Emily Dickinson's use of water as a dominant poetic trope differs from typical religious archetypal associations with baptism, cleansing, and rebirth. Dickinson transforms rather than recapitulates established theological concepts, borrowing and adapting Biblical themes to suit her artistic purposes. Dickinson's water poems are the poet's means of initiating a discourse with God. Dickinson's poems, however, portray the poet's seeking communion and finding only a silent response to her attempts to initiate an exchange with God. Unable to find requital to her needs for discourse, Dickinson uses Biblical imagery to vindicate ultimately abandoning the orthodox tenets of Calvinism. Resenting the unresponsiveness of God, particularly if the solitude she experiences has been imposed through His will rather than her own, Dickinson poetically reverses roles with God to establish her autonomy, looking instead to the reader of her poetry to requite her need for discourse. And as interaction is seen as a need that Dickinson must have realized, poetry may then be understood as the poet's invitation of the reader into the discourse she finds lacking in God. Refuting Calvinist doctrines allows the poet to validate her autonomy as well. Instead of following a course of life prescribed by God, Dickinson demonstrates her resistance to suppliance through water. Dickinson refuses to follow God's guidance unquestioningly because merely being part of a collective who follow an indifferent god provides no lasting distinction for a poet seeking immortality. Having broken the union with God and established her god-like identity as a poet, Dickinson turns to the similar use of Biblical language in her poetry to establish the communion with her reader that she finds lacking in her relationship with God. Dickinson then strengthens this bond with the reader by asserting that divinity is present in every individual not suppressed by the restraining presence of God.

The lecture recital was given April 2, 1973. A discussion of Liszt's late piano works included information about specific compositional techniques and innovations which influenced twentieth-century composers. Five selections of the late works were performed by memory. In addition to the lecture recital, three public solo recitals were performed. The first solo recital, performed on April 9, 1972, consisted of works by Haydn, Beethoven, Ravel, and Chopin. The second solo recital, performed on August 4, 1974, included works by Beethoven, Debussy, and Brahms. The final solo recital, performed on April 5, 1976, consisted of works by Bach, Chopin, and Prokofieff. All four programs were recorded on magnetic tape and are filed, along with the written version of the lecture recital, as part of the dissertation.

Thesis (S.B. in Literature)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. / Introduction: The infantrymen of the Great War experienced the unimaginable. Soldiers in the trenches internalized images of confusion and gore, and returned to a society unwilling and often unable to comprehend their sacrifices. For nearly 65,000 of these soldiers, their experiences on the front brought on hysteria, mental breakdown, muteness, paralysis, and other bizarre physical maladies (ER, 189). The medical description of the mental conditions that precipitated so many of these symptoms underwent a dramatic evolution as more and more cases were reported. These conditions were first collected under the terse assignation of "shell-shock," linking the range of maladies to the psychological influence of heavy artillery as well as referring tacitly to ontological theories of physical lesions in cerebral tissue. Such diagnostic projections were assisted by patients who, upon solicitation, readily supplied anecdotal evidence of mortar blasts. As the war progressed, however, the appearance of cases not directly linked to close-proximity explosions prompted the search for a non-physical term; "neuroses" was put into use, and an epistemological link to madness was established. Finally, in the search for a more scientific label, physicians decided upon "neurasthenia," a psychiatric condition linked to exhaustion and memory loss. These three terms - shell-shock, neurasthenia, and neuroses - were used interchangeably in public, political, and military discourse throughout the war, but most of the physicians who worked in Great Britain's mental wards were less careless. Each term bore a distinct epistemological weight: shell-shock clearly implied both physical causality and temporariness, neurasthenia referred to a specific mental condition, and neuroses hinted at a psychological disease "entity." Every subsequent war since the medical "discovery" of shell-shock has occasioned another evolution in terminology, and each new term has since fought to position its particular insight alongside an epistemological backlog that accrued new facets more often than it changed form in totality. Disassembling such networks of discourse thus requires historicizing conflicting definitions. The theories of psychoanalysis put forth by Sigmund Freud loomed large for many of the figures in these debates, both as an inspiration for cerebral therapeutics and as a challenge to the conventionalism and psychological materialism of the pre-war medical establishment. In subtly adapting Freud's insights, however, the practitioners of post-Freudian psychoanalysis pushed the official discourse on shell-shock in a different direction, leading to a more sophisticated understanding that was less accepting of paradigmatic and ideological identifications of Britishness with courage, character, and mental fortitude ... / by Thomas C. Schilling. / S.B.in Literature

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Undoubtedly, Totentanz has been one of the most famous works by Franz Liszt. Totentanz has been recorded by many pianists and addressed in much of the vast literature about Liszt and his works; however, little research has been focused on this work. Most studies of Totentanz address only the historical background of the piece in relation to the theme based on Dies irae. Currently, there are no specific studies about the solo piano or two piano versions and only one recording was located. Liszt's own piano solo transcription of this famous work is an excellent addition to the concert repertoire. Totentanz consists of six variations that include canonic and fugato sections. The main theme is based on the Gregorian chant Dies irae, a melody that has been used by many other composers, most notably Berlioz in Witches Sabbath of Symphonie fantastique, op. 14 and Rachmaninoff in Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. This study contains five chapters. Chapters I and II provide background information, historical background and influences of Totentanz. Chapter III presents an outline of Liszt's achievement as a transcriber. Liszt revised his own works numerous times from the 1840s and 1850s, including Transcendental Etudes, Paganini Etudes, and piano and orchestra works. Like in the case of Totentanz, transcribed form piano and orchestra into piano solo, Liszt transcribed and paraphrased hundreds of other composers' works as well. Chapter IV discusses and compares the two main versions for solo piano and piano and orchestra. Form and harmonic language in particular the use of tritone in Totentanz is discussed. The adjustment required in transcribing the work for piano solo is discussed in detail, followed by a conclusion.

An understanding of the piano transcription is basic to any proper comprehension of nineteenth-century piano music and performance practice. In this study, the transcription for solo piano is examined in relation to several musical milestones in the mid-nineteenth century, including far-reaching technical developments in the piano, the beginning and growth of the public concert, the birth of the solo piano recital, and the influence of virtuosity as a Romantic ideal. In addition, as Liszt was undoubtedly the greatest transcriber of the nineteenth century, several representative transcriptions of Liszt are analyzed and compared to their original models, including Schubert's Gretchen am Spinnrade and Auf dem Wasser zu singen, Chopin's Moja pieszczotka ("My Joys"), Wagner's Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, and the quartet from the final act of Verdi's Rigoletto.

The purpose of this thesis is to show two major influences in the thought of Emily Dickinson which contributed greatly to two antithetic doctrines which commanded her loyalty. One of these two was a reverence which she felt for the Puritan concepts of life; the other was a revolutionary trait that would not adhere to Puritan doctrine. The first doctrine was a natural one to be adopted by the poet. The Puritan way of life was the only "style of life" which she know and so, quite naturally, this kind of milieu satisfied her in many ways. But as she matured there occurred along the path of her life certain obstacles which were manifested by her genius, and those obstructions, at various times in her daily life, caused much unrest and uncertainty within the poet's mind.

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