The Idylls of the King, d’Alfred Tennyson, fut dès sa parution (1859) très populaire. Son sous-titre initial, « The True and the False », constitue le fil directeur des quatre poèmes du recueil, qui se développent autour d’interprétations erronées. Lever le voile sur la véritable identité d’une personne, voir la réalité en face, ou même comprendre qui l’on est vraiment : les Idylls se résument à une longue et difficile recherche de la vérité à laquelle s’ajoute une question morale, le bien et le mal en chaque personne. Les Idylls mettent en garde le lecteur contre les apparences trompeuses et les êtres corrompus. Le recueil inspira de nombreux artistes, notamment préraphaélites. À l’époque édouardienne, les Idylls, devenues un « classique », firent à nouveau l’objet d’éditions illustrées. Comment les artistes (Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, Florence Harrison, Jessie M. King et John Byam Shaw), généralement issus du Préraphaélitisme, illustrent-ils la thématique de la vérité ? La thèse montre comment le thème de la vérité est transposé et adapté dans les illustrations : malgré une apparente correspondance entre les Idylls et les images, les illustrateurs édouardiens se détachent des points de vue développés par le poète et ses personnages, et les critiquent implicitement. Par ailleurs, ils mettent en relief la dimension imaginaire du texte : leurs images permettent alors de s’évader des poèmes, en stimulant les facultés créatrices du lecteur. / Published in 1859, Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King was an instant literary success. Its original subtitle, “The True and the False”, is the central theme of the four poems of the volume, which all deal with misperceptions, misunderstandings and misinformation. The Idylls can be seen as a long and challenging pursuit of the truth, since they show the heroes lifting the veil on their partner’s real identity, facing the truth, or trying to define their true selves. The poems also raise moral questions related to good and evil within men and women. In other words, the Idylls may be read as a warning against misperceptions and corrupt behaviours. The Idylls became a source of inspiration for many artists, including the Pre-Raphaelites. During the Edwardian era, Tennyson’s work, raised to the status of a classic, was again published in illustrated editions. How did the artists chosen here—Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, Florence Harrison, Jessie M. King and John Byam Shaw, most of them affiliated to Pre-Raphaelitism—illustrate the question of Truth and Falsehood? This thesis shows how the theme of truth is depicted and adapted in the illustrations. Despite their apparent faithfulness to the poems, the Edwardian illustrators distance themselves from the poet’s or the characters’ point of view, while implicitly criticizing it. Besides, they highlight the imaginary dimension of the text. Thus, their illustrations stimulate the reader’s fancy and his or her inner dream world.

As a Christian, Emily Pfeiffer (1827-1890) saw women's fight for emancipation as a crusade that transcends the earthly state. Yet, although her poetry was well-received during her life-time, Pfeiffer remains obscure. In order to challenge values that may have helped to perpetuate Pfeiffer's non-canonical status, I examine Pfeiffer's poetry against a broader definition of religious practice and worship than was traditionally applied to Victorian women's poetry. Responding to a recent re-evaluation of the criteria for what constitutes nineteenth-century religious literature, I demonstrate that Pfeiffer's poetry occupies a unique position in the canon of Victorian women's religious poetry. To determine what made Pfeiffer such an original thinker, my research considers childhood experiences from which the psychological imprint nev~r faded. In order to compensate for losses and disappointments, Pfeiffer learned to channel her frustrations into her poetry early in life. A Central Anglican, Pfeiffer belonged to a declining strand of the Established Church during a period when other branches of Christianity were expanding.

