No description available.

In this paper I will examine the sources for the tradition of the address of the soul to the body or the dialogue between, the two. I will consider the Old and Middle English poetic expressions of the body-and-soul legend in terms of the criticism of the ten poems which specifically belong to that tradition and the elements which constitute that genre. I will also deal with those poems written at the same time which exhibit one or more of those elements, with the body-and-soul tradition in English morality plays, with the Ars Moriendi, and with the Dance of Death. I will demonstrate that a shift occurs in the consideration of death from a concern for the soul to a preoccupation with the grotesque and gruesome aspects of death. The address and dialogue forms fall into disuse as a vehicle for theological argument concerning the responsibility for sin, and the view of death reflected by the popular pictorial representations of the Dance of Death becomes prominent.

English Studies / M.A. (English)

This study consists of two volumes. Volume II contains the analysis of fifty-one songs by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) to poems by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). The analysis is based on a preconceived model which focuses on a critical examination of the texts and considers the basic elements of music in each song. Certain stylistic features are apparent from this study and are reflected in Volume I. After a biographical sketch of each artist and a discussion of the texts, a sample of the analysis is presented. The basic elements of music are then discussed: timbre, duration, pitch organization, dynamics, texture, structure, mood and atmosphere. Volume I concludes with a general statement on the stylistic features of the composer and considers the artists' genius in the light of the study. Finzi's setting of such a comparatively large number of Hardy poems is a result of the former's intense interest in English literature and sympathy with much of Hardy's personal philosophies such as the uselessness of suffering which fills an indifferent world. Finzi's settings are firmly embedded in tonal traditions but he explores a great variety of subtle atmospheres within the confines of tonality. The declamation of the texts is of superior quality and the composer achieves an individual language of expression unparalleled in the song-writing of the first half of the twentieth century in England / Hierdie studie beslaan twee volumes. Volume II behels die analise van een-en-vyftig liedere van Gerald Finzi ( 1901-1956) na tekste van Thomas Hardy ( 1840-1928). Die analises is gebaseer op 'n vooraf ontwrepte model op grond waarvan die tekste krities geevalueer, en die basiese musikale elemente bestudeer is. Sekere stilistiese tendense wat uit hierdie studie blyk, word in Volume I weergegee. Na 'n kort biografiese skets van beide kunstenaars en 'n bespreking van die tekste, word 'n uittreksel van die analise aangebied. Hiema volg 'n ondersoek na die basiese elemente van musiek: toonkleur, toonduur, toonhoogte, toonstrekte, tekstuur, struktuur en die skep van atmosfeer. Volume I sluit af met 'n samevatting van die stylkenmerke en 'n slotbeskouing van beide kunstenaars se geniale bydrae. Finzi se toonsetting van 'n relatief groot aantal gedigte van Hardy spruit uit sy intense belangstelling in die Engelse letterkunde en sy vereenselwiging met die persoonlike filosofee van Hardy - veral die gedagte van onnodige lyding in 'n apatiese wereld. Finzi toonset hoofsaaklik in 'n tonale styl, maar ondersoek 'n groot verskeidenheid delikate atmosfeerskeppinge binne die tonale raamwerk. Sy deklamering van tekste is van hoogstaande gehalte en die komponis bring 'n pesoonlike uitdrukkingsvorm, ongeewenaar in die liederkuns van die eerste helfte van die twintigste eeu in Engeland, tot stand / D.Mus. (Musicology)

