No description available.

by Krzysztof Sliwa. / Typescript. / M.A. Florida State University 1995 / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Note:

By looking at the world inhabited by those characters who partake of the dramatic action in King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra and Macbeth, and the relationship of these characters to their world, or universe, it is hoped to establish how certain factors affect the genesis, development and resolution of the tragedies in which they play their roles. This will be done by an examination of what Shakespeare sometimes called the "Bonds," which, as we shall see, derive from the mediaeval concepts of Nature, Law and Grace that were current in his time. This thesis does not claim to offer a complete or exclusive solution to the problem of the critical interpretation of these three tragedies: one of the dangers of Literary criticism has always appeared to the writer to be that of maintaining that the approach adopted is the only one and of attempting to demonstrate that the theory coincides at every point with the work - admitting of no inconsistencies or alternatives, and thereby making nonsense of a theory that does have considerable validiity. Similarly, it is with considerable hesitation that names have been given to the various Bonds discussed. Once one names them and applies a certain range of definitions to these names, it is difficult to stress that the names and definitions are not static or rigid. The Bond of Nature, for example, although it has a central core of meaning common to all three tragedies, is not treated from the same viewpoint in King Lear as it is in Antony and Cleopatra or Macbeth. Three considerations have prompted the writer to select this subject for the theme of a thesis. Firstly , the hypothesis that some failure, violation, misunderstanding or inadequacy of the Bonds lies at the heart of the tragic movement does appear to augment existing concepts of the nature of tragedy and help us better to understand the Why? How? and When? of the tragic process. Secondly, the concept of the principles of Nature, Law and Grace as determinants of the Bonds, which occurs so frequently in Elizabethan thinking, does seem to offer us a unified approach to their treatment of man and the world he inhabits at any particular point in history. By quoting from a wide range of sources dealing with this subject, the writer hopes to demonstrate that such a concept did exist, and that it was relatively consistent and generally accepted by Shakespeare and many of his contemporaries. It is, moreover, a system of thought that can embrace within its ambit such diverse materials as the great chain of being; the microcosm and the macrocosm; the nature of the soul; the structure of the family, the clan or the nation; the concepts of sin, damnation and life everlasting; the four elements; and the humours - and assign to these and many others a proper nature, place and function in the overall scheme. Thirdly, the writer was prompted to select this subject for a thesis because no critical writing to date appears to have dealt fully with the subject of the Bonds and their relationship to these principles of Nature, Law and Grace in Shakespearean tragedy . There have, it is true, been critics who have dealt with facets of these principles, and there have been critics who have commented on the violation, misunderstanding or inadequacy of various Bonds, but none of them seems to have dealt with the subject as a whole. Preface, p. iv-vi.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This study was undertaken with the idea of determining to some extent the contribution of Shakespeare's linguistic peculiarities to his effectiveness.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1937 M33

This study examines the relationship between scriptural authority and the life of faith in the prominent English Reformed orthodox theologian, John Owen. While aspects of Owen’s argument have caught the attention of scholars across a relatively diverse range of fields, no full-length historical treatment of this theme has yet appeared, and many of its distinctive features remain unexplored. The thesis particularly seeks to show how Owen creatively drew upon an ‘ecumenical’ dogmatic and metaphysical heritage to restate and refine the traditional Reformed position on scriptural authority, sensitive to intellectual developments in his own late seventeenth-century context. The broader intention is to enrich the expanding scholarly interest in Owen’s thought, alongside Puritan, Reformed orthodox thought in general, and also, perhaps, to serve as a resource for those approaching this general subject from other disciplines. The thesis concentrates on Owen’s Reason of Faith (1677), in conversation with his wider mature corpus. After an introduction which presents the background and parameters for the study, chapter 2 introduces the central themes of Reason of Faith. It points to Owen’s engagement with contemporary apologists and their deleterious reliance on well-worn rational arguments or ‘evidences’ as the foundation for faith. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 examine Owen’s own constructive position. While recognising and incorporating the value of ‘objective evidence’ in faith, Owen offers his own critical reformulation that preserves the integrity of faith as something resting exclusively on divine testimony. Chapters 3 and 4 focus upon the role of subjective divine illumination in the perception of natural truths (chapter 3), and the gracious truths revealed in scripture (chapter 4), noting especially Owen’s use of habitual terminology derived from scholastic thought. Chapter 5 examines the critical function of scripture’s ‘light’ and ‘power’ as the divine ‘evidence’ or ‘objective testimony’ which appeals uniquely to the regenerated and elevated faculties, and secures faith. The chapter also aims to observe how Owen relates this authority to important christological and redemptive themes emerging elsewhere in his thought, not least the restored ‘image of God’. The final two chapters shift attention to related features of scripture. Honouring the essentially confessional nature of scripture’s authority, chapter 6 shows how Owen locates scripture within a covenantal frame, drawing upon a traditional account of inspiration. Chapter 7 explores the relationship Owen sees between scriptural authority and perspicuity, which enables an immediate, ongoing relationship between the rule of Christ and his church, and regulates the way it is read and understood by believers using the means of grace. The conclusion summarises Owen’s unique contribution to the Reformed consensus on scriptural authority in the face of an increasing fragmentation of confessional orthodoxy on this issue. Three compact appendices are added: Appendix A discusses Owen’s reliance on peripatetic cognitive metaphysics; Appendix B provides a survey of key historical developments in the Augustinian doctrine of natural illumination; Appendix C addresses some historiographical problems pertaining to inspiration in Reformed orthodoxy and Owen in particular.