O objetivo desta tese é apresentar uma leitura do projeto literário de Luiz Ruffato, intitulado Inferno provisório, considerando o conjunto dos cinco romances como uma “história a contrapelo” conforme o conceito proposto por Walter Benjamin. Nossa pesquisa se preocupa em realizar uma reflexão sobre o contexto histórico e social representado na obra do autor mineiro, investigando o que Ruffato seleciona para figurar em sua pentalogia e como ele a organiza formalmente. Pretendemos, além de situar o trabalho de Ruffato na literatura brasileira contemporânea, apontar Inferno provisório como um romance peculiar na ficção nacional produzida no século XXI em virtude da história narrada e da forma empregada. Nesse sentido, nossa pauta é investigar como o autor utiliza a estética do fragmento na montagem de um painel romanesco e a que ele alude em sua versão a contrapelo da história da modernização nacional na qual valoriza a perspectiva dos trabalhadores brasileiros representados em geral como sujeitos migrantes que se deslocam em busca de empregos. Nessa leitura crítica, é posta em evidência a versão da história olhada sob a perspectiva do fracasso do projeto modernizador percebido por meio da problemática resultante dos deslocamentos geográficos que provocam a dissolução dos laços com a origem e promovem alterações identitárias sentidas na forma do não pertencimento e do desenraizamento. Temas como migração, identidade, modernização e seus desdobramentos perpassam as análises dos romances da pentalogia. / This dissertation aims at presenting a reading proposal departing from Luiz Ruffato’s literary project entitled Inferno provisório, considering all the five novels as a “history against the grain” according to Walter Benjamin’s concept of history. The research is concerned to conduct a reflection on the historical and social context depicted in the author’s works, investigating what Ruffato selects to figure in his pentalogy and how he organizes it formally. Besides situating Ruffato’s work inside the contemporary Brazilian literature, we intend to point out Inferno provisório as a specific novel in the national fiction produced in the XXIst century due to both the way the story is narrated and the form being adopted by the author. In this sense, our goal is to investigate how the author uses the aesthetics of fragments in the montage of a romanesque panel and to what he alludes in his version against the grain of history of national modernization in which he values the perspective of Brazilian workers represented generally as migrants who move in search of jobs. In this critical reading, it is emphasized the version of history considering the failure perspective of the modernization project realized through the resulting problem of geographical displacement which causes the dissolution of ties with the origin and promotes identity changes experienced in the form of not belonging and the uprooting. Issues such as migration, identity, modernization, and its consequences permeate the analysis of Ruffato’s pentalogy. / El objetivo de esta tesis es presentar una lectura del proyecto literario de Luiz Ruffato, titulado Inferno provisório, teniendo en cuenta el conjunto de las cinco novelas como una “historia a contrapelo” como el concepto propuesto por Walter Benjamin. Nuestra investigación se centra em levar a cabo una reflexión sobre el contexto histórico y social representado en la obra del autor minero, investigando lo que Ruffato selecciona para representar en su pentalogia y como él la organiza formalmente. Tenemos la intención, además de situar el trabalho de Ruffato en la literatura brasileña contemporánea, apuntar Inferno provisório como una novela peculiar en la ficción nacional producida en el siglo XXI en virtud de la historia narrada y de la forma empleada. En este sentido, nuestra pauta es investigar cómo el autor utiliza la estética del fragmento en la montaje de un panel romanesco y la que él alude en su versión a contrapelo de la historia de la modernización nacional en la cual valoriza la perspectiva de los trabajadores brasileños representados en general como sujetos migrantes que se movimientan en la búsqueda de empleos. En esta lectura crítica, se pone en evidencia la versión de la historia mirada bajo a la perspectiva del fracaso del proyecto modernizador percibido a través de la problemática resultante de los desplazamientos geográficos que provocan la disolución de los vínculos con el origen y promoven cambios de identidad experimentado en forma de no pertenecimiento y del desarraigo. Temas como la migración, identidad, modernización y sus desarrollos trascienden el análisis de las novelas de la pentalogia.