This thesis examines attitudes and approaches towards death, as well as aesthetic representations of death, in Anglo-Saxon hagiography. The thesis contributes to the discussion of the historical and intellectual contexts of hagiography and considers how saintly death-scenes are represented to form commentaries on exemplary behaviour. A comprehensive survey of death-scenes in Anglo-Saxon hagiography has been undertaken, charting typical and atypical motifs used in literary manifestations of both martyrdom and non-violent death. The clusters of literary motifs found in these texts and what their use suggests about attitudes to exemplary death is analysed in an exploration of whether Anglo-Saxon hagiography presents a consistent aesthetic of death. The thesis also considers how modern scholarly fields such as thanatology can provide fresh discourses on the attitudes to and depictions of ‘good' and ‘bad' deaths. Moreover, the thesis addresses the intersection of the hagiographic inheritance with discernibly Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards death and dying, and investigates whether or not the deaths of native Anglo-Saxon saints are presented differently compared with the deaths of universal saints. The thesis explores continuities and discontinuities in the presentations of physical and spiritual death, and assesses whether or not differences exist in the depiction of death-scenes based on an author's personal agenda, choice of terminology, approaches towards the body–soul dichotomy, or the gender of his or her subject, for example. Furthermore, the thesis investigates how hagiographic representations of death compare with portrayals in other literature of the Anglo-Saxon period, and whether any non-hagiographic paradigms provide alternative exemplars of the ‘good death'. The thesis also assesses gendered portrayals of death, the portrayal of last words in saints' lives, and the various motifs relating to the soul at the moment of death. The thesis contains a Motif Index of saintly death-scenes as Appendix I.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Many Old English poems reflect the Anglo-Saxon writers's interest in who could exercise power and how language could be used to signal a position of power or powerlessness. In previous Old English studies, the prevailing critical attitude has been to associate the exercise of power with sex—the distinction between males and females based upon biological and physiological differences—or with sex-oriented social roles or sphere of operation. Scholarship of the last twenty years has just begun to explore the connection between power and gender-coded traits, attributes which initially were tied to the heroic code and were primarily male-oriented. By the eighth and ninth centuries, the period in which most of the extant Old English poetry was probably composed, these qualities had become disassociated from biological sex but retained their gender affiliations. A re-examination of "The Dream of the Rood," "The Wanderer," "The Husband's Message," "The Wife's Lament," "Wulf and Eadwacer" and Beowulf confirms that the poets used gender-coded language to indicate which poetic characters, female as well as male, held positions of power and powerlessness. A status of power or powerlessness was signalled by the exercise of particular gendered traits that were open for assumption by men and women. Powerful individuals were depicted with masculine-coded language affiliated with honor, mastery, aggression, victory, bravery, independence, martial prowess, assertiveness, physical strength, verbal acuteness, firmness or hardness, and respect from others. Conversely, the powerless were described with non-masculine or feminine-coded language suggesting dishonor, subservience, passivity, defeat, cowardice, dependence, defenselessness, lack of volition, softness or indecisiveness, and lack of respect from others. Once attained, neither status was permanent; women and men trafficked back and forth between the two. Depending upon the circumstances, members of both sexes could experience reversals of fortunes which would necessitate moving from one category to the other, on more than one occasion in a lifetime.

This dissertation discusses the complicated relationship (known as the comitatus) of kings and followers as presented in the heroic poetry of the Anglo-Saxons. The anonymous poets of the age celebrated the ideals of their culture but consistently portrayed the real behavior of the characters within their works. Other studies have examined the ideals of the comitatus in general terms while referring to the poetry as a body of work, or they have discussed them in particular terms while referring to one or two poems in detail. This study is both broader and deeper in scope than are the earlier works. In a number of poems I have identified the heroic ideals and examined the poetic treatment of those ideals. In order to establish the necessary background, Chapter I reviews the historical sources, such as Tacitus, Bede, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the work of modern historians. Chapter II discusses such attributes of the king as wisdom, courage, and generosity. Chapter III examines the role of aristocratic women within the society. Chapter IV describes the proper behavior of followers, primarily their loyalty in return for treasures earlier bestowed. Chapter V discusses perversions and failures of the ideal. The dissertation concludes that, contrary to the view that Anglo-Saxon literature idealized the culture, the poets presented a reasonably realistic picture of their age. Anglo-Saxon heroic poetry celebrates ideals of behavior which, even when they can be attained, are not successful in the real world of political life.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T19:30:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Rossini T Favaro.pdf: 799656 bytes, checksum: 0952ed8df4eaff987d0790e036ed9eda (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-03 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This M.A. dissertation analyzes the work Idylls of the King (1889), from the English poet Alfred Tennyson, as a historical source. Our first aim is to identify the context of the idylls production, associating the work to political, economical and social matters such as the ones that were formed at the Victorian England. The second one is to identify the singularities from the Tennyson´s authorship through the characters selection, episodes and approached themes from the achievement which we call temporal transition, associating the Arthurian myth to the English history. In that manner, we identify what the author believed to be the mission of the poet, linked to social function of culture. The third aim is to identify the royalty built by Tennyson, based on what he considered to be the tradition which passes through all the nation history, the political and personal virtues / Esta dissertação analisa a obra Idylls of the King (1889), do poeta inglês Alfred Tennyson, como documento ou registro histórico. Nosso primeiro objetivo é identificarmos o contexto de produção dos idílios, associando a obra as questões políticas, econômicas e sociais tal como se configuravam na Inglaterra vitoriana. O segundo é identificarmos as marcas da autoria de Tennyson por meio da seleção de personagens, episódios e temas abordados a partir da realização do que denominamos trânsito temporal, que associa o mito arthuriano à história inglesa. Dessa forma, identificamos aquilo que o autor acreditava ser a missão do poeta, vinculada à função social da cultura. O terceiro objetivo é identificarmos a realeza construída por Tennyson, fundamentada no que considerava ser a tradição que perpassara toda a história da nação, a virtude pessoal e política

