Thesis (MA (Afrikaans and Dutch))—University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / The Northwestern Cape enjoys prominence in George Weideman’s comprehensive oeuvre. Weideman, who was raised in this area, explains that it is a region with which he has a strong emotional connection. In this study the representation of space will be examined with specific reference to Weideman’s portrayal of the Northwestern Cape in the volume of poetry 'n Staning onder sterre (1997). The focus will be on Weideman’s depiction of the Northwestern Cape and more specifically his portrayal of it as both a geographical space and a space of the landscape. Not only does Weideman represents the geographical space of the Northwestern Cape in great (objective) detail, he also presents the reader with a very personal (subjective) depiction of a landscape with which he has strong personal ties. In fact, it is the premis of my study that Weideman’s depiction of this space is more personal than objective. Rather than just a geographical space, it becomes a metaphysical domain with spiritual, creative and intertextual dimensions; a landscape that is accessed through memory and the imagination. Although 'n Staning onder sterre is filled with geographical markers and functions as a cultural and historical document which gives an account of an unique region and its people, this volume of poetry should rather be read as a petit histoire in which the poet’s personal convictions continuously surface during the representationprocess.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: “A verse might be complete, but then I fiddle with it again and it is not complete anymore,” Ina Rousseau says in an interview. When one compares poems from her Versamelde gedigte 1954-1984 and Die stil middelpunt with their predecessors in magazines and in her volumes of poetry, one sees that Rousseau often made revisions. Over the years her poetry has come into being like a “living organism”. It reminds one of the rewritings of Martinus Nijhoff. This study aims to discuss the variants in the poetry of Ina Rousseau, by means of a variant system that unlocks the printing history of all 253 published poems. My discussion focuses on 17 poems (at least one from each volume of poetry) that is printed in full in the variant edition. I’ve used supplement material and reception texts to give the reader a perspective on Rousseau as poet, and the involvement of other roll players. By bringing in these secondary texts I aim to situate the poem discussions and try to show that theme and textgenesis should not be viewed as separate entities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: “’n Vers kan miskien afgerond wees en dan gaan peuter ek weer aan hom en dan is hy nie meer afgerond nie,” sê Ina Rousseau in ’n onderhoud. Wanneer ’n mens dan gedigte uit haar Versamelde gedigte 1954-1984 en Die stil middelpunt vergelyk met vroeër weergawes in tydskrifte en in bundels, sien ’n mens dat sy lief was daarvoor om veranderinge aan te bring. Haar poësie, wat deur die jare soos ’n “lewende organisme” tot stand gekom het, herinner aan die verbete herdigtings van Martinus Nijhoff. Hierdie studie het ten doel om die variante in die poësie van Ina Rousseau van naderby te beskou aan die hand van ’n variante-apparaat wat die volledige drukgeskiedenis van 253 gedigte ontsluit. My bespreking fokus op 17 gedigte (minstens een uit elke bundel) wat volledig in ’n variante-edisie afgedruk staan. Ek gebruik ook aanvullende materiaal en resepsietekste om die leser ’n perspektief op Rousseau se digterskap en die betrokkenheid van ander rolspelers te gee. Deur die byhaal van hierdie sekondêre bronne probeer ek om die gedigbesprekings te situeer en te toon dat tematiek en teksontwikkeling nie losmaaklik van mekaar is nie.

