In this dissertation, several aspects and processes of the female and melancholic psyche are discussed in terms of Sylvia Plathâs life and work. The two pivotal theoretical schools which are thus of interest are psychoanalysis and feminism. In addition, there is another conceptual framework that is of importance to this study, namely American moral philosopher Martha Nussbaumâs notion of the narrative imagination and its role in liberal education. However, this theory is not discussed in detail but rather provides the broader framework for the dissertation; setting the tone for the discussions as it were. While this particular analysis is thus by no means comprehensive or complete, the aim is for the reader to actively apply his/her narrative imagination in order to more fully grasp the internal world and external circumstances of the female figures in Plathâs work and thereby grasp some of Plathâs psychical processes (as opposed to attempting a holistic grasp on Plathâs psyche). In terms of psychoanalysis, the various influences that can potentially impact (often negatively) the human psyche are considered. The focus is mostly on the female psyche, and therefore the analysis concentrates specifically on the following: the influence of the Electra/Oedipus complex on the girl/womanâs relationship with the father figure (both her actual father and the symbolic order which functions as a father in patriarchal society) and subsequently with her sexual/romantic partners; the girl/womanâs intense and ambivalent relationship with the mother figure (as the primal love-object and as the model of ideal femininity); and the reciprocal dynamic which exists between these relationships and the girl/womanâs psyche and life. The influence and incarnation of various other psychoanalytic notions are also considered; such as the ideal ego, the divided self and the masochistic ego. Furthermore, the characteristics and possible effects of melancholia and the deathdrive are examined, particularly in terms of suicide as an act of self-affirmation. In so far as it is possible and plausible, these psychoanalytic notions are related to Plathâs work and, by inference, to certain aspects of her life. With regards to feminist theory, theorists who also employ a psychoanalytic stance (such as the so-called âFrench feministsâ Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva) with regards to the specific position of the female figure in patriarchal society were examined. As such, the thoughts of several well-known and lesser known feminist theorists (for example, Jacqueline Rose and Juliet Mitchell) are discussed and applied. Of particular importance is patriarchal societyâs definition of womanhood and the conflicts which women experience because of this, specifically within the unique cultural setting of 1950s America. Therefore, the influences of the symbolic order in numerous of its figurations are examined and how they can silence women, specifically the female writer. Other central concepts in reaching a deeper understanding of Plathâs work and some of the psychical aspects she probes therewith include: the womenâs role as commodity and fetish object, the mother figureâs role in perpetuating patriarchal pressure on her daughter, the female and especially the maternal body as embodiment of the abject, and conversely the way in which writing her body can offer the woman a subjective affirmation in the form of écriture féminine.

Fairy tales emphasise such things as the passivity and beauty of female characters, thus functioning as gendered scripts which serve and support the dominant gender systems in societies. Beauty, which is represented as an ideal state of being in fairy tales, is a socially constructed notion indicating that the physical appearance of a woman is her most important quality, and that she should therefore strive to perfect it. The ideal of feminine beauty is âviewed largely as an oppressive, patriarchal practice that objectifies, devalues, and subordinates womenâ (Baker-Sperry & Grauerholz, 2003: 711); however, some women willingly strive to attain beauty since this is seen as a way to empower themselves. Studying the significance of beauty in fairy tales from a gendered perspective can provide an insight into the dynamics that exist between power, culture and gender, as well as their significance. This study is therefore interested in the gender dynamics of the texts, the state of gender relations between various characters from the texts, and the patriarchal attitudes limiting characters (particularly female characters) to a certain sphere of existence. Thus, the norm of being accepted (as well as other societal norms) plays an important role. The instructions found in stories reassure readers that they have not strayed from the accepted path, but that they are defining themselves within the framework of the society they live in. Thus one is taught to act and react in certain circumstances, sometimes to the detriment of oneâs personal growth. All societies have their shared belief structures, which are embedded in the tales, whether the message is religious or moral. Depending on the source of the translation, the same tale can teach different moral lessons. In âAschenputtelâ one finds that a person who does bad things and uses deception to get ahead in the world will be severely punished for his or her transgressions. The French version, âCendrillonâ, on the other hand, teaches its readers or audience to treat other people in the way that they themselves would like to be treated. Beauty, as illustrated in fairy tales, has an interesting relationship with industriousness, goodness/morality, economic privilege, danger, and class. In fairy tales, it appears, beautiful women are usually kind-hearted and hard-working, as illustrated in the tales discussed in this dissertation. They are usually rewarded for their goodness (beauty) by gaining some form of monetary gain and/or an increase in their social standing (class). Beauty also seems to go hand-in-hand with danger; they become targets of malicious attacks because of their physical appearance. Women are usually treated as inferior to men since fairy tales are set in patriarchal societies. Some women would say that these messages are archaic and demeaning. However, these tales can still teach valuable life lessons if the reader is willing to navigate through the perilous realm of Faërie, wary of the pitfalls, dungeons and traps left along the way by generations of storytellers. Thus, the reader of fairy tales must gain mastery of the text in order to avoid these traps and to be able to master the lessons and morals embedded within the tales.