Submitted by Irvana Coutinho (irvana@ufpa.br) on 2017-03-09T14:14:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_InfernoDantescoInferno.pdf: 6151207 bytes, checksum: 12b392b14c648df3c43e146d50013943 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Irvana Coutinho (irvana@ufpa.br) on 2017-03-09T14:16:49Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_InfernoDantescoInferno.pdf: 6151207 bytes, checksum: 12b392b14c648df3c43e146d50013943 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-09T14:16:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_InfernoDantescoInferno.pdf: 6151207 bytes, checksum: 12b392b14c648df3c43e146d50013943 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-23 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação trata dos parâmetros possíveis entre o Inferno de Dante e a Cibercultura, através dos resultados de uma pesquisa desenvolvida por em três pontos: A Imagem do Infeno, legado da narrativa dantiana expressa ao longo dos séculos por artistas em diferentes estilos, mas dotados de elementos singulares propostos pelo autor florentino. A Cibercultura e seus conceitos: o ciberespaço, a imagem digital, a cultura de convergência e as transformações em curso que essa cultura produz na sociedade. E por último, a fantasia possível entre os conceitos e a imagem do inferno medieval com o mundo contemporâneo, através da atualização dos mesmos presentes no Inferno do projeto de hipernarrativa que se desenvolve tendo como base em tais definições. / This essay is about possible parameters delined between Dante’s Infero and the Cyberculture, thru a research developed in three aspects: Hell’ image, a legacy from dantian narrative and expressed by diferent artists among the centuries, with diferent styles, but wicht adopted the same elements propouseds by the florentian author. The Cyberculture’s concepts, as ciberspace, digital image, convergence culture and the recent transformations in society. At last, the phantasia possible between Medieval Inferno and the contemporary World, beyond the hypernarrative project for those definitions.

O objetivo desta tese é apresentar uma leitura do projeto literário de Luiz Ruffato, intitulado Inferno provisório, considerando o conjunto dos cinco romances como uma “história a contrapelo” conforme o conceito proposto por Walter Benjamin. Nossa pesquisa se preocupa em realizar uma reflexão sobre o contexto histórico e social representado na obra do autor mineiro, investigando o que Ruffato seleciona para figurar em sua pentalogia e como ele a organiza formalmente. Pretendemos, além de situar o trabalho de Ruffato na literatura brasileira contemporânea, apontar Inferno provisório como um romance peculiar na ficção nacional produzida no século XXI em virtude da história narrada e da forma empregada. Nesse sentido, nossa pauta é investigar como o autor utiliza a estética do fragmento na montagem de um painel romanesco e a que ele alude em sua versão a contrapelo da história da modernização nacional na qual valoriza a perspectiva dos trabalhadores brasileiros representados em geral como sujeitos migrantes que se deslocam em busca de empregos. Nessa leitura crítica, é posta em evidência a versão da história olhada sob a perspectiva do fracasso do projeto modernizador percebido por meio da problemática resultante dos deslocamentos geográficos que provocam a dissolução dos laços com a origem e promovem alterações identitárias sentidas na forma do não pertencimento e do desenraizamento. Temas como migração, identidade, modernização e seus desdobramentos perpassam as análises dos romances da pentalogia. / This dissertation aims at presenting a reading proposal departing from Luiz Ruffato’s literary project entitled Inferno provisório, considering all the five novels as a “history against the grain” according to Walter Benjamin’s concept of history. The research is concerned to conduct a reflection on the historical and social context depicted in the author’s works, investigating what Ruffato selects to figure in his pentalogy and how he organizes it formally. Besides situating Ruffato’s work inside the contemporary Brazilian literature, we intend to point out Inferno provisório as a specific novel in the national fiction produced in the XXIst century due to both the way the story is narrated and the form being adopted by the author. In this sense, our goal is to investigate how the author uses the aesthetics of fragments in the montage of a romanesque panel and to what he alludes in his version against the grain of history of national modernization in which he values the perspective of Brazilian workers represented generally as migrants who move in search of jobs. In this critical reading, it is emphasized the version of history considering the failure perspective of the modernization project realized through the resulting problem of geographical displacement which causes the dissolution of ties with the origin and promotes identity changes experienced in the form of not belonging and the uprooting. Issues such as migration, identity, modernization, and its consequences permeate the analysis of Ruffato’s pentalogy. / El objetivo de esta tesis es presentar una lectura del proyecto literario de Luiz Ruffato, titulado Inferno provisório, teniendo en cuenta el conjunto de las cinco novelas como una “historia a