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The Prussian Officer tales, written between the years 1908 and 1913, were revised as a group between July 1913 and July 1914 for publication in December 1914. Many of the tales exist in two versions and a comparison of these versions reveals a striking change in Lawrence's style of writing and in his imaginative approach to the same subject at two different periods. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine the development of Lawrence's writing through a close comparison and discussion of the tales in their respective versions, with reference to the novels where such reference is illuminating. Attention is concentrated on those tales whose versions reveal the greatest differences in style and approachi "Odour of Chrysanthemums", "The White Stocking", "Daughters of the Vioar", "The Prussian Officer", and "The Thorn in the Flesh". The remaining tales are discussed in Appendix A. The method of examining the tales is through close verbal analysis, concentrating on the changes in the author's use of language which contribute to the change is his style, on how these changes modify the effect of the tales, and on how Lawrence's method of revision gradually crystallized. The thesis does not seek to establish a comprehensive method for the analysis of prose fiction but seeks to illuminate the outstanding characteristics of Lawrence's style in a period when his experimentation with language and style was developing with the utmost rapidity and when his insight into human nature was deepening profoundly. bach chapter presupposes that an analysis of Lawrence's prose fiction must be as flexible as the work of art itself and therefore each discussion examines those features of style and changes in method which are most distinctive in that tale and its versions. At the same time stylistic features which establish themselves as consistently present in the tales are related to the development of Lawrence's style and method of revision.

It is the purpose of this thesis to examine Virginia Woolf's views about art, and in particular her views about painting, as these views are revealed in her novels and in her art criticism. Two themes guide this discussion: first, the attitude of the artist to life determines the kind of work of art he is likely to create; and second, the attitude of the spectator to life determines the kind of work of art to which he is likely to respond as well as the manner in which he is likely to respond to it. The conclusion to be drawn from this investigation is twofold: life cannot be retained except that it be carried into art; and conversely, art cannot be retained except that it be carried into life.

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The thesis presents a survey of criticism of .Dylan Thomas's poetry from the publication of 18 Poems in 1934 to 1954* a year after the poet's death. Contemporary reaction to the poetry is presented and assessed* and some aspects of the criticism considered with regard to the poetry. The material is mainly presented chronologically! the reviews are chronologically grouped according to the volume reviewed, hut within the group are dealt with according to some major aspect of the content, to give a degree of thematic continuity. Articles written between volumes appear chronologically, and some of the poet's earlier letters are used to show his own view of his work. The survey includes the development of various points raised by the reviewers: the consideration of 18 Poems includes some investigation into the monotony of the vocabulary to substantiate the complaints on this score| a similar investigation is made to substantiate the claims that 18 Poems and 25 Poems contain many rhythmic monotonies; some reasons for Thomas's obscurity are considered, and after the present¬ ation of the reviews of Deaths and htranees, "Poem in October" is analysed in order to demonstrate the technical virtuosity acclaimed by many critics, but denied vigorously by some, and is seen to be a poem of very fine technical quality, even if its theme is not of major importance.

This thesis was planned as a result of reading the notebook drafts of D.H. Lawrence's early poems in the light of his later travel essays - Mornings in Mexico, Etruscan Places - and Apocalypse, his last full-length prose work. The special sensibility Lawrence discovered in the Etruscan tomb paintings, and in the early Pagan writers of the Apocalypse, is, I have argued, one he himself possessed and the main aim of this thesis has been to explore the artistic implications behind this sensibility as it developed from the time of his early poems up to the completion of Women in Love. The terms 'imaginative response' and 'the imaginative process' denote the special meaning the Etruscan art of divination has, as defined by Lawrence himself, when applied to his own works. They refer to the creative process whereby objects, surroundings, or persons are perceived and described in the light of the emotion they evoke, until that emotion becomes clear and the poet can understand it. The word 'imaginative' refers to the type of mind driven to respond analytically in this way. So central are these concepts in Lawrence's work that characters in the early novels, stories and poems can be recognised by the success or failure of their imaginative response, upon which rests their ability to form appropriate judgements about themselves and others. Central to this also is the profound impression made upon Lawrence by his surroundings, and one of my aims has been to stress their dramatic function in his treatment of imaginative reactions. Much of this thesis concerns the manuscript revisions Lawrence made as he sought to discover and evaluate forms of imaginative thinking. The nature of the response - the way this can be achieved and the barriers which prevent it - has been examined with its stylistic as well as thematic consequences in mind. Thus, a line of development has been made clear which explains many fundamental links between the earlier poetry and prose fiction and the later novels. In revealing this line of development I have given attention to those poems which best exemplify Lawrence's ability in discovering his responses to people and places in his early life. Manuscript revision, both here and in The White Peacook proved particularly helpful in measuring how a successful style, one generally associated with his most admired early achievements, resulted from his direct treatment of problems surrounding imaginative thinking. My selection from his early works has therefore been made partly according to what is considered to be his best, partly according to how much manuscript evidence survives, but mainly according to the amount of concentration Lawrence was able to give to imaginative reactions. 'Odour of Chrysanthemums', 'Daughters of the Vicar', Sons and Lovers and 'The Prussian Officer' have therefore been treated intensively even though in the latter two cases no manuscript evidence was available. The Trespasser has been examined briefly as a case where Lawrence's presentation failed. Close study of significant passages from texts has been continued in the final chapter of The Rainbow and Women in Love but here a more general discussion is conducted concerning the problems involved in interpreting certain symbols and symbolic scenes. In Women in Love, it is argued, Lawrence denies almost all his characters the possibility that by true imaginative self-discovery they may escape from a common, tragic fate.

