Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Dance / Charles J. Griffin / This study seeks to discover the loci, or themes, within the post-World War II books of Theodor Geisel, whom generations of American readers came to know as “Dr. Seuss.” A prolific children's author and social activist, Dr. Seuss penned more than 40 children’s books during the period under investigation. After World War II, Seuss’ books began to merge social themes with his entertaining storylines and trademark illustrations. This thesis applies a methodology that draws from both close textual analysis and topically-oriented critical approaches in order to illuminate loci in 10 selected works. Through Cicero’s critical process of invention, relationships between arguments and loci are established. Analysis of these “message books” reveals the complex political and ideological themes present in Dr. Seuss’ texts while situating his work within a larger American rhetorical tradition of didactic children’s literature.

This thesis proposed the idea of oral interpretation of children's literature as a pedagogical tool in the primary classroom. A group interpretation script entitled "The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss" was compiled for performance in the primary classroom as a viable vehicle for teaching children to understand and appreciate literature. The script was evaluated by qualified teachers in the areas of English, oral interpretation, and elementary education as well as a critical analysis by the author. The thesis concluded that oral communication is necessary in the primary grade and that group interpretation is an exciting way to enhance learning.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Few people realize exactly how complicated the translation of children’s poetry is. Translators do not only have to adhere to the young readers’ desires and satisfy the adult critics, but are constantly confronted with choices concerning the translation of the ‘play-element’ (structure) and the ‘visual element’ (content) of children’s verses, i.e. the translation of cultural elements, figurative language, pun, nonce words, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme and meter. In addition, their translation strategies are continually subjective to and restricted by the visual text (illustrations) in the source texts, which interrelate with the verbal text (verses). In this descriptive, systematic analysis the Afrikaans and French translations of Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes, Dr. Seuss’s rhyming picture books and Roald Dahl’s verse fragments are compared to one another and the source texts in order to identify the various translation strategies and theoretical translation approaches used by the various Afrikaans and French translators, to make concrete observations about the translation of children’s poetry that can be useful for translators, and to establish if it is indeed possible to create translations of children’s verses that remain true to the ‘spirit’ of the original poetic texts, can function as autonomous texts in the target system, and that can supplement the Afrikaans and French children’s literature systems. __________________________________________________________________________ / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Min mense besef hóé ingewikkeld die vertaling van kinderverse eintlik is. Vertalers moet nie net tegelykertyd aan jong lesers se behoeftes voldoen en volwasse kritici tevrede stel nie, maar word ook deurgaans gekonfronteer met keuses wat betref die vertaling van die spel-element (struktuur) en visuele element (inhoud) van kinderverse, o.a. die vertaling van kultuurgebonde verwysings, beeldspraak, woordspel, neologisme, onomatopee, alliterasie, rym en metrum. Daarbenewens word die vertalers se vertaalstrategieë beïnvloed en beperk omdat die visuele teks (illustrasies) in die brontekste deurgaans met die verbale teks (verse) in gesprek tree. In dié deskriptiewe sisteemondersoek word die Afrikaanse en Franse vertalings van Moeder Gans se kinderrympies, Dr. Seuss se versverhale en Roald Dahl se prosimetriese kinderstories met mekaar en die brontekste vergelyk om die verskillende vertaalstrategieë en teoreties gefundeerde vertaalbenaderings wat deur die onderskeie Afrikaanse en Franse vertalers toegepas is, te identifiseer, konkrete bevindinge oor die vertaling van die kindervers te maak wat vir toekomstige vertalers van praktiese nut kan wees, en te bepaal of dit inderdaad moontlik is om vertalings van kinderverse te skep wat getrou bly aan die ‘gees’ van die oorspronklike gedigtekste, as selfstandige tekste in die doelsisteem kan funksioneer, en die Afrikaanse en Franse kinder- en jeugliteratuursisteme kan aanvul.

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