contrapelo” como el concepto propuesto por Walter Benjamin. Nuestra investigación se centra em levar a cabo una reflexión sobre el contexto histórico y social representado en la obra del autor minero, investigando lo que Ruffato selecciona para representar en su pentalogia y como él la organiza formalmente. Tenemos la intención, además de situar el trabalho de Ruffato en la literatura brasileña contemporánea, apuntar Inferno provisório como una novela peculiar en la ficción nacional producida en el siglo XXI en virtud de la historia narrada y de la forma empleada. En este sentido, nuestra pauta es investigar cómo el autor utiliza la estética del fragmento en la montaje de un panel romanesco y la que él alude en su versión a contrapelo de la historia de la modernización nacional en la cual valoriza la perspectiva de los trabajadores brasileños representados en general como sujetos migrantes que se movimientan en la búsqueda de empleos. En esta lectura crítica, se pone en evidencia la versión de la historia mirada bajo a la perspectiva del fracaso del proyecto modernizador percibido a través de la problemática resultante de los desplazamientos geográficos que provocan la disolución de los vínculos con el origen y promoven cambios de identidad experimentado en forma de no pertenecimiento y del desarraigo. Temas como la migración, identidad, modernización y sus desarrollos trascienden el análisis de las novelas de la pentalogia.

O objetivo desta tese é apresentar uma leitura do projeto literário de Luiz Ruffato, intitulado Inferno provisório, considerando o conjunto dos cinco romances como uma “história a contrapelo” conforme o conceito proposto por Walter Benjamin. Nossa pesquisa se preocupa em realizar uma reflexão sobre o contexto histórico e social representado na obra do autor mineiro, investigando o que Ruffato seleciona para figurar em sua pentalogia e como ele a organiza formalmente. Pretendemos, além de situar o trabalho de Ruffato na literatura brasileira contemporânea, apontar Inferno provisório como um romance peculiar na ficção nacional produzida no século XXI em virtude da história narrada e da forma empregada. Nesse sentido, nossa pauta é investigar como o autor utiliza a estética do fragmento na montagem de um painel romanesco e a que ele alude em sua versão a contrapelo da história da modernização nacional na qual valoriza a perspectiva dos trabalhadores brasileiros representados em geral como sujeitos migrantes que se deslocam em busca de empregos. Nessa leitura crítica, é posta em evidência a versão da história olhada sob a perspectiva do fracasso do projeto modernizador percebido por meio da problemática resultante dos deslocamentos geográficos que provocam a dissolução dos laços com a origem e promovem alterações identitárias sentidas na forma do não pertencimento e do desenraizamento. Temas como migração, identidade, modernização e seus desdobramentos perpassam as análises dos romances da pentalogia. / This dissertation aims at presenting a reading proposal departing from Luiz Ruffato’s literary project entitled Inferno provisório, considering all the five novels as a “history against the grain” according to Walter Benjamin’s concept of history. The research is concerned to conduct a reflection on the historical and social context depicted in the author’s works, investigating what Ruffato selects to figure in his pentalogy and how he organizes it formally. Besides situating Ruffato’s work inside the contemporary Brazilian literature, we intend to point out Inferno provisório as a specific novel in the national fiction produced in the XXIst century due to both the way the story is narrated and the form being adopted by the author. In this sense, our goal is to investigate how the author uses the aesthetics of fragments in the montage of a romanesque panel and to what he alludes in his version against the grain of history of national modernization in which he values the perspective of Brazilian workers represented generally as migrants who move in search of jobs. In this critical reading, it is emphasized the version of history considering the failure perspective of the modernization project realized through the resulting problem of geographical displacement which causes the dissolution of ties with the origin and promotes identity changes experienced in the form of not belonging and the uprooting. Issues such as migration, identity, modernization, and its consequences permeate the analysis of Ruffato’s pentalogy. / El objetivo de esta tesis es presentar una lectura del proyecto literario de Luiz Ruffato, titulado Inferno provisório, teniendo en cuenta el conjunto de las cinco novelas como una “historia a contrapelo” como el concepto propuesto por Walter Benjamin. Nuestra investigación se centra em levar a cabo una reflexión sobre el contexto histórico y social representado en la obra del autor minero, investigando lo que Ruffato selecciona para representar en su pentalogia y como él la organiza formalmente. Tenemos la intención, además de situar el trabalho de Ruffato en la literatura brasileña contemporánea, apuntar Inferno provisório como una novela peculiar en la ficción nacional producida en el siglo XXI en virtud de la historia narrada y de la forma empleada. En este sentido, nuestra pauta es investigar cómo el autor utiliza la estética del fragmento en la montaje de un panel romanesco y la que él alude en su versión a contrapelo de la historia de la modernización nacional en la cual valoriza la perspectiva de los trabajadores brasileños representados en general como sujetos migrantes que se movimientan en la búsqueda de empleos. En esta lectura crítica, se pone en evidencia la versión de la historia mirada bajo a la perspectiva del fracaso del proyecto modernizador percibido a través de la problemática resultante de los desplazamientos geográficos que provocan la disolución de los vínculos con el origen y promoven cambios de identidad experimentado en forma de no pertenecimiento y del desarraigo. Temas como la migración, identidad, modernización y sus desarrollos trascienden el análisis de las novelas de la pentalogia.