John Buchan always regarded the Scottish Border Country as his "proper home", even though he was born in Perth and brought up in Kirkcaldy and Glasgow. The "Border hills were my own possession", he claimed, "a countryside in which my roots went deep". Throughout his life he retained a remarkable ability to recall these "shining morning-lands of the spirit" and memories of the hills around Broughton "haunted - and cheered" him through an intense and varied career. This was the reference topography against which all others were to be assessed, the real world, the touchstone of his later experience, and the proving ground of his literary creativity. Yet it was only through his grandparents in Peebles and Broughton that John Buehan could justly lay claim to a threshold in the Borders.

J.R.R. Tolkien was strongly conscious of the importance of order, and order is a prominent force in his works. However, while in the past twenty-five years his writings, especially those fictional works dealing with his "secondary world" of "Arda", have been the subject of much critical commentary, the importance of order has not been comprehensively discussed. This thesis investigates the nature and function of order in Tolkien's major fictional works, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with references to his critical writings and minor fictional works where relevant. The introduction notes the importance of order to Tolkien as an individual in the "primary world" (this world), demonstrating some of the ways in which order and chaos were felt by Tolkien to operate in his own life. The second chapter, which begins the discussion of "Arda", shows that order originates with the Creator of the World. The development of chaos during the making of Arda and the nature of the world which results from the order-disorder struggle are examined. The five following chapters demonstrate the all-encompassing role of the order-chaos conflict which pervades and influences structures formed by the societies of Ards and the actions of their members. Chapter III investigates the connection between order and the concept of "heroism" as evident in the behaviour of individuals. The role of order in the relationships among the members of different social groups and among characters and the world around them is examined in the fourth, fifth and sixth chapters. The seventh chapter looks at the links between order and past history in Arda and traces the development of events under the influence of the two forces. The last chapter concludes that Tolkien's characters, in their relationships with others and with their world, are agents of order in a way which differentiates them from traditional heroes of myth and fairy-story, a difference which is also evident in the stories of many fantasy writers working in the past quarter-century. The depiction of order in Tolkien's secondary world, especially as represented by the attitudes and actions of its inhabitants, is seen as a central and yet all-pervasive factor in his fictional writings.

All his life G.K. Chesterton felt that he was surrounded by a humanist world. The absolute human creativity implicit for him in the art and philosophy of the 90's split into the twin evils of "impressionism" and "didactic rationalism". He believed that the individual human authority of these attitudes denied an external God; and insisted on the insanity of a solipsist view, which became a fundamental fear throughout his life. In counteracting this fear he was initiated on a peculiarly individual artistic journey. Chesterton's primary concern was to find and express belief in an external, in order to assert the unity of his inspiration, life and art. As he searched for a mode of expression he denied any permanent value in impressionism and rationalism, turning instead to ritual and simultaneously accepting the Anglo-Catholic church. In the process his three basic terms became religion, morality and expression. The last word is significant for it defines the role of the "mystic artist". The mystic artist must relate the divine to the human, the spiritual to material. His is not the role of the saint, the pure man with expression in life, or that of the great poet with his mythological imagination, or that of the philosopher communicating through discursive rationalism. Chesterton is trying to find a mode between discursive and symbolic writing and he discovers the closely related modes of fantasy and allegory. To avoid the dangers of human authority implied in fantasy he develops the analogical function of allegory to indicate the presence of God. As the style is sophisticated it becomes his own unique form of the detective story: an expression analogous to and indicating the existence of, God's love. The denial of absolute human communication is a dominant twentieth century concern. Chesterton's examination of fantasy is seen as a warning about the misuse of communicative media, and his development of allegory as an attempt to find a more suggestive and allusive mode of indicating identity.