The prison novels (Haji Murat, Haji Abdullah and Süleyman Effendi) of Western Armenian writer Hagop Oshagan (1883-1948) articulate two unprecedented sociocultural critiques of Armenian experience. Like much of Oshagan's works, these novels, comprising the cycle Haryur Mék Tarvan [101 Years' Imprisonment] (1933), have scarcely been studied. The task of this study is to reveal the nature of Oshagan's critique, and to revise two chief Armenian literary critical trends: that of either de-contextualizing or instrumentalizing these novels' nationalist preoccupations; that is, either overlooking their contextual relevance as responses to contemporaneous nationalist dogmas, or distorting them to seem ideologically sympathetic. Oshagan's novels rather deploy the prison trope to foreground and question the aesthetic and ideological influence of late 19^th century Armenian nationalist-revolutionary movements. They moreover undermine the persisting paradigm borne of nationalist-revolutionary rhetoric that collectively represents Armenians and Turks as victims and victimizers respectively. The present study reads Oshagan in the wider context of Armenian penological literature, and locates his engagement with nationalist-revolutionary ideology as an overtly critical, rather than sympathetic project. It provides an unprecedented appraisal of such political movements' primarily negative impact upon late 19^th and early 20^th century Western Armenian literature, a tradition that has presented 'Armenianness' through an almost exclusive narrative of subjection. This literary historical background allows Oshagan's singularity to appear. He is the first to recognize the prison trope as the preferred nationalist-revolutionary literary convention, a trope he then reconfigures in order to formulate an alternative, a literary mode of nationalism - namely, mystic nationalism - informed by his readings of Dostoevsky's novels. Oshagan imagines and articulates anew the Armenian-Turk relationship in terms that complicate, subvert and transcend the normative master/slave model instituted by nationalist-revolutionary rhetoric. In the process, he elaborates a conception of these movements as inadvertently complicit in the discursive - and, ultimately, also political - (self)-subjection of Armenians culminating as experiences of absolute subjection. After Oshagan, this study constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of literary renderings of both Armenian-Turk relations and nationalist-revolutionary ideology.

One medium has dominated accounts of American art in the years following the Second World War. The period witnessed, in the words of one critic, a 'Triumph of American Painting', with advances in the easel picture far surpassing those in other media. Whilst more recent accounts have nuanced this view, drawing attention to developments in music and sculpture, literary contributions to the new American modernism have gone almost without assessment. Were there advances in literature comparable to those of Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, David Smith and John Cage? Drawing extensively on his unpublished writings, After the New Failure of Nerve reveals the poet Charles Olson to have been the keenest literary advocate of the new American avant-garde and one of the most astute observers of its conditions and possibilities. Paying special attention to unpublished notes, lectures, and correspondence, the thesis utilises Olson's early writings in order to examine the momentum given early postwar modernism by a potent contemporary reaction against abstract rationality, a reaction identified at the time as a 'New Failure of Nerve'. Born of recent disillusionment with 'scientific' Marxism and New Deal progressivism, the thesis demonstrates the several ways in which this 'New Failure of Nerve' fuelled vanguard American art from the middle of the Second World War to the end of the decade. It argues that the new critique of abstract rationality - which was also reflected in the contemporary American work of the Frankfurt School - defined the way American artists understood the function of postwar modernism, the posture of the postwar modernist artist, and the status of the postwar modernist artwork. This pivotal moment in the history of modernism was shaped, I contend, by a philosophical critique explored most ambitiously by an American poet.

This Ph.D. dissertation examines the influence of Alexander McArthur and H. Kingsley Long's novel No Mean City (1935) on the representation of working-class subjectivity in modem Scottish urban fiction. The novel helped to focus literary attention on a predominantly male, working-class, urban and realistic vision of modern Scotland. McArthur and Long explore - in their representations of destructive slum-dwelling characters - the damaging effects of class and gender on working-class identity. The controversy surrounding the book has always been intense, and most critics either deplore or downplay the full significance of No Mean City's literary impact. My dissertation re-examines one of the most disliked and misrepresented working-class novels in modern Scottish literary history. McArthur and Long's literary legacy, notwithstanding its many detractors, has become something to write against. Through examination of works by James Barke, John McNeillie, Edward Gaitens, Robin Jenkins, Bill McGhee, George Friel, William McIlvanney, Alan Spence, Alasdair Gray, James Kelman, Irvine Welsh, Janice Galloway, Agnes Owens, Meg Henderson and A.L. Kennedy, the thesis outlines how the challenge represented by No Mean City has survived the decades following its publication. It argues that contrary to prevailing critical opinion, the novel's influence has been instrumental, not detrimental, to the evolution of modern Scottish literature. Ultimately I hope to pave the way toward a fuller, more nuanced understanding of No Mean City's remarkable impact, and to demonstrate how pervasive its legacy has been to Scottish writers from the 1930s to the 1990s.