Submitted by Fabiano Vassallo (fabianovassallo2127@gmail.com) on 2017-05-10T18:10:27Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) TESE GERAL SET 16 PDF.pdf: 1886710 bytes, checksum: b5db1c73f392bc4951da93b41b0f5416 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josimara Dias Brumatti (bcgdigital@ndc.uff.br) on 2017-05-15T17:37:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) TESE GERAL SET 16 PDF.pdf: 1886710 bytes, checksum: b5db1c73f392bc4951da93b41b0f5416 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-15T17:37:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) TESE GERAL SET 16 PDF.pdf: 1886710 bytes, checksum: b5db1c73f392bc4951da93b41b0f5416 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Campus III, Leopoldina, MG / Refletir sobre as ruínas da condição humana parece não ser capacidade inerente a todo ser humano. A ficção, não como reflexo da realidade, mas como terreno profícuo ao encontro da linguagem com as relações sociais, oferece uma oportunidade a essa reflexão a partir do trabalho crítico de muitos escritores e seu compromisso social com a história de seu país e seu mundo. Nesse sentido, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é examinar a forma de representar o processo de deslocamentos migratórios de personagens operárias, mineiras de Cataguases, nos cinco volumes do projeto literário Inferno provisório, de Luiz Ruffato – um escritor de procedência bastante próxima à de seus personagens. Busca-se, a partir da leitura das trinta e oito histórias fragmentadas, discutir as implicações do experimentalismo estético aliado ao compromisso social, ético e político. Pretende-se ainda avaliar o papel do escritor enquanto agente no mercado editorial e seu compromisso enquanto intelectual contemporâneo / Reflecting over the ruins of the human condition seems not to be an inherent capacity in every single human being. Fiction, not as a reflection of reality, but as fruitful ground to meet the language with social relations, it offers an opportunity for this reflection from critical work of many writers and their social commitment to the history of their country and their world. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to examine how to represent the process of displacement migration of workers characters, from Cataguases, Minas Gerais, in five volumes of literary project Inferno provisório, by Luiz Ruffato – a writer very close to their characters. Search up from the reading of the thirty-eight fragmented stories to discuss the implications of the aesthetic experimentalism coupled with social, ethical and political commitment. The aim is also to evaluate the writer's role as an agent in publishing and its commitment as contemporary intellectual

L. T. Meade's Avaricious Anomaly: Madame Sara, British Imperialism, and Greedy Wolves in The Sorceress of the Strand. Laurie Langlois Denning, Department of English, BYU Master of Arts. Critics interested in the prolific late Victorian author L.T. Meade have primarily focused on her work as an author of girls' stories and novels for young people, which enjoyed fantastic commercial success in her lifetime but fell into obscurity after her death. Recent scholarship on her detective fiction shows Meade's significant contributions to the genre as well as her engagement with social and political discourse. Scholars have noted ways that Meade's popular series, The Sorceress of the Strand, contributes to the New Woman debate and expresses anxiety over the British imperial project. This project examines Meade's villain in the series as a social anomaly that functions to interrogate the greed at the heart of imperialism. Examining the series' conclusion and the unusual nature of its ending sheds new light on Meade's contribution to debate over empire at the fin de siécle. Meade's fascinating villain, Madame Sara, is doggedly pursued by two detective figures--one is considered the top forensic specialist in the British police force and the other is the head of a business fraud agency--but the detectives are never able to bring Madam Sara to justice. Instead, it is a wolf that finally defeats the brilliant criminal mastermind. Why a wolf? Madam Sara's unusual demise serves as a deus ex machina that invites the reader to consider the Dante symbolism embedded in the text. Other critics see Meade's ending as reinforcing the empire; however, given the Dante imagery that has Madam Sara symbolizing a greedy imperial force, Meade's series indicts imperial greed and warns British citizens about failure to apprehend the evil in empire.

