This thesis is an examination of reader or audience response to Shakespeare’s tragedies. Primarily, it identifies key pleasures that Shakespeare’s King Lear and Othello offer. The complementary nature of these two plays is such that the analysis of their various pleasures allows for an in-depth treatment of the topic and also reflects the diversity of emotional response elicited by Shakespeare’s tragedies. The kinds of pleasure addressed in this study are catharsis as explained by Aristotle, the delight of violent passion as advocated by DuBos, pleasure from details in the work, satisfaction from the coherence of the tragedy, and pleasure in the idealization of tragedy.

Sammanfattning:   Min studies syfte är att synliggöra vad leken har för betydelse för barnens sociala utveckling. Den beskriver leken och dess betydelse för att barnen ska utvecklas genom den. Den lyfter även fram pedagogernas syn på leken och hur de hjälper till för att stötta barnen under tiden de är i fritidshemmet. Frågeställningarna som studien bygger på är vad leken innebär för eleverna och hur den påverkar elevernas sociala utveckling och hur pedagogerna som arbetar i verksamheten ser på leken samt hur de stöttar eleverna i deras utveckling. En strukturerad kvalitativ intervjumetod och en ostrukturerad observation ligger till grund för studien. Intervjuerna har jag gjort i tre grupper om fyra barn i varje grupp, detta gjorde jag tre gånger med olika barn. Jag intervjuade även fyra pedagoger som arbetar i verksamheten. Observationen genomförde jag endast på barnen, när de lekte och en av pedagogerna hade styrd lek som går ut på att barnen inte vet med vem de ska leka med eller vad de ska leka. Detta bestäms genom att pedagogerna drar lott för att se hur grupperna blir och vad/ var de ska leka. Social utveckling är ett centralt begrepp i min uppsats, genom leken utvecklas barns sociala utveckling. Och att det är färdigheten till att klara av att vara tillsammans med andra människor och att visa dem sympati och empati i olika situationer. Som vi vill bli behandlade ska vi också behandla människorna runt oss.

The cult of sensibility in the eighteenth century celebrates delicate emotional responses. Such susceptibility to emotion, however, has to rely on somatic representations such as sighs, tears, convulsion, and faints. So, paradoxically, interiority is known to others only by outer bodily signs, signs that could just as easily reflect an affectation of sensibility as sensibility proper. The attempt to control the slippage in the reference between interiority and appearance becomes an anxious cultural feature of eighteenth-century men and, especially, women, of the higher classes. If sensibility requires such careful control and practice, its assumed spontaneity becomes a fiction. The performing body of sensibility turns into a screen that veils one¡¦s true interiority rather than a transparent reflection of it. The performing body is theatricalized¡X placed on the stage as a spectacle, examined by spectators. Sensibility falls prey to insincere, artificial, and affected performances. Emotional representations are constantly facing inroads of theatricality. When emotional expressions are rendered formulaic and reproducible, they lose their naturalness. Moreover, sensibility requires witnesses, spectators who can vouch for its authenticity (but never validate it beyond all doubt). Sensibility cannot proclaim itself because such proclamation would violate sensibility¡¦s principle of sheer sincerity and spontaneity. Theatricality, as an abstracted concept of theater, points both to the formulaic performances and to the model of spectator and spectacle in the theater. Sensibility is closely related to theatricality in these terms. This thesis aims to reveal the dynamics of the interplay between theatricality and sensibility in two eighteenth-century British novels. Both novels present a young heroine making her debut in the world after spending her formative years in seclusion with a male guardian. The Introduction reviews the eighteenth-century cult of sensibility. Chapter One discusses the theoretical and contextual relations between theatricality and sensibility. Chapter Two deals with Charlotte Lennox¡¦s novel The Female Quixote (1752), and how the heroine¡¦s sensibility is ridiculed as a form of self-theatricalization. Lennox gives the clash between sensibility and ridicule a generic dimension by blaming romance for the heroine¡¦s delusions. Chapter Three examines Frances Burney¡¦s epistolary novel Evelina (1778) and argues that the heroine¡¦s sensibility is both sealed and revealed in Burney¡¦s epistolary form since it enables Evelina to switch between being both spectator and spectacle. The conclusion briefly sums up the previous chapters and points out how, more generally, interpretations of literature can benefit from a recognition of the dynamics of theatricality and sensibility.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Mary Ellis Gibson; submitted to the Dept. of English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 14, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-253).

