Samuel Richardson's second novel, Clarissa: or, The History of a Young Lady, one of the longest novels in English, has appeared in dozens of significantly different editions, many of them abridgments. This study examines the means by which Richardson and later editors altered the text of Clarissa, primarily by working with three variables: its epistolary format, its length, and its explicit moral lessons.The first half of the study reviews relevant scholarly research and traces Richardson's uses of internal editors in his four editions of the novel. Richardson's omniscient editor, the most visible and conventional of the internal editors of ClarissR, operates both inside and outside the epistolary framework of the novel. Inside, the editorial voice adds identifying tags to letters and summarizes missing letters. Outside, the editor emphasizes moral elements of the novel by means of a preface and postscript, numerous footnotes, a list of principal characters, and a judgmental table of contents. Richardson expanded the role of this editor in each of his successive editions.Richardson's mastery of the epistolary format further appears in his use of all the major correspondents as internal editors. Jack Belford operates most visibly, assembling correspondence to and from Clarissa and Lovelace to vindicate Clarissa's memory and instruct possible readers. Belford's Conclusion serves a similar function to the nameless editor's preface and postscript. Richardson also gave Clarissa, Anna Howe, and Lovelace editorial tasks, including introducing and summarizing letters, footnoting, and altering letters before showing them to someone other than the intended recipient.Each major correspondent also has a unique individual editorial function.The study's second half analyzes and compares seven abridgments of Clarissa published between 1868 and 1971, concluding that all seven drastically change the novel (yet in differing fashions) despite their retention of its plot and epistolary format.All seven external editors alter Richardson's stated intentions. Four variables shape the comparison: stated editorial intent, omissions, alterations, and additions. An appendix lists the contents of all seven abridgments by individual letter. / Department of English

Bibliography: leaves 341-352. / ix, 352 leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates how Roman poets make use of imagery and vocabulary of colour and shining to enhance the effectiveness of their poetry. Focuses on the work of three Roman poets, Catullus, Propertius and Horace (in his Carmina) because they have many themes in common and exhibit skilful and imaginative use of colour imagery and vocabulary. Parallels are drawn with the colour imagery of the poets' predecessors, contemporaries and successors (in both Greek and Latin verse). / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 1999?

Bibliography: leaves 341-352. / ix, 352 leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Investigates how Roman poets make use of imagery and vocabulary of colour and shining to enhance the effectiveness of their poetry. Focuses on the work of three Roman poets, Catullus, Propertius and Horace (in his Carmina) because they have many themes in common and exhibit skilful and imaginative use of colour imagery and vocabulary. Parallels are drawn with the colour imagery of the poets' predecessors, contemporaries and successors (in both Greek and Latin verse). / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Centre for European Studies and General Linguistics, 1999?

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Women's Studies, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-134).

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This thesis is concerned with the pseudo-Hesiodic Aspis, also known as the Scutum or Shield of Herakles (Heracles). It is divided into two halves: the Introduction, consisting of four chapters, is followed by detailed line-by-line commentary on a portion of the Greek text. Chapter I surveys the evidence for the poem's origins and dating before moving on to its scholarly reception since Wolf. It then argues that, for a proper understanding of the Aspis, the methodologies of oral poetics must be balanced with an awareness of its responses to fixed texts (in particular the Iliad). Chapter II examines the author as a poet within the oral tradition, focussing on: narrative style and structuring; type-scenes; similes; poetic ethos; the poem's position relative to the Hesiodic corpus; the use of formular language; and the growth of the poem in the author's hands. These problems are most fruitfully approached by taking account of the interplay of tradition on the one hand and of allusion to specific texts on the other. Wider points about the advanced stages of the oral tradition also emerge; in particular, from an analysis of narrative inconsistencies in the Aspis it is suggested that writing played a role in the poem's composition. Chapter III positions the poet within the literary tradition: his interactions with other songs and tales are sometimes sophisticated engagements of a kind more often detected in Hellenistic and Roman poetry. The presentation of the protagonist of the Aspis evinces the poet's skilful handling of myth, here manipulated for political purposes. Chapter III concludes with a survey of the poem's reception in early art and in literature up to Byzantine times. In Chapter IV the central section of the poem, the description of Herakles' shield (vv. 139-320), is examined in detail, both in relation to the Homeric Shield of Achilles and within the context of the Aspis. The second half of the thesis comprises a critical edition of and lemmatic commentary on vv. 139-237.

This thesis aims to solve the apparent problem of the frequent repetitions in Lucretius' De Rerum Natura (DRN). Verbal repetitions of many different lengths pervade DRN, and are noted in the scholarship. Yet a consensus has not been reached as to their purpose and function, or even if they rightly belong in the text. Multi-linear repetitions are viewed as a temporary stop-gap which Lucretius would have removed or adjusted had he lived long enough to effect it; or as later interpolations; while shorter repetitions are underplayed or even ignored altogether. But repetitions and internal allusions in DRN are part of a purposeful, meaningful didactic and rhetorical strategy, and they form much of the intellectual structure of the poem. These internal connections combine in DRN to form a remarkably complex intratextual network. The thesis argues that repetition is a crucial way in which Lucretius conveys his arguments and persuades the reader to pursue a rational life. Chapter 1 analyses the ways in which Lucretius' epic predecessors used repetition and how Lucretius may have applied these models. Chapter 2 looks at the internal evidence for the alleged unfinished state of the poem and examines the function of long repetitions in DRN. Chapter 3 investigates the rhetorical background to and functions of different kinds of repetition in DRN. Chapter 4 explores the didactic and psychological effects of repetitions and internal allusions. Chapter 5 shows how repetition creates an image of the world Lucretius describes: just as Lucretius tells us that atoms and compounds make up different substances depending on their arrangement in combination, so repetitions perform different functions and produce different outcomes depending on their placement in the text. Throughout the poem, repetition serves again and again to reinforce Lucretius' message, creating argumentative unity, and bringing order from chaos.