Thesis (PhD)-- Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A study of poetry by six contemporary women in the Afrikaans and Dutch-speaking worlds points toward a multi-focal approach. While texts by poets of a marked diversity are presented as aesthetic objects, the scope of my research has been determined by considerations of gender, language and culture. The central line of investigation concerns the interplay between the poem as an artefact and the changing socio-cultural contexts by which the respective poets have been informed. My dissertation was inspired by Pierre Bourdieu's argument in favour of a fusion between the close reading practices of the New Critics (and in this case, their Dutch counterparts, the Merlinists) and the contextual approach advocated by literature sociologists. Concomitantly the art philosophical standpoint of Marcia Eaton and the views on the écriture féminine or "women's style of writing" held by Helene Cixous are applied to poetry. By incorporating insights from adjacent disciplines and thereby decentering the relative autonomy of the poetic text, I hope to demonstrate how the study of literature could acquire new relevance, either by expanding its own parameters, or by enriching the field of cultural and gender studies. In conclusion I regard the poetry written by contemporary women as a polyphonic discourse voicing women's newly-found position as subjects and challenging notions such as a monolithic "female identity" and the marginalization of "women's poetry". From this perspective, the aesthetic value of the poetic genre is paralleled by its function as a source of knowledge and a cultural agency. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Ondersoek na die poësie van ses eietydse vroue in die Afrikaanse en Nederlandse taalgebiede veronderstel reeds 'n multifokale invalshoek. Nie alleen word tekste van uiteenlopende digters as estetiese objekte aan die orde gestel nie, maar staan oorwegings soos geslag, taal en kultuur sentraal by die afbakening van die ondersoeksterrein. Daarby vorm die wisselwerking tussen die gedig as artefak en die veranderende sosio-kulturele konteks die riglyn van die betoog. Pierre Bourdieu se aandrang op 'n fusie tussen die stipleesmetode van die New Critics (in Nederland nagevolg deur die Merlinisten) en die kontekstuele benadering van literatuur wat deur literatuursosioloë voorgestaan word, het as aanset tot hierdie studie gedien. Terselfdertyd word die kunsfilosofiese standpunte van Marcia Eaton en die siening van Héléne Cixous omtrent die écriture féminine ("vroulike skryfwyse") op die poësie betrek. Deur insigte uit naasliggende dissiplines te betrek en die outonomie van die poësieteks te relativeer, wil die ondersoek aantoon dat literatuurstudie 'n nuwe relevansie verkry wanneer die parameters van die vakgebied versit, of kultuur- en genderstudies daardeur verryk word. Uiteindelik beskou ek die digkuns van eietydse vroue as In polifoniese diskoers waarin vroue op uiteenlopende wyses stem gee aan hul nuutverworwe subjekposisie, en wat daarmee die nosie van In monolitiese "vroulike identiteit" en dié van "damespoësie" as afsonderlike en gemarginaliseerde kategorie dekonstrueer. Naas die estetiese waarde daarvan, verkry die poësie uit hierdie perspektief ook In nuts- of instrumentele waarde as 'n alternatiewe bron van kennis en In kultuurskeppende agens.

In hierdie studie word die manifestasies en ontwikkelings van mens-masjien-verhoudinge in die Afrikaanse poësie vanaf 1990 tot 2012 ondersoek. Relevante uitgangspunte van die fenomenologie, posthumanisme en transhumanisme dien as teoretiese begronding om die gekompliseerde en gevarieerde aard van mens-masjien-verhoudinge in die Afrikaanse poësie te bestudeer. Die studie beoog om deur kwantitatiewe data-analise die manifestasie van tegnologiese terme en verwysings na tegnologiese objekte in Afrikaanse poësie vanaf 1990 tot 2012 te karteer. Hierbenewens word deeglike kwalitatiewe ondersoek gedoen na die verskillende representasies van mens-masjien-verhoudinge in geselekteerde Afrikaanse gedigte. Laastens word rolle en metaforiese betekenisse van digitale tegnologie in posthumane subjekte se belewing op drie tematiese vlakke ondersoek, naamlik liefde en seks, spiritualiteit en die dood. / In this study the different manifestations of human-machine relationships in Afrikaans poetry between 1990 and 2012 are investigated. Relevant viewpoints from the phenomenology, posthumanism and transhumanism form part of the theoretical framework in which the often complicated and varied nature of human-machine relationships are studied. It is the goal of this study to map the manifestations of technological terms and references to technological objects in Afrikaans poetry from 1990 to 2012, utilising quantitative data analysis. Furthermore, the in-depth qualitative analysis will investigate various representations of human-machine relationships in selected Afrikaans poems. The roles and metaphorical meanings of digital technology within the experiences of posthuman subjects are investigated on three thematic levels, namely love and sex, spirituality and death. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M. A. (Afrikaans)

