Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

Ripped From The Headlines: Teaching Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's Turkish Letters In The Context Of 21st-Century Controversies, Susan Spencer

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

In the long shadow of 9/11 and the ongoing COVID pandemic, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters connect with the lived experience of today’s students, especially the cluster of eight letters dated 1 April 1717. By emphasizing parallels between Montagu’s observations and the students’ own lives, The Turkish Embassy Letters can add a modern dimension to the eighteenth century in general, challenges of gender, and texts written in and about the Muslim world.

Teaching Eliza Fay's Original Letters From India (1817) Through Classroom Editing, Lacy Marschalk

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Travel writing is an ever-growing area of interest in eighteenth-century studies, but it can be difficult to teach. Students often find the writing dry and unrelatable, and faculty who have had little experience with travel writing in their own educations may not know which texts would prove useful to their courses. In this article, I discuss the travel narrative with which I've found the most pedagogical success, Eliza Fay's Original Letters from India (1817). Fay's initial journey to India includes a range of captivating adventures, including encounters with Marie Antoinette in Paris, bandits in Egypt, and Hyder Ali in Calicut, …

Concise Collections: Teaching British Women Travelers, Tiffany Potter

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

No abstract provided.

Cooking Up Knowledge: Materiality, Recipes, And Jane Barker’S A Patch-Work Screen For The Ladies, Carolin Boettcher

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

The recipes included in Jane Barker’s A Patch-Work Screen for the Ladies (1723) appear to be some of the most jarring and out-of-context inclusions in the narrative. This article explores the relationship between Barker’s novel and the form of the recipe collection in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries on both a material and an epistemological level. The entanglements between recipes and the patchwork screen not only point to the processes of constructing and conveying knowledge, but also to the materiality of these processes as Galesia and the Lady build the patchwork screen. Her focus on the materiality of …

Postures After The Antique In Eighteenth-Century Portraits Of Women, Lauren K. Disalvo

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

This paper re-examines the relationship between eighteenth-century portraiture and the antique where women adopt the postures of floating female figures from Pompeiian wall paintings in eighteenth-century portraiture. I argue that eighteenth-century floating portraits afforded their female sitters an opportunity to assert classical knowledge while adhering to typical conventions of femininity.

The Enigma Of Goldberry: Tolkien’S Narrative Braiding Of Genre- And Symbol-Related Vocabularies In The Withywindle River-Daughter, Derek Simon

Journal of Tolkien Research

The enigma of Goldberry continues to stimulate diverse readings of her narrative in the Withywindle Cottage episode. The root contention of this article is that Goldberry’s enigma is textured through Tolkien’s complex narrative braiding of multiple genre- and symbol-specific vocabularies woven together throughout her episode. The effort to interpret the enigma of Goldberry needs to be grounded in the philological, lexical, and thematic signifiers circulating in her storyline. These mythopoeic signifiers are variously conveyed by the genre- and symbol-related vocabularies influencing her enigma in the narrative. Where much of the critical commentary has justifiably considered a single strand of source …

Female Inheritance And Forged Documents: John Hardyng’S Use Of Scottish Materials In His Chronicle, Ryoko Harikae

Studies in Scottish Literature

In his Chronicle of John Hardyng (1st version, 1457; 2nd version, 1465), Hardyng shows that Scottish kings did homage to English kings, adding a map and an itinerary of Scotland. In support, Hardyng forged several documents, to prove Scotland's vassal status, which he submitted to the English government with his Chronicle. Hardyng's motive for the forgeries, their function or how they relate to the Chronicle text, or his intent in incorporating Scottish materials. This paper argues that Hardyng's description of Scotland, combined with his forged documents, was his response to finding Scottish historical materials contradicting his claim for English …

The Cultural Context Of The Aberdeen Candlemas Play, Roderick J. Lyall

Studies in Scottish Literature

Among the lost plays of medieval Scotland the Aberdeen Candlemas play is one of the most intriguing. Our knowledge of its content derives principally from two lists, dating from 1442 and 1505, dividing the roles between the burgh’s various gilds, although the fact that there was some form of dramatic element rather than merely a procession appears to be confirmed by the discovery in the Dean of Guild’s accounts for 1470-71 of a payment of 16d. to “ye men ye maid scafald to ye candilmes play.” This paper focuses on the presence in the cast of The Three Kings of …

Preface To Ssl 48.2, Patrick Scott, Tony Jarrells

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the range of periods the journal covers, introduces current contents, pays brief tribute to the Hume scholar Donald T. Siebert and the Burns collector Frank R. Shaw, and alerts readers to editorial and publishing changes to be announced in the coming year.