This thesis aims to explore the influences and references, with a particular focus from occultism and western esotericism, found in the film trilogy of The Three Mothers directed by Dario Argento. The trilogy composed of Suspiria, Inferno and The Mother of Tears was produced in a timeframe of thirty years from 1977 to 2007, so it embeds three decades, it also reflects the willingness from the director to disconnect himself from the usual representation of supernatural and horror films of witches and power. The three films Suspiria, Inferno and The Mother of Tears, present an innovative point of view, first of all, the representation of power in the context of horror and secondly, for the nature of references distributed throughout the trilogy. This thesis presents a film analysis of Suspiria, Inferno and The Mother of Tears investigating the semiotics behind the symbols, storytelling, characters, and technical aspects of film production. This work concludes that the deep desk research conducted by Argento on occultism and western esotericism before engaging into the production has deeply influenced it. The references to occultism, western esoteric schools, Steiner and alchemic influences are several, Christianity is also present in the trilogy with a dystopic lent. There is also a gender aspect analysed in the trilogy connected with the representation of feminine power, as the mothers in the trilogy represent witches, a supreme independent source of truth and power disconnected from any Christian and/or masculine representation. Suspiria, Inferno and The Mother of Tears can be then interpreted as a way to challenge the patriarchate power. This thesis is opening with the relevance of references from occultism to be found in several expressions of popular culture in our contemporary society. However, this aspect has not been investigated further than that. It has been utilized to serve the purpose of highlighting the elements in common between Argento’s trilogy and those expressions of popular culture (i.e. horror and supernatural TV series). If this research will be one day extended, the next step would be to find, in other expressions of popular culture (films, manga, graphic novels…), references in line with the ones traced in the trilogy. This would lead to investigate further the way occultism has influenced expressions of art and culture. Another point that is kept for a potential future research, would be to investigate which other examples of horror and supernatural films will be produced (or had been produced), where power and feminine representation breaks the traditional tendency of connecting power either with a Christian notion of evil or with a patriarchal form of power. In this regard, I am sure expressions from Artificial intelligence will come to play a role, but this is due maybe for the future, and maybe for another research to connect these dots.