This study is concerned with modern Christian poetry in Afrikaans. Afrikaans poetry, which initially carried the clear stamp of the Afrikaner's Calvinistic view of life, gradually assumed a new image to the extent that it could no longer be recognised as religious and specifically Calvinistic poetry. To the contrary, modern Afrikaans Christian poetry is the expression of a contemporary conceptualisation of the very same gospel. The occasional violent reaction especially of conservative institutions to so called "unchristian" modern poetry in Afrikaans during the past three decades, has prompted this study which attempts to illustrate that modern Afrikaans poetry still exhibits a strong Christian element. The essential qualities of contemporary Christian poetry in Afrikaans are illustrated in the discussion of the works of particular leading Afrikaans poets. Chapter 3 attempts to indicate a transitional stage between traditional and modern Christian poetry by means of an overview of the latest tendencies and approaches, with brief references to the recent poetry of the Louws, the poetry of Peter Blum as the initial exponent of the poetry of the Sixties, and the poetry of Ina Rousseau. The work of Sheila Cussons, eminent Roman Catholic (and thus also Christian) poet who is probably the most impressive contemporary exponent of metaphysical/mystic poetry in Afrikaans, is discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 illustrates the traditional Calvinistic Christian point of view and Christian experience as represented in the poetry of I.L. de Villiers. The poetification of the ministry adds new dimension to religions poetry in Afrikaans. Chapter 6 constitutes a discussion of the works of T.T . Cloete, the most significant contemporary Reformed poet in Afrikaans indicating the extent to which the many related facets embodied in his poetry consistently reflect a Christian attitude and are unified in and encompassed by the principle of Soli Deo Gloria. Chapter 7, by way of conclusion, reviews the religious poetry of Lina Spies and Petra Müller who write accessible popular poetry, nevertheless exploring interesting references. In conjunction with the poetry of Ina Rosseau, this poetry represents a contribution to modern Afrikaans religious poetry from a feminine point of view

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The first section of this thesis aims at creating a reading strategy for the analysis of poetry thematically concerned with habitation and the space of the house. Selected Afrikaans poems, forming part of a newer house-poetry that breaks away from the idyllic, genial representation of the house in earlier Afrikaans poetry, are examined. The theoretical equipment utilised in this examination is the habitation philosophies of Martin Heidegger, Otto Friedrich Bollnow and Gustav Bachelard. Various related insights in the work of these philosophers are developed into a three-tiered model for the interpretation of house poetry. Supplementing the abovementioned framework is the socio-historical work of Joseph Rykwert and Ton Lemaire. Both these theorists explore the close connection between the space of the house and the realisation of mortality and transience. The application of the philosophical model facilitates, on the micro level of image and word choice, a fresh understanding of the selected poems, as well as a wider philosophical contextualisation of their thematic content. The reading strategy and the application thereof could also provide the means with which a new philosophical scrutiny of Afrikaans house-poetry can be achieved. The abovementioned formal essay is presented as coupled with a collection of original Afrikaans poems, entitled Vierluik, the creative section of this thesis. Vierluik examines, among other things, aspects of habitation in city, town and countryside, and reflects on descent, rootedness, displacement and the interconnection of space and identity. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die eerste gedeelte van hierdie tesis het as doel die daarstelling van ’n leesstrategie waarmee poësie wat tematies oor die huisruimte en bewoning handel, ondersoek kan word. Geselekteerde Afrikaanse gedigte, wat deel vorm van ’n nuwer huispoësie wat sedert die sestigerjare wegbreek van die idilliese, gemoedelike uitbeelding van die huis in vroeër Afrikaanse gedigte, word ondersoek. Die teoretiese apparatuur wat in hierdie ondersoek aangewend word, is die bewoningsfilosofieë van Martin Heidegger, Otto Friedrich Bollnow en Gustav Bachelard. Verskeie verbandhoudende insigte in die werk van hierdie denkers word ontwikkel tot ’n drieledige interpretasiemodel vir huispoësie. Hierby dien as aanvulling die kultuur-historiese werk van Joseph Rykwert en Ton Lemaire, waarin die noue band tussen die huisruimte en die doods- of verganklikheidsbesef uitgewerk word. Die toepassing van hierdie filosofiese begripsapparatuur fasiliteer op die mikrovlak van beelde en woordkeuse ’n vars verstaan van die vyf geselekteerde gedigte, asook ’n breër filosofiese kontekstualisering van hulle tematiese inhoud. Die leesstrategie en toepassings sou ook ’n filosofiese oopdek van die huispoësie in Afrikaans kon bemiddel. Hierdie akademiese gedeelte dien verder as ’n verbandhoudende oefening by die kreatiewe gedeelte van die tesis, naamlik ’n digbundel, Vierluik. Die bundel ondersoek, onder andere, aspekte van bewoning in stad, dorp en platteland, en bied ’n besinning aan oor herkoms, geworteldheid, verplasing en die verweefdheid van ruimte en identiteit.