This thesis starts from the point of departure that Sidney's claim in his Defence of Poetry that the purpose of literature is to delight and instruct a given audience is both an accurate and important guiding principle behind the creation of his two Arcadias. By their author's criteria, Sidney's works seek not only to provide diverting images of a fictive world, but to insure that these images serve some specific moral, didactic purpose. The manner in which Sidney goes about achieving this end is, however, less simplistic than the ordinary understanding of didactic literature connotes. The most historically determined aspect of the Arcadia 's didacticism is its extensive and strategic deployment of rhetorical figuration. Rhetoric in Sidney's Renaissance England represented both a vital tool in the smooth running of political life and a signpost of literary genius. The Arcadia thus manipulates specific rhetorical figures and tropes both to demonstrate the great literary skill of its author as well as to depict an ethical and political ideal. Part One of the thesis first investigates the history of rhetorical theory and its impact on the reputation of Sidney's work. It then goes on to explore particular rhetorical devices employed most frequently and significantly in the Old and New Arcadias, drawing comparisons between the versions as to underscore the differences in stylistic procedure and dramatic content of each work. Other aspects of Sidney's rhetoricism, such as his treatment of paradox and his rhetorical character portrayal, are also studied in an effort to gauge the major differences between the Old and New Arcadias. The overall conclusions drawn indicate that Sidney adapts his rhetorical strategy to accommodate a more complex and mature vision of ethical behaviour in his revised work. The other key aspect of Sidney's didacticism is his self-conscious and contentious depiction of gender roles. That is, Sidney plays off varying aspects of traditionally gender-associated behaviour to portray his own vision of an heroic ethical ideal. For example, the Amazon and the transvestite become vehicles through which to explore aspects of femininity that are for Sidney wholly in concord with manifestations of heroism. Moreover, Sidney subverts traditional gendered conceptions of particular vices and virtues to illustrate a liberal attitude toward the potentialities of women and men. Part Two, then, is dedicated to drawing out Sidney's understanding of gender roles as they reflect and demonstrate his unique vision of an heroic ideal. The observations made about the rhetorical and gendered dimensions of Sidney's didacticism are brought together in the conclusion, where Sidney's rhetoric is situated within the context of gender. In other words, the gendered conception of Sidney's particular brand of rhetoric is brought to the fore and poised within the ethical framework it embodies.

Interpreters of the book of Jonah understand the characterisation of Jonah, and hence the meaning of the book, in a variety of ways. These interpretive models may be categorised under seven headings: Jonah as Pinocchio, psychotic, Prometheus, fall-guy, patriot, prophet, and reluctant missionary. They reflect the spectrum of opinions regarding whether Jonah ultimately serves as a positive or negative example. How one decides this issue depends on the interpreter's understanding of the larger group whom Jonah represents. In turn, this will largely determine what is perceived as the main message of the book. Thus the surface-level question driving this investigation is, how is the reader to understand the character of Jonah? Many underlying epistemological and hermeneutical factors influence one's response to such questions. These include the nature and locus of meaning, the possibility of communication, the properties of a text, the potential for narratives to convey values, the possibility of authors to communicate intentions, and the correlative possibility of readers to identify communicative in tentions. The thesis advanced here is that narrative conventions may inform readers on how to understand biblical narratives. Functional knowledge of these conventions, particularly those pertaining to setting, plot and characterisation, enables readers to identify more accurately the values espoused by biblical authors. Moreover, the characterisation of Jonah is clarified when the narrative is read in this light, including which group he is meant to represent and whether he is portrayed positively or negatively. The larger group Jonah represents includes those who presume a covenantal relationship with Yahweh based on illegitimate grounds. The narrative conventions reveal a negative portrayal of Jonah and the sins he represents: pride, hypocrisy, callousness toward others and small-mindedness before a sovereign God. Thus the book indicts those who presume upon God's compassion based on mere affiliation with a group. The goal of this thesis is to set forth the value of knowing conventions of setting, plot and characterisation. Awareness of and attention to these factors hold the promise for more nuanced understanding both of Jonah as well as other narratives of the Hebrew Bible / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Th. (Old Testamanent)

D.Litt. et Phil. / In this thesis, I shall be examining whether the creation hermeneutic is a valid hermeneutic for understanding the Gospel of John. In other words, is it a legitimate and a valid perspective with which to understand the Fourth Gospel. Can the Gospel be specifically understood from a creation perspective? It must be mentioned here that the creation perspective is only one perspective (point of view) with which to understand the Gospel. It is not the only perspective (point of view) that may be valid in understanding the Gospel. Furthermore it must be mentioned that very little literature is available on this specific topic ( the creation theme in the fourth Gospel). I therefore had to be creative and innovative in developing this different point of view regarding the Gospel. What I did wish to discover however is whether it is a valid point of view which will assist the reader in developing a better understanding of the Gospel. The question to be asked is whether it is a valid exegetical method with which to understand the Gospel. In answering the questions above, I applied a specific hermeneutic (method of interpretation) to the analysis of these problems. I applied specifically the comparative-literary methods aiming at a theological systematization of the creation theme. This comparative-literary method not only involved analysing the Gospel of John against the background of the creation story told in Genesis, but also involved an analysis of the Gospel within its socio-cultural and political-religious context.