The term “humour” is one which is applied in a general sense to refer either to a work of art or to a characteristic which may occur in any kind of writing. Similarly, the term is used to describe a teller of funny stories or one of man's natural endowments, his sense of humour. As an art form humour has been less analysed than its counterpart, tragedy, and until recently little attention had even been paid to the nature of the laughter which accompanies humour. For this reason, and before beginning a study of the work of Stephen Leacock, it would be well to make some general observations about humour as an art form.

Criticism of Lawrence’s writing, particularly in the last ten years, has been remarkably abundant. The novels have received the greatest share of this attention, and have been the subjects of many interesting and valuable studies. However, The White Peacock and The Trespasser, Lawrence's first two novels, have been misunderstood and neglected by a great number of his critics. They have received less attention than any of the novels except The Boy in the Bush, which Lawrence wrote in collaboration with M.L. Skinner.

In anthologies or reference books Henry Vaughan is usually classified as either a "nature poet" or a "mystic" or sometimes as a "mystical nature poet." Much has been said on the subject of mysticism as applied to Vaughan and I do not intend to swell the already overwhelming tide of material on this subject, since I feel it is impossible conclusively to demonstrate Vaughan's mysticism from his poetry. Some of the critics who feel that Vaughan completely fulfills the requirements in the definition of a mystic (which may vary with different critics) or who assume Vaughan is a mystic and, without “proving” his mysticism, discuss his poetry as being “mystical,” are listed below.

"To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme", said Herman Melville in Moby Dick. Despite conspicuous differences in approach, the underlying theme of Moby Dick and Pierre is indeed a cosmic one. It is a theme with which Melville grappled throughout his life; one with which all great artists and religious teachers have wrestled since the dawn of human expression, and which so intensely concerned the first New Englanders and many of their descendants.

In one of his many letters to Rose Leicester in The Lake, Father Oliver Gogarty warns her against falling into “a divorce between the world of sense and of the spirit.” Rose was first ostracized and later exiled from her native Ireland for having borne a child out of wedlock, and Gogarty fears that he and the persons in his parish have driven her into a non-Catholic environment where she is losing her faith and, as he puts it, over-indulging in the senses, to the detriment of her spiritual life.

In reading parts of The King James Version* of the Bible, l have found a great deal of syllabic rhythm, which has added considerably to my appreciation of the work as literature. After investigation it appeared that all critics and scholars who had commented upon the matter had come to the same conclusion, but that no-one was explicit about how it could be shown precisely. This thesis was undertaken to examine the rhythmical texture of AV with exactitude, and then to draw certain conclusions that could less easily be gainsaid than the opinions derived from subjective impressions.

Note: Missing title page. / In every generation since the Renaissance there have been worthy disciples of those men who rediscovered the ancient world of Greece and Rome, with its intellectual freedom and courage and warm love of life, and who prized the Greek and Latin classics for their humanizing influence even more than for their intrinsic beauty. Petrarch and his followers found exemplified in the bodies of the statutes and the minds of the writers of the Graeco-Roman world a new ideal of individual life lived at its greatest intensity.

It was one of those afternoons - strangely, mistily, personal, - when the air, thick with grey, sooty mist, seems weeping at the sorrows of the earth. All the buildings lean and sigh about the city streets, and mournfulness, like a genie, roams forlornly. No one should be alone on such an afternoon. They were not alone, those two women, over near the confectionery counter, huddled at their cozy table in the cheerful little tea-shop, taking, delicately, morsels of toast and tea. [...]