Thesis (M.A. 1979) from the Department of German, University of Adelaide, 1978.

Thesis advisor: David Gill / The idea that mankind's history is one of regress rather than of progress has been seen as central to the classical outlook on life. Bury and others have gone so far as to state that the idea of Progress in its modern sense could not have even occurred to the Greeks. This is perhaps too extreme, but it does reflect an important point: if regression over time was not the only idea for the Greeks, it was at least the dominant one. No story in classical literature reflects this idea more clearly than the Myth of the Ages. The earliest extant version of the story comes in Hesiod's Works and Days (c. 700 B.C.), after which it appears dozens of times throughout ancient literature. The myth in its standard form tells that the history of mankind takes the form of four ages, each represented by a metal: the first is a happy and virtuous Golden Age; the next is a less perfect Silver Age, followed by a warlike (and even worse) Bronze Age; and the last, the most impious and wretched of all, is the current Iron Age. The early Hesiodic version uses this framework merely as a means to show man that he has fallen from divine favor and is left with a life of hardship that he must deal with through honest work and reverence for the gods. As other authors pick up the myth, alluding to it in genres as diverse as philosophy, theology, humor, and panegyric, the story changes in several ways. Each author of course uses it for his own purposes and alters it accordingly. In addition the Myth of the Ages undergoes an overall change: after Hesiod authors such as Aratus, Ovid, Seneca, and Maximus use the myth as a means to pair material progress with moral regression. These authors do not merely tell a story; they present a model, a simple and pre-civilized way of living that they see as vastly superior to modern “advanced” society. These authors look at the results of technological progress and see only negatives; for them the ship and the sword have brought nothing but greed and violence. They present a simple and virtuous Golden Age that lacks the fruits of civilization and a wretched and bloodied Iron Age that is flooded by them. The implication is clear: mankind has fallen from a life of primeval bliss at its own hands as a direct result of technological and societal advances. This becomes the dominant message of the Myth of the Ages, so much so that by the time of the Romans the myth had become little more than a literary cliché for criticizing civilization. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Classical Studies. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

In this thesis I analyze the Dutch frontispiece to Francois Valentijn?s 1726 book Oud en Nieuw Oost Indien and demonstrate that it is a significant artistic statement, original in its rich and imaginative iconography and emblematic program. I describe and explain the image and its iconographic program and emblematic structure. I compare the frontispiece to many other Dutch frontispieces and artworks that likewise feature the four continent allegories and other iconographic elements. I demonstrate the ways in which the frontispiece superbly and comprehensively summarizes and visualizes the text, which is the primary purpose of frontispieces. I also show how the image emulates early eighteenth-century Dutch culture by reflecting the period?s nostalgia for Golden Age styles and subjects. In conclusion I clarify the way in which the image functions emblematically and explain the twofold meaning of the emblem and proving that the image is exceptional and unique within the context of the historiography of Dutch frontispieces.

This dissertation investigates two areas rarely treated in Early Modern studies. First, it explores the origins, functions and importance of the entremes as a performance genre historically relegated to what Victor Turner has called the "liminal" spaces of social and scholarly discourse. These marginalized places of ambiguity in between one space and another provide the artist with a less restrictive creative setting in which to explore the otherwise difficult and even unmentionable social themes. Literally placed in between acts of the comedia performance experience, as well as chronologically placed in between the medieval pageant theater and the emerging early modern theater houses, the entremes serves as an entertaining breed of performance monster, building upon a thematic foundation "betwixt and between" acceptable and objectionable forms of theater.Second, the dissertation examines in detail the 12 lesser-known entremeses of Francisco de Quevedo as examples of liminality in the development of early modern theater practices. Specifically, the study analyzes these theater pieces as they subscribe to three categories of cardinal sin: desires of the ego (pride, wrath and sloth); desires of ownership (greed and envy); and desires of the body (lust and gluttony).As a result, this work hopes to demonstrate the aesthetic value of the interlude and the ways in which Quevedo's various manifestations of this liminal genre, based heavily on the construct of sin, both complement and contradict the model of the entremes as established by his predecessors.

This dissertation uses the seventeenth-century Spanish plays which employ an array of mythological stories of Theseus to analyze the Early Modern ideology of the Prince. The consideration of the different rulers in these plays highlights different aspects of these sovereigns such as their honor, prudence, valor, and self-control. Many of these princes fall well short of the ideal explained in the comedia and in the writings of the arbitristas. By employing the hylomorphic theory in which everything can exist in either its matter or its form, it is shown that in order to have the form of a prince, rulers must act in certain ways to reach that ideal or perfect state. Many princes in the plays, however, at least at certain times, only have the matter of a prince and fall short of the form. By drawing from mythological theories which describe the need for a mediation or an alleviation of an irresolvable contradiction within a society, it is shown that despite the imperfections of the flawed princes that are put on stage, these plays still defend and glorify the monarchical system in which they were created as well as the specific imperfect princes. The six plays examined here in which Theseus is a primary protagonist are El laberinto de Creta, Las mujeres sin hombres, and El vellocino de oro by Lope de Vega; Los tres mayores prodigios by Calderón de la Barca; El labyrinto de Creta by Juan Bautista Diamante; and Amor es más laberinto by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Juan de Guevara. These plays span a large portion of the seventeenth century and although the authors wrote some of them for the corrales, they created others to be performed before the court.

No description available.

Originally presented as the author's thesis, Hamburg. / Bibliography: p. 251-268.

La más constante mujer is a Spanish Golden Age play written by Juan Pérez de Montalbán in 1631 and published for the first time in 1632. Although he was once one of the most famous playwrights in Madrid, known for running in the same literary and social circles as Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca, the bulk of the dramatist's work has been greatly ignored by scholars, or is referred to as being of second rate, and the author himself has nearly tragically been forgotten throughout the centuries following his short life. Although research has been conducted to chronicle the literature produced by Montalbán, his plays have been generally overlooked by modern scholars and very little of the dramatist's theatrical production has been analyzed within the last one hundred years. As a result, there are no modern editions of his plays. The intention of this thesis is to provide a regularized critical edition of La más constante mujer, together with an in-depth analysis of the life and times of its author, and the play's main themes, topics, influences, and characteristics.

Medicine is a field of science that is always changing and promoting new ideas and innovations. Throughout history, medicine has been an important factor in the lives of people around the world since the beginning of civilizations. This study focused on the literature of medicine as it relates to the Spanish Golden Age period. By looking at the history and critical studies in medicine during sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain as well as during the pre-colonial period in America, this thesis overviews the effects and influences in regards to health and illness in Spain and the Americas during the Spanish Golden Age era.

No description available.