Gerard Manley Hopkins produced poetry in the Victorian era which was noted for its originality of syntax and form. The essence underlying a large body of his poetry was his Catholic religion. His early religious poetry utilized nature-based metaphors to express his love of Christ and trace the immanence of God within nature. He borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of Pater and the philosophy of Duns Scotus. The dissertation explores these early influences and assesses their contribution to the formation of a unique religious interpretation of life and the formulation of an aesthetic congruent with this religion. The dissertation dissects early symptoms of religious doubt within his poetry and finally analyses his `Terrible Sonnet' phase in detail to ascertain whether the crisis so often described as occurring during this period was religious or merely reflected a loss of creative ability. / English Studies / MA (English)

This dissertation examines the nature of epiphanic discourse in three of Robert Browning's religious poems, namely, 'Christmas- Eve', 'Easter-bay' and 'La Saisiaz'. Chapter 1 investigates epiphany from religious, historical and theoretical perspectives, followed by a discussion of Browning's developing Christian beliefs. Chapters 2 and 3 explore the epiphanic moment in the companion poems, 'Christmas- Eve' and 'Easter-Day'. Chapter 4 explores how the double epiphany initiated from Browning's personal experience recounted in 'La Saisiaz', finds its resolution in 'The Two Poets of Croisic'. Browning's 'good minute' or 'infinite moment' originates in Romanticism and reverberates into the twentieth century mainly in the writing of James Joyce, who first used the word 'epiphany' in its literary sense. Because Browning's faith allowed continual interrogation of Christian doctrine, his experience and reading of epiphanic moments avoid any attempt at closure. Thus they offer the reader both a human image for recognition and a coded legend for individual interpretation / M.A. (English Studies) / M.A. (English)

Gerard Manley Hopkins produced poetry in the Victorian era which was noted for its originality of syntax and form. The essence underlying a large body of his poetry was his Catholic religion. His early religious poetry utilized nature-based metaphors to express his love of Christ and trace the immanence of God within nature. He borrowed heavily from the aesthetics of Pater and the philosophy of Duns Scotus. The dissertation explores these early influences and assesses their contribution to the formation of a unique religious interpretation of life and the formulation of an aesthetic congruent with this religion. The dissertation dissects early symptoms of religious doubt within his poetry and finally analyses his `Terrible Sonnet' phase in detail to ascertain whether the crisis so often described as occurring during this period was religious or merely reflected a loss of creative ability. / English Studies / MA (English)

This dissertation examines the nature of epiphanic discourse in three of Robert Browning's religious poems, namely, 'Christmas- Eve', 'Easter-bay' and 'La Saisiaz'. Chapter 1 investigates epiphany from religious, historical and theoretical perspectives, followed by a discussion of Browning's developing Christian beliefs. Chapters 2 and 3 explore the epiphanic moment in the companion poems, 'Christmas- Eve' and 'Easter-Day'. Chapter 4 explores how the double epiphany initiated from Browning's personal experience recounted in 'La Saisiaz', finds its resolution in 'The Two Poets of Croisic'. Browning's 'good minute' or 'infinite moment' originates in Romanticism and reverberates into the twentieth century mainly in the writing of James Joyce, who first used the word 'epiphany' in its literary sense. Because Browning's faith allowed continual interrogation of Christian doctrine, his experience and reading of epiphanic moments avoid any attempt at closure. Thus they offer the reader both a human image for recognition and a coded legend for individual interpretation / M.A. (English Studies) / M.A. (English)

This thesis examines the publishing history of Algernon Charles Swinburne during his lifetime (1837-1909). The first chapter presents a detailed narrative from his first book in 1860 to the mid 18705: it includes the scandal of Poems and Ballads in 1866; his subsequent relations with the somewhat dubious John Camden Hotten; and then his search to find another publisher who was to be Andrew Chatto, with whom Swinburne published for the rest of his life. It is followed by a chapter which looks at the tidal wave of criticism generated by Poems and Ballads but which continued long after, and shows how Swinburne responded. The third and central chapter turns to consider the periodical press, important throughout his career not just for reviewing but also as a very significant medium for publishing poetry. Chapter 4 on marketing looks closely at the business of producing and of selling Swinburne's output. Finally Chapter 5 deals with some aspects of his career after the move to Putney, and shows that while Theodore Watts, his friend and in effect his agent, was making conscious efforts to reshape the poet, some of Swinburne's interests were moving with the tide of public taste; how this was demonstrated in particular by his volume of Selections and how his poetic oeuvre was finally consolidated in the Collected Edition at the end of his life. The thesis shows that popular interest was mainly on his earlier poetry, and suggests his high contemporary reputation (which was not fully reflected in sales) was maintained by the periodical press.