images and the Spheres ideology, and how modern images have been influenced by the social impacts of the gendered expectations within the ideology. Within each investigation, I include a discussion on works of literature including Charlotte Yonge’s The Daisy Chain, Jennifer Weiner’s Little Earthquakes, Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola …

The Ideas Of Milton’S Areopagitica In Contemporary Society, Emily Moore

Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference

Milton fought against editors who sought to change his work and the work of others before it was published. The ideas conveyed in the Areopagitica are reflected in contemporary copyright laws and the concept of self-publishing. Specifically, the idea of self-publishing would have appealed to Milton so he could publish his works without constraint. Although he advocated for the people to write despite certain risks, such as censorship, Milton sought to inspire people to change the way society thought, not to display their sometimes ill opinions. The contemporary mediums of social media allow people to post these opinions without restraint, …

"The Sudden Thrill Of That Change": Framing George Eliot's Social Vision, Cyrus Seaberry Frost

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although scholarly commentary of the last decade has engaged more intensively than ever with the content of George Eliot's ideas concerning nineteenth-century British culture, the devices and techniques Eliot employs in the transmission of those ideas remain less explored. Consequently, room exists for a study as attentive to the formal characteristics of Eliot's messages as recent scholars have been to the content of those messages. This dissertation seeks to elucidate the ways in which specific formal techniques that characterize Eliot's fictional work evince her engagement with the thinking of social theorists, particularly Ludwig Feuerbach. The project contends that Eliot internalizes …

Abjection In Late Nineteenth Century British Literature, Robin A. Imholte

Projects

In this project, I examine three major British works of literature produced in the last two decades of the nineteenth century: Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. I show that these works reflect popular trends and fears that arose during this time, including notions of decadence and fears of degeneration. Using Julia Kristeva’s conception of abjection, as described in her work Powers of Horror, I argue that developments throughout the Victorian era: namely the advent of the theory of evolution, the …

Review Of Higgins, Anglo-Saxon Community In J.R.R. Tolkien’S The Lord Of The Rings, Carol A. Leibiger

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Sinking Of The Abergavenny, Richard Matlak

Texts relating to the Earl of Abergavenny (ship)

This section of the screenplay Immortal Sea is a fictional representation of the sinking of the Earl of Abergevenny off the coast of England in 1805.

The Space In-Between: Exploring Liminality In Jane Eyre, Megan Clark

Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism

From Mrs. Reed’s house to Morton, Jane Eyre is always singled out as otherworldly. Throughout Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë creates different spheres and worlds through the means of social class, and the way people are thought of and treated. These worlds are presented in pairs and as a juxtaposition of each other, but Jane never belongs to either world. She remains in her own realm, always separated from the others. Throughout the text, she is compared to an elf or fairy, emphasizing the otherworldliness that defines her. While some look at Jane as a social outcast due exclusively to …

Victorian Dogs, Victorian Men: Affect And Animals In Nineteenth-Century Literature And Culture, Keridiana Chez

Publications and Research

Victorian Dogs, Victorian Men: Affect and Animals in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture by Keridiana W. Chez is the first monograph located at the intersection of animal and affect studies to examine how gender is produced via the regulation of interspecies relationships. Looking specifically at the development of the human-dog relationship, Chez argues that the bourgeoisie fostered connections with canine companions in order to mediate and regulate gender dynamics in the family. As Chez shows, the aim of these new practices was not to use animals as surrogates to fill emotional vacancies but rather to incorporate them as “emotional prostheses.”

Chez …

I Hate It, But I Can't Stop: The Romanticization Of Intimate Partner Abuse In Young Adult Retellings Of Wuthering Heights, Brianna R. Zgodinski

ETD Archive

In recent years, there has been a trend in young adult adaptations of Wuthering Heights to amend the plot so that Catherine Earnshaw chooses to have a romantic relationship with Heathcliff, when in Bronte’s novel she decides against it. In the following study, I trace the factors that contribute to Catherine’s rejection of Heathcliff as a romantic partner in the original text. Many critics have argued that her motives are primarily Machiavellian since she chooses a suitor with more wealth and familial connections than Heathcliff. These are indeed factors; however, by engaging with contemporary research on adolescent development, I show …

The Division Of The Humanity, Bryan Chavez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Jane Austen's personal experiences can be seen through the influence presented in her novel Pride and Prejudice. Austen grew up in the Victorian Era, a time period where women were socially and economically immobile, with the exception of marriage. Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice suggests that society is separated into a diversity of unfair and unequal socio-economic classes which still persists today. This is most evident in the lack of access to quality education for many members of lower socio-economic groups in the United States.