And the Word Was Made Flesh: Anthropomorphism in the poetry of WH Auden examines the reasons for the neglect of Auden’s prolific deployment of anthropomorphism by examining the poetry’s critical reception with a view to understanding what larger purpose, what ‘strategy of discourse’ (Ricoeur 2003, The Rule of Metaphor: 5-9), Auden may have had in mind when he revived a trope traditionally regarded as retrograde. Anxious not to be mistaken for a Modern, yet unable to find a social rhetoric to suit his purposes, Auden elected upon a new style of poetry which questioned the very foundations of language by placing anthropomorphism, the ascription of agency and sentience to voiceless entities, at its centre. The study explores anthropomorphism from historical and theoretical perspectives in an attempt to explain the reasons for its demise, at least, within the academy. This study emphasises the importance Auden placed on the everyday activity of reading, the principal focus for the poet’s ‘cultural theory’ (Boly 1991 and 2004: 138). Auden, 'eager to create a tradition of its own' (Emig 2000: 1), abjuring propaganda, hoped to educate the reader to resist the different ideologies which were vying for ascendency during the 1930s. This study will demonstrate that anthropomorphism, with its capacity to suggest alternative words to ‘re-describe reality’ (Ricoeur 2003: 5), played a pivotal role in Auden’s project for cultural renewal. This study demonstrates that the lasting benefit of Auden’s use of anthropomorphism is to have recognised with prescience what critics now recognise as a 'revolutionary and potently counter-cultural tactic of cultural appropriation' (Paxson 1994: 173), a trope that 'engenders within its semiotic structure a hidden critique of Western culture' (Paxson: 50). Evidence from recent linguistic theory is marshalled in support of the trope’s rehabilitation. This study examines a selection of Auden’s four hundred published poems, and it also offers a provisional taxonomy to initiate the complex process of classifying instances of personification and its co-ordinate tropes in poetry. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

My D.Phil, dissertation sheds new light on German literary decadence around 1900, its universal concepts, plurality of discourses and poetic transformations. The heuristic value of my dissertation is a refined differentiation of Dekadenz which reconstructs the literary history of the concept and for the first time proposes specific poetic constellations. In chapter 1, decadence is reviewed with its rich research heritage and introduced as a decisive concept and discourse of aesthetic modernism. Although much has been written on decadence, the concept is clearly in need of scholarly reconsideration. I argue that decadence is not only a vague epochal construct and an ensemble of motifs, but also encompasses discourses, universal concepts and a versatile literary style. In view of the stylistic eclecticism around 1900, I argue that decadence is a dynamic and malleable concept which can be combined with other aesthetic styles, movements and philosophical contexts depending on the specific author. Chapter 2 contextualizes Dekadenz from its etymology and central discourses to its universal concepts. Etymologically derived from the Latin verb de-cadere decadence signifies a downward movement and a figure of fragmentation. It evokes cultural and political decline especially that of the Roman Empire (décadence romaine) and undergoes various aesthetic transformations (1857-1894). After touching upon the precursors Baudelaire (1857), Bourget (1883) and Bahr (1889-1894), I dwell on Nietzsche to demonstrate the philosophically complex German double evaluation of decadence. I derive three universal concepts from Nietzsche (health vs. sickness, endings vs. new beginnings, fragmentation vs. wholeness) which are crucial to my literary analysis. My comprehensive literary analysis centers on three specific poetic constellations of decadence between late realism and aesthetic modernism. Chapter 3 illuminates Mann's spätrealistische Dekadenz (1894-1924) with his (Nietzschean) double evaluations. Transformations of decadence are shown in his early novellas, Buddenbrooks, Der Tod in Venedig and Der Zauberberg. Chapter 4 illustrates Hofmannsthal's ästhetizistische Dekadenz (1891-1902) in his early essays, his prose fragment Age of Innocence and Das Märchen der 672. Nacht. A significant transformation of decadence is illuminated in Ein Brief (1902), where Nietzschean decadence is concentrated and tentatively overturned. In chapter 5, Rilke's modernistische Dekadenz (1898-1910) is shown from his early fragment Ewald Tragy to his only novel Die Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge. His novel attempts a poetic 'revaluation of all values' and culminates in the emergence of a genuinely modernist decadence.