[pt] A crise ecológica que enfrentamos hoje nos alerta sobre o perigo que corremos se continuarmos a abusar da natureza explorando-a como fonte inesgotável de matérias primas para os inventos do homem. Como se não bastasse a degradação de boa parte de seus ecossistemas, o uso pelas indústrias farmacêuticas e alimentícias representa uma das principais fontes de exploração desenfreada daqueles que são classificados como carentes de razão, afeto ou vontade. Neste sentido, a busca por uma ética mais ecocêntrica se faz necessária. Para pensar uma ética que abarcasse a relação dos homens com os animais é que recorremos aqui ao conceito de simpatia, elaborado pelo filósofo empirista britânico David Hume. Este conceito é elaborado como um princípio de distinção moral entre os homens, mas está presente também nas operações mentais dos animais entre si. Queremos defender que o conceito de simpatia, como um mecanismo de comunicação de sentimentos entre os humanos e entre os animais, pode ser estendido para a relação entre homens e animais, e assim contribuir para o desenvolvimento da conduta humana em relação ao bem-estar destes seres, principalmente nas produções de escala industrial. Para isso, tomaremos como exemplo a perspectiva daqueles que criam e trabalham com os animais, servindonos da análise de Vinciane Despret e Jocelyne Porcher no livro Être Bête. Aspiramos, ainda, apresentar uma crítica à zootecnia como ciência que mecanizou os animais e os isolou dos homens, transformando-os em produtos e distorcendo o conceito de bem-estar, o qual buscaremos averiguar. / [en] The ecological crisis we face today warns us against the danger involving the continuous and abusive exploitation of nature as an inexhaustible source of raw materials at the service of mankind s inventions. Besides the degradation of a significant part of its ecosystems, the use by the drug and food companies alone, accounts for a great deal of a rampant exploitation of those classified as being deprived of reason, affection or will. In this sense, the pursuit for a more ecocentric ethics is mandatory. To think of an ethics that embodies the relationship between men and animals, we resort to the concept of sympathy, created by the Scottish empirical philosopher David Hume. The concept, elaborated as a principle of moral distinction among men, is also present in the mental operations of animals as they interact among themselves. We advocate that the concept of sympathy, as a means of communication of feelings among humans and among animals, can also be extended to the relationship between the men and animals, thus contributing to the evolution of human conduct towards the welfare of these creatures, especially when it comes to large scale production. In order to do so, we will make use of the perspective of those who raise and work with animals, using the analysis of Vinciane Despret e Jocelyne Porcher to support this thesis, found in their book Être Bête. Also, we aim to express our criticism to animal husbandry as a science which helped reinforce the mechanization of animals, thus isolating them from men, making them into products and twisting the concept of well being itself, which we will try to ascertain.

本論文首先闡釋同理心在心理學上使用以及其侷限，而藉由現象學無預設的方式來奠基心理學理論的不足，主要透過馬克思‧謝勒的同情感理論，剖析其中對於同情感的描述，提供當代對於同情或是同理的疑惑新的解決之道，為未來人文療癒之路作一鋪成。 / This thesis first explains the use of empathy in psychology and its limitations. Through the phenomenological approach of presuppositions to be the foundation of the psychological theory, mainly by the Max Scheler’s theory of sympathy. Analyzed the differences between sympathy and empathy. To provide a new solution to the doubts about sympathy and empathy that people know how to use in the future. Especially offer the new way of Humanities Therapy open the bright horizon for us.

Using the sixteenth-century theories of sympathies to examine the inter-character relationships in Hamlet, I argue for a period reading that offers insight into Hamlet’s delay and the basis for his problematic relationships with Gertrude and Ophelia. Asserting Hamlet’s character as an observer in the play with the ultimate goal of healing the infected state of Denmark, this examination of Hamlet explores how sympathetic healing would function between the characters of Hamlet, the Ghost, Gertrude, and Ophelia. Such a reading would present these characters as vulnerable bodies capable of directly affecting each other over a physical distance. Hamlet’s ultimate tragedy then would arise from his failures to engage with these sympathetic forces effectively, resulting in his inability to find the proper cure for his state.

This thesis identifies a claimant narrative tradition in nineteenth-century American literature and examines the role of that tradition in the formation of American national identity. Drawing on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The American Claimant Manuscripts and Our Old Home (1863) as well as Mark Twain’s The American Claimant (1892), I argue that these writers confronted the paradoxical nature of claimant narratives—what Hawthorne called a “peculiar insanity”—which combined a hereditary sympathy between the United States and Britain with exceptionalist rhetoric about American republican values. Hawthorne’s ambivalence toward the claimant tradition identified the paradox, but his writing merely pointed out inconsistencies, while Twain censured with satire and direct social criticism. America’s British sympathies persisted in later decades, and remained a popular subject of fiction throughout the century, making it ripe for parody by the time Twain wrote his own claimant story. Claimant narratives reinforced class differences in the United States even as they appeared to reject them. The transnational framework of Twain’s novel affords a pointed critical view revealing the latent cruelty of democracy when coupled with attitudes of exceptionalism.

Perceptions can be influenced by the media concerning different groups of people. As a result of the importance of the media in how individuals obtain information and formulate opinions, how different groups are presented whether negatively or positively is important. This research examines the portrayal of mental illness in films and the impact that such portrayals have on the perceptions of mental illness of the viewers. Mental illness representations can be found quite prevalently among film and the way in which it is represented can be important as to how populations perceive those with mental disorders. This thesis looks to explore perceptions of mental illness and beliefs from those who have viewed films that portray characters with mental disorders. Through the use of an online survey, one hundred and ninety five participants provided data for this study. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that individuals who had seen more films portraying mental illness would have more knowledge and sympathy regarding mental illness compared those who had seen less films portraying mental illness. It was also hypothesized that social stereotypes surrounding mental disorders would be present in the knowledge that individuals had more so than factual data about mental disorders. Women were predicted to express more sympathy than men. A statistical analysis program was used to analyze the resulting data including the use of correlations and t-tests. Evidence indicated that the amount of films viewed portraying mental illness did not have an impact on knowledge or sympathy regarding mental illness. Perceptions of mental illness are still a relevant topic and the awareness of facts surrounding mental disorders should continue to be spread.

No description available.