Anonymity With Intent? 'We Lordis Hes Chosin A Chiftane Mervellus', Janet Hadley Williams

Studies in Scottish Literature

This paper considers an anonymous, untitled poem, opening “We lordis hes chosin a chiftane mervellus,” known in only one text, in the Bannatyne Manuscript (fols 78^v–79^r), among “ ballatis full of wisdome and moralitie.” Its enigmatic nature and place among the moral ‘ballatis’ have gone largely unstudied. Focus on the author’s identity (with William Dunbar seen as likely) has excluded the interesting question of possible deliberate anonymity. The poet’s Franco-Scots linguistic agility, and careful play of political interests (Scottish, French and English) are striking, the more so because, unusually, “We lordis” can be dated with some …

Shakespeare And The Supreme Court: How The Justices Reveal Their Ideologies By Referencing His Works, Rachel Anderson

Honors Projects

The works of William Shakespeare have been referenced many times throughout history, even by Supreme Court justices. Building off of an observation of a mock trial by James Shapiro, this project puts the utilization of Shakespeare from three Court opinions in relation to its context within the play and the opinion to examine what the reference reveals about the authoring justices' ideology. In doing so, this project concludes that the justices utilize Shakespeare's works in their opinions for various reasons, including to infuse their beliefs into their argument. This implies that Supreme Court justices do not base their opinions on …

Memoirs Of The Foreign Legion, Maurice Magnus, D.H. Lawrence

Zea E-Books Collection

Maurice Magnus was 39 years old when he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion to join the fight against Germany in World War I. Magnus was an American expatriot living in Rome—a theatrical agent, tutor, newspaper correspondent, writer, editor, and literary entrepreneur. He soon discovered his error—the Legion he found consisted largely of German exiles, prison-avoiding felons, and contemptuous French officers. Magnus spent about six weeks training in North Africa before a transfer to southern France provided the opportunity to desert and flee back to Italy. The Memoirs recounts his brief disenchanted tenure as a Legionnaire. After his military service …

Defining Heroinism: Heartthrobs Refining Heroines In 18th And 19th Century Women's Literature, Grace M. Gibson

Honors College Theses

This project will explore the emergence of “heroinism,” a uniquely feminine way in which early female authors approached the heroine’s journey. Barred by male expectations of female conduct both in society and literature, eighteenth and nineteenth century women daring to “attempt the pen” forged stories of heroines with conventions and tropes distinctly, though not entirely, separate from those told of centuries of heroes. I intend to track the ways in which these early tales of heroines told by women strayed from the traditional heroic plot, with unique motivations, mentors, trials, and rewards, but also how they were shaped and confined …

Elis Gruffydd And The Welsh Historical Tradition, Ann Dobbs Riley-Adams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elis Gruffydd’s Cronicl is the longest piece of original prose ever written in the Welsh language, and the first example of writing by a Welsh author for a Welsh audience produced on the Continent. In 2018, Elis’s Cronicl was added to the prestigious UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register, one of only five such recognitions in Wales, giving the Cronicl globally recognized status. Despite this, Elis’s Cronicl is understudied, a “forgotten gem” most of which has never been transcribed, translated, or published in book form. Elis lived and wrote in the British military center and staple port, Calais, which …

An Analysis Of Shylock In The Merchant Of Venice, Mark Muhich

Augsburg Honors Review

Because he is Jewish and a shrewd businessman, the Venetians consider him to be an outsider in their cofiununity, but his isolation from the community mav be his way of protecting his Jewishneis. In other words, Shylock fears that non-business interactions with Christians will damage the pride he has in his religion because all the Christians ridicule him. Because he mocks the Christians in Venice, most literary critics believe that Shylock is a literary villain. H. B. Charlton says that Shylock is often interpreted as "an inhuman scoundrel whose diabolical cunning is bent on gratifying a satanic lust for Christian …

Tolkien’S Coleridgean Legacy, Martina Juričková 928827

Journal of Tolkien Research

In his published materials, Tolkien rarely ever directly mentioned by name any philosophers or literary theoretics he might have been influenced or outright inspired by in forming his own views on the origin, nature, and purpose of myth, imagination, and literature as presented in his essay On Fairy-stories. However, as an Oxford Don, he must have been well acquainted with the theoretical-philosophical work of one of the greatest British literati and, I daresay, progenitor of the fantasy genre in the Isles, Samuel Coleridge. Anyone conversant with Tolkien’s lore who starts reading Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria must be stricken by how …

Law, Government, And Society In J.R.R. Tolkien’S Works (2022), By José María Miranda Boto, Douglas C. Kane

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Douglas C. Kane, of Law, Government, and Society in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Works (2022) by José María Miranda Boto.

Hopes And Dreams Of Liturgical Renewal: 3 Books From My Shelf, Chris Kan

Pastoral Liturgy

No abstract provided.