O objetivo geral desta dissertação é interpretar o corpo enquanto instância semântica no poema O Casamento do Céu e do Inferno (1790), do poeta inglês William Blake. Sustenta-se que uma semântica profunda de TMHH instaura uma forma ativa, integrada e franca de viver. Investigaremos a concepção de corpo presente do poema a fim de validar a hipótese de que é possível ter a vida transformada pela leitura de um texto altamente poético. Essa transformação, em última instância, é uma consequência da apropriação do texto pelo leitor. Tal apropriação se dá não só pela via mental, mas de fato pela incorporação do texto literário. O trabalho será realizado com base na hermenêutica de Paul Ricoeur, especialmente na dialética da conjectura e da validação. Já o livro de artista, ramo da arte conceitual do qual Blake é visto como um dos precursores, será apresentado enquanto performance e demonstração dos sentidos de corporeidade vislumbrados pela presente interpretação do poema. Em termos de embodiment, o papel da gravura em metal do processo criativo completo de Blake abre-nos possibilidades para um amplo horizonte de metáforas relacionadas às especificidades dessa técnica quando em articulação com o poema. / The general objective of this dissertation is to interpret the body as a semantic instance in the poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790), from English poet William Blake. It holds that the depth semantics of TMHH establishes an active, integrated, and franc way of living. We will investigate the conception of a present ‘body’ of the poem to validate the hypothesis that it is possible to have lives transformed by the reading of a highly poetic text. This transformation is ultimately a consequence of the appropriation of the text by the reader. Such appropriation is not only mental, but it takes place in the incorporation, or embodiment, of the literary text. The work will be based on Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics, especially the dialectics of guess and validation. The artist’s book, a field of conceptual art of which Blake is seen as precursor, will be presented as performance and demonstration of the senses of corporeality foreseen in this interpretation of the poem. In terms of embodiment, the role of engraving in Blake’s complete creative process opens to a wild horizon of metaphors concerning the specificities of this art in relation to the poem.

This literature review aims to investigate, expose and explain August Strindberg's religious position in his partly autobiographical work Inferno, published in Swedish in 1897, in relation to Peter Berger's socialization theory. Strindberg says in the beginning of Inferno that he goes from being an atheist, occultist and Swedenborgian to finally return to his ancestral religion, Christianity. This is questionable, as Strindberg seems to be religious in its atheistic era, and occultist during his Christian period. Strindberg's own religious views seem not always match what he portrays, compared to what he writes in his correspondence and diary entries. This literature review aims to highlight the influences of Strindberg affected to clarify his religiosity which is implicitly and explicitly depicted in Inferno. This thematic epicanalysis has revealed several religious perplexities which Strindberg depicted in his literary works. Strindberg describes in the beginning of the work his alchemy and the occult tendencies that flourish around him and how it affects his scientific experiments. There is a time where Strindberg feels anxious and extremely mentally ill, something that gets better as Strindberg learns Emanuel Swedenborg's religion. Inferno ends with a description of Strindberg's conversion to Christianity, which has sought to be explained by various researchers.

xi, 198 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In early modern England the word "measure" had a number of different but related meanings, with clear connections between physical measurements and the measurement of the self (ethics), of poetry (prosody), of literary form (genre), and of capital (economics). In this dissertation I analyze forms of measure in early modern literary texts and argue that measure-making and measure-breaking are always fraught with anxiety because they entail ideological consequences for emerging national, ethical, and economic realities. Chapter I is an analysis of the fourth circle of Dante's Inferno . In this hell Dante portrays a nightmare of mis-measurement in which failure to value wealth properly not only threatens to infect one's ethical well-being but also contaminates language, poetry, and eventually the universe itself. These anxieties, I argue, are associated with a massive shift in conceptions of measurement in Europe in the late medieval period. Chapter II is an analysis of the lyric poems of Thomas Wyatt, who regularly describes his psychological position as "out of measure," by which he means intemperate or subject to excessive feeling. I investigate this self-indictment in terms of the long-standing critical contention that Wyatt's prosody is "out of measure," and I argue that formal and psychological expressions of measure are ultimately inseparable. In Chapter III I argue that in Book II of the Faerie Queene Edmund Spenser figures ethical progress as a course between vicious extremes, and anxieties about measure are thus expressed formally as a struggle between generic forms, in which measured control of the self and measured poetic composition are finally the same challenge Finally, in my reading of Troilus and Cressida I argue that Shakespeare portrays persons as commodities who are constantly aware of their own values and anxious about their "price." Measurement in this play thus constitutes a system of valuation in which persons attempt to manipulate their own value through mechanisms of comparison and through praise or dispraise, and the failure to measure properly evinces the same anxieties endemic to Dante's fourth circle, where it threatens to infect the whole world. / Committee in charge: George Rowe, Chairperson, English; Benjamin Saunders, Member, English; Lisa Freinkel, Member, English; Leah Middlebrook, Outside Member, Comparative Literature