This dissertation attempts to show that the phenomenon of loneliness is written into Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. The Introduction offers a description of the origins of loneliness as a field of study, presents key instances of loneliness in literature, and investigates the nature of loneliness. In the first chapter, the Villa is introduced as a figural and conceptual framework for analysis. The second chapter focuses on the patient’s room and the library, leading to a discussion of personal and existential loneliness, identity and naming. The third chapter investigates social loneliness with reference to the kitchen, garden and hallway, addressing notions of race and othering, home and family. The fourth chapter discusses the body and embodiment, as well as emotion and metaphor. The dissertation argues that the stylistic, thematic and structural features of The English Patient suggest and reflect the complexities and characteristics of loneliness. / English / M. A. (English)

Text in Afrikaans / The concepts of parody and pastiche are oftell employed by leading theoreticians to offer definitions of the elusive term "Postmodernism". One is led to conclude that parody and pastiche are direct1y linked to Postmodernism. This is especially valid in the case of pastiche. Indeed, it appears, therefore, that the continllous assumption of the appellation "pastiche" in the Postmodernist discourse could reveal its link to Postmodernism and Postmodernity in general. While parody and pastiche are not new phenomena, the question is why, ill our time, these concepts should be so acutely present in the discourse of literary theory - especially in theoretic contributions on Postmodernism and/or Postmodernis! texts. However, an investigation of the studies done on Postmodernist drama/theatre reveals a distinct lack of reflection about the role of parody and pastiche and a disturbing absence of publication on the the subject. This state of affairs reveals a conspicuous delay in terms of theoretical deliberation when compared to other investigat1ve practices, i.e. literary criticism and philosophy. This study, then, is essentially interested in transposing the present emphasis on parody and pastiche found in contemporary literary theory to Postmodernist drama/theatre. The final objective of this study is to explore the impact of the concepts of parody and pastiche on twentieth century drama/theatre and their possible contribution to a better understanding of the elusive term "Postmodemist drama/theatre". / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Literature)

