Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English. / Bibliography: leaves 85-86.

"The Witness" can be viewed as Clinton F. Larson's poetic manifesto that points the direction for much of his subsequent work. Although his poetic "mormonism" has been questioned by several of his critics, this thesis shows that Larson definitely expresses his Mormon faith in "The Witness" as a metaphorical quest for mythic consciousness. While searching in the poem for sacred space and time, Larson seeks to become closer to the divine and powerful center of being, creating at once a metaphor for his quest to understand and assimilate Christ's atonement and a poetic voice from which he can speak for and of God. It is from this imagined pinnacle as poet-prophet that Larson seeks to establish a Mormon poetic that boasts a Mormon "restoration" structure analagous to the Catholic "epiphanous" structure characteristic of much of Joyce's and O'Conner's work.

The three papers included in this thesis reflect my development as a graduate student during the course of my master's program at Brigham Young Universtiy. I came to Brigham Young University interested in creative writing and developed a love for research and criticism. My work in nineteenth century American literature led to the first two papers. Both deal with literary history, the first narrow in scope, devoted to a study of the significance of a single play, the second broad in scope, devoted to a study of the unifying thread of anti-sentimentalism in the writings of the major American realists. These papers reflect both my research in and commitment to American literary criticism. My third paper is a study of the significance of violence in the poetry of Clinton F. Larson. I have attempted to be objective and honest in my assessment of Dr. Larson's poetry. My thesis on his poetry is entirely my own. To my knowledge this is a first: a first study of Dr. Larson's poetry, and a first paper on his work ever included in a master's thesis. I am happy to have the privilege of opening up this area of investigation. It is my hope that this study will stimulate further discussion of his work.