Esta tese se propõe examinar a poesia de John Donne (1572-1631) na perspectiva de um âmbito mais amplo de práticas representativas dos meios letrados das cortes do século XVII. Pressupondo a vigência de uma instituição retórica cujos preceitos condicionavam a prática poética, adota-se uma metodologia de pesquisa que flexibiliza os limites classificatórios da historiografia oitocentista posteriormente impostos aos poetas do século XVII. Assim, procede-se a uma análise retórico-poética da poesia de Donne, particularmente, mas também de seus coetâneos George Chapman, Fulke Greville, William Shakespeare e outros considerando os gêneros e estilos de suas composições, as espécies de agudeza que efetuavam, a adequação dos conceitos que formulavam como ornato dialético enigmático e a legibilidade que constituíam nas obras. Propõe-se uma investigação dos pressupostos doutrinários vigentes na época que significam as práticas representativas e as categorias que a envolvem, como a conceituação de que a poesia vernacular culta se define como prática de emulação da poesia greco-latina em seu elenco de autoridades; de que a preceituação vernacular analogamente se define como prática de emulação da preceitução antiga em seus postulados diversos; que a prática de emulação é ativa e não pressupõe cópia servil, mas variação dos argumentos de um mesmo lugar de invenção e variação do tópico elocutório, assumindo a versatilidade das operações retórico-poéticas como prova de engenho e arte. Tendo como força determinante a valoração do wit (engenho; ingenio; ingegno) nos meios letrados do século XVII, esta tese considera sempre que pode as práticas poéticas e preceptivas continentais, cruzando-as com suas contrapartes inglesas, buscando definir os critérios variados de recepção da poesia e os preceitos em uso que constituem a poética da agudeza. / This Ph.D. thesis examines the poetry of John Donne (1572-1631) in the light of the representative practices in the learned circles of 17th century courts. Presuming that there was an effective presence of a rhetorical institution at that time, which conditioned poetical production, I have adopted a critical methodology that displaces the classificatory limits of 19th century historiography later imposed on the poets of the early 17th century. I have specifically made a rhetorical-poetical analysis of the poetry of Donne, but also of George Chapman, Fulke Greville, William Shakespeare and others, considering the genres and the styles of their composition, the types of wit they used, the aptness of the conceits formulated as enigmatic dialectical ornaments, and the legibility of their works. I have also investigated the doctrinal conjectures current at the time which then signified the representative practices, such as the concept that cultivated vernacular poetry was defined as an emulation of Greek and Latin poetry; that the vernacular doctrines of rhetoric were also defined as emulation of ancient doctrines; and that the practice of emulation was an active force, and did not imply servile imitation, but rather a variation of the places of argument and the elocutory topic, taking on the diversity of rhetorical and poetical procedures as proof of wit and art. Taking as a determining force the value given to wit (engenho; ingenio; ingegno) in the learned circles of the early 17th century, this thesis also takes into consideration continental poetical and rhetorical practices, cross-examining them with English ones, in an attempt to define the diverse criteria of poetry reception and the precepts then extant which ultimately constituted the poetics of wit.