The Victorian Era heavily relied on a social structure that created socio-economic diversity …

Gathering Sense From Song: Robert Browning And The Romantic Epistemology Of Music, Laura Clarke

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Kathleen And Bill Adams - Memories Of Old Friends, Michael Harris, Ruth Harris

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

About 55 years ago when we were engaged to be married, Ruth came down from Scotland to Coventry for a holiday, and I was concerned to demonstrate to her that Warwickshire had much to offer to the visitor and prospective resident. Having, as I thought, exhausted the possibilities of Coventry, Kenilworth, Warwick etc., I asked her if there was anywhere else she would like to visit. I ought not to have been surprised, knowing that she had an English degree and was an English teacher, when she expressed a wish to discover more about George Eliot. So we took the …

Against Egology: Ethics And Style In George Eliot And Emmanuel Levinas, Athanassia Williamson

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

I will argue that the ethical pluralism characteristic of Eliot's late writings anticipates Levinas's rejection of legislative, deontological ethics in the early 1960s, especially from Totality and Infinity (1961) onward. Both Eliot and Levinas problematize an intellectualist or theoretical ethics that fails to attend to our moral experience as an embodied and affective process. They are both sceptics of their inheritances of moral theory, and in their work attempt self-consciously to re-orient or reconstruct that inheritance. For Eliot, Feuerbach is a major encouragement to rethinking the grounds for moral agency; for Levinas, it is the philosophy of Husserl and Heidegger …

'A Being Apart': Sympathy And Distance In Middlemarch, Charlie Tyson

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

I wish to contend that Eliot in Middlemarch (1871-2) frequently tries to attenuate the sympathy that we, her readers, feel for her characters, and that this process of attenuation relies on emphasizing, rather than diminishing, forms of distance between reader and character. She checks our sympathies through techniques of visual staging that press her characters farther away from us in our imagined fields of vision, and through philosophical commentary that emphasizes the commonplace nature of the yearnings and sufferings these characters experience, instead of allowing us to see those circumstances as highly particularized. Despite the standard moral-philosophical observation that sympathy …

Felix Holt And 'A Fine Sight Of Lawsuits', Sheila Woolfe

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

During the festivities surrounding the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, much was said about his Warwickshire roots, and commentators noted, not for the first time, his use of Warwickshire dialect. The same is frequently said about George Eliot, of course. A good example occurs early in Felix Holt, in the coachman's words as he takes passengers up the hill past the village of Little Treby:

How many times in the year, as the coach rolled past the neglected-looking lodges which interrupted the screen of trees, and showed the river winding through a finely-timbered park, had the coachman answered the same …

Review Of Victorians Undone: Tales Of The Flesh In The Age Of Decorum, Kathryn Hughes

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

This is a superb book, written with deep scholarship by one of our leading biographers, which breaks new ground in its attention to the physicality of its subjects. In her introduction Kathryn Hughes says that she has felt 'chronically short-changed by the lack of physical detail in biography'. This book, she says, is 'an experiment to see what new stories emerge when you use biography .... to put mouths, bellies and beards back into the nineteenth century' by introducing 'a certain lumpiness to canonical life narratives that have previously been rendered as smooth, symmetrical, and as strangely unconvincing as a …

Review Of Victorian Narratives Of The Recent Past: Memory, History, Fiction, Helen Kingstone

The George Eliot Review Online, ISSN: 2831-5375

The nineteenth century saw a number of ways in which amateurs and professional historians and novelists approached the presentation of history, especially histories of the recent past. Eminent, professional historians at universities, and those aspiring to join them, increasingly avoided commenting on periods within living memory on the grounds that one could quickly lose credibility debating subjects not yet fully digested. Kingstone clearly illustrates the point in chapter 9, Conclusions: writing 'both before and after the United Kingdom's 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union, I am aware that any arc I try to draw, any judgment I try …