Text in Afrikaans / Spieel, kamer van spieels, mise-en-abyme, representasie, ensovoorts, is almal begrippe wat met die nosie van selfrefleksiwiteit in verband gebring word. Hoewel selfrefleksiwiteit nie 'n nuwe verskynsel is nie, is die vraag waarom dit juis vandag so akuut in die literer-teoretiese diskoers neerslag vind. Dit geld veral teoretiese bydraes oor die Postmodernisme en/of Postmodemistiese tekste. Hieruit kan 'n mens aflei dat daar 'n direkte verband tussen selfrefleksiwiteit en die Postmodernisme bestaan. Hierdie studie is dan primer gemteresseerd in die wyses waarop die Postmodernistiese dramafteater die nosie van selfrefleksiwiteit in die enkoderingsproses in diens neem. Daarbenewens word ondersoek ingestel na die invloed wat die konsep van vervreemding in die twintigste-eeuse dramajteater op die verskillende beskouings van selfrefleksiwiteit gehad het. Die uiteindelike oogmerk is om aan te toon dat selfrefleksiwiteit in die Postmodernistiese dramafteater gevestigde aannames oor kuns as spieelbeeld van die werklikheid omverwerp. / Mirror, hall of mirrors, mise-en-abyme, representation, et cetera are all concepts associated with the notion of self-reflexivity. While self-reflexivity is not a new phenomenon, the question is why, in our time, it should be so acutely present in the discourse of literary theory - especially in theoretic contributions on Postmodernism and/or Postmodernist texts. One is lead to conclude that self-reflexivity and Postmodernism are directly linked. This study, then, focuses primarily on how Postmodernist drama/theatre employs the notion of self-reflexivity in the encoding process. It also explores the impact of the concept of alienation in twentieth century drama/theatre on the various views of self-reflexivity. The fmal objective is to show that self-reflexivity in Postmodernist drama/theatre challenges ftxed suppositions about art as a reflection of reality. / Afrikaans, Theory of Literature / M.A. (Theory of Literature)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie word 'n bydrae tot die beskrywing van 'n resente periode in die Afrikaanse prosageskiedenis, naamlik die dekade 1980-1989, aangepak. Die terme ''Tagtiger" en "tagtigerskrywer" word bespreek en gedefinieer. Negentien skrywers word aan die hand van vyf kanoniseringsmeganismes as belangrike Afrikaanse tagtigerprosaskrywers geidentifiseer. Hierdie skrywers en hulle 51 prosatekste wat tussen 1980-1989 gepubliseer is, word dan deur Vanheste (1981) se vier gei"dentifiseerde literatuursosiologiese aandagsvelde naamlik die outeur, die literere werk, die literere kanaal en die leser ondersoek ten einde die posisie van die gekose skrywers m.b.t. maatskappy en skrywerskap, enkele samebindende aspekte in die proefgroep se tagtigerprosatekste, die funksionering van die literere kanaal t.o.v. hierdie tekste en die resepsie daarvan te bepaal. Met behulp van vraelyste aan die proefgroep is hul houdings t.o.v. 'n aantal aktuele aangeleenthede ondersoek. Ses onderskeidende kategoriee in die proefgroep se tekste, naamlik politiek en betrokkenheid; realisme; grens- en geweldliteratuur; postmodernisme; homoerotiek en goeie gewilde prosa word aangedui. Die posisie van verskillende "hekwagters" in die literere kanaal, saam met die invloed van sensuur op die proefgroep, die rol van die Afrikaanse Skrywersgilde en die "little magazines" wat publikasiegeleenthede vir die jong skrywers gebied het, ontvang aandag. J.C.Kannemeyer as geskiedskrywer en 'n verskeidenheid resensente se waarde-oordele word nagegaan. Aan die hand van Vanheste se literatuursosiologiese kommunikasiemodel, gekombineer met sy (aangepaste) analisemodel, word etlike sosiale werklikhede in Alexander Strachan se 'n Wereld sander grense dan onder die loep geneem. Die ondersoekterrein van die literatuursosiologie dek s6 'n wye veld dat heelwat interessante aspekte noodwendig agterwee moes bly. Resepsiestudies van lesers gedurende die tagtigerdekade was nie moontlik nie en 'n resepsiestudie kon ongelukkig eers vyf jaar na die tagtigerdekade uitgevoer word. Die gevolgtrekking waartoe in hierdie studie gekom word, is dat, hoewel waarskynlik nie op dieselfde betekenisvlak as die term "Sestigers" nie, daar wel van ooreenkomste in die werk van Afrikaanse tagtigerskrywers gepraat kan word. Samehang word ook aangedui tussen die sosiale omwereld en die tagtigertekste wat daarbinne tot stand gekom het, veral met betrekking tot tematiese en stilistiese keuses. Terselfdertyd het die literere werke van hierdie dekade 'n invloed uitgeoefen op die omwereld waarbinne dit verskyn het / This study attempts to make a contribution to the description of a recent period in Afrikaans Prose History, namely the decade 1980-1989. The term writer of the Eighties is defined and discussed. Nineteen writers have been identified as important Afrikaans Eighties writers with the aid of five canonization mechanisms. These writers and their 51 prosa texts published between 1980-1989 are then investigated by means of Vanheste's four identified attention areas in the sociology of literature, namely the author, the literary work, the literary channel as well as the reader. Questionnairs have been used to investigate the attitude of the trial group with regards to a number of current affairs. Six distinguishing categories have been identified in the texts of the trial group namely politics, realism, border and violence literature, postmodernism, homo-erotics and popular prose. The position of different gate-keepers in the literary channel, together with the influence of censorship on the trial group, the role of the "Afrikaanse Skrywersgilde" and the "little magazines", together with publication opportunities offered to these young writers, have enjoyed attention. J.C.Kannemeyer as historian, together with the critics as readers of the trial group's texts are investigated. The manipulation of a few social realities in Alexander Strachan's 'n Wereld sander grense is investigated in terms of Vanheste's communication model of literary sociology, combined with his (adapted) analysis model. The field of investigation of the sociology of literary covers such a wide field that numerous interesting aspects had to be omitted. Reception studies during the decade of the eighties were not possible and could, unfortunately, only be done five years after the decade of the eighties. The conclusion of this study is that, although not at quite the same level of significance as the term "Sixties", one could still find similarities in the works of Afrikaans writers from the Eighties decade. Cohesion between the social world and the texts of the Vll eighties have evolved from it, especially with regards to thematic and stilistic choices. At the same time, the literary works of this decade have contributed to the social world in which they were published / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans)

Text in Afrikaans / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D.Mus. (Musiekwetenskap)