Migration And Displacement In Twenty-First Century Magical Realist Fiction, Laura Duncan Fontenot

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In “Migration and Displacement in Twenty-First Century Magical Realist Fiction” I discuss identity development and the search for belonging of displaced people within twenty-first century magical realist novels. In each instance, the characters undergo some form of change heralded by a magical moment or moments. The “magic” allows the authors to literalize underlying cultural tensions by physically altering some aspect of a character. The changes are not mere metaphors, they are literal, bodily transformations. The first stage of this process are magical thresholds that allow passage in space and time far beyond the conventions of reality. A magical threshold literalizes …

Reading The Reception History Of Charlotte Yonge, Talia Shaffer

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

"A Sort Of Pain, Which Is New": Unresolved Grief In British Romantic Literature, Eta Farmacelia Nurulhady

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the cultural phenomenon of mourning in relation to British Romantic Literature. In chapters on the work of William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, Felicia Hemans, and Charles Lamb, it argues that the Romantic period, as a time of increased mobility due to three revolutions, wars, and the expansion of empire, was a moment when unresolved grief became a common experience. Using the psychologist Pauline Boss’s concept of “ambiguous loss” as a lens for a new reading of British Romantic writing, and distinguishing this concept from the modern concept of “nostalgia,” this dissertation analyzes poetry, novels, and essays written by …

Goddess And Mortal: The Celtic And The French Morgan Le Fay In Tolkien’S Silmarillion, Clare Moore

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

Few characters change more in their depiction throughout ‘traditional’ Arthurian literature than Morgan le Fay, who transitions from the benevolent and supernatural Queen of the Isle of Apples to the mortal sister of King Arthur with a complicated relationship to her brother and his court. These two versions of the Arthurian enchantress are represented in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita Merlini and the French Vulgate Cycle, and they parallel two of Tolkien’s prominent female characters in The Silmarillion: Lúthien and Aredhel. Establishing parallels between Monmouth’s Morgen and Tolkien’s Lúthien demonstrates both a connection to the Celtic tradition and a departure …

Tellers Of Dark Fairy Tales: Common Themes In The Works Of C.S. Lewis And Terence Fisher, Gabriel C. Salter

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

This article explores connections between C.S. Lewis and filmmaker Terence Fisher, notably how their works explore themes like the charm of evil, white magic’s dubious nature, and myth hinting at divine truths. By viewing these themes, Fisher and Lewis’s common views on fairy tales, and how feedback informed their work, scholars discover nuance in the perceived “Inklings versus secular British culture” dichotomy.

Tolkien, Race, And Racism In Middle-Earth (2022) By Robert Stuart, Dimitra Fimi

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Dimitra Fimi, of Tolkien, Race, and Racism in Middle-earth (2022) by Robert Stuart

Uk Shakespeare Travel Course Photo Presentation, Elliot Morelli-Wolfe

Study Away Presentations and Photo Contest Winners

Photo presentation of Shakespeare's Britain, including Edinburgh, England, the Globe Theatre, and Westminster Abbey

Critical Insights: The Lord Of The Rings (2022), Edited By Robert C. Evans, Mariana Rios Maldonado

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Mariana Rios Maldonado, of Critical Insights: The Lord of the Rings (2022), edited by Robert C. Evans

Jane Austen: A Study On The Influences, World, And Character Of An Eighteenth-Century Novelist, Elisabeth Phillips

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History

Jane Austen is one of the most influential authors in history and her works are regarded as timeless classics. Her ability to harness the motif of the strong, independent woman in a time when society wanted women to have neither attribute is incomparable in contemporary works. This article examines Austen's life and the variety of factors (family, religious, intellectual, historical) that molded her mind and character and thus informed the characters she created and the stories she crafted.

The Bond Of Empathy In Medieval And Early Modern Literature, David Strong

Research in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

This study examines the various means of becoming empathetic and using this knowledge to explain the epistemic import of the characters’ interaction in the works written by Chaucer, Shakespeare, and their contemporaries. By attuning oneself to another’s expressive phenomena, the empathizer acquires an inter- and intrapersonal knowledge that exposes the limitations of hyperbole, custom, or unbridled passion to explain the profundity of their bond. Understanding the substantive meaning of the characters’ discourse and narrative context discloses their motivations and how they view themselves. The aim of this book is to explore the place of empathy in select late medieval and …

Awdry V. British Rail: The Politicization Of Thomas The Tank Engine, Matthew J. Bea

The Forum: Journal of History

No abstract provided.

Women And Ventriloquism In Early Modern English Drama, Ja Young Jeon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bringing together feminist and theater-centered readings, this dissertation examines the status of female vessels that foreign voices inhabit and animate in early modern drama, arguing that the Greek model of ventriloquism represented by the Pythia exerted a powerful influence on the period’s ideas about women’s speech. In feminist work on ventriloquism, despite highlighting theatrical performance’s dependence on citationality, ventriloquism has been largely understood as an analogue for exploring male poets’ authorial power to appropriate women’s voices. In these readings, the term ‘ventriloquist’ is mainly identified with the person who throws his voice into human or nonhuman objects, reminding us of …