Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>Critics have generally thought that George Meredith's discussion of marital breakdown in Modern Love was in advance of its time. It must be granted that the married couple in the poem do not conform to the image that the Victorians liked to project of themselves, but in my view the narrator's attitude toward his wife, in fact, reflects a very conventional Victorian standpoint. Instead of taking an honest look at the marriage, the narrator blames his wife and unseen forces for their problems. The narrator's share of responsibility is revealed, however, in his manner of narration, in his responses to his wife, and in his way of handling his problems when he begins to suspect her adultery.</p> <p>When the narrator places the blame beyond himself, he has the least awareness of and control over his life. When he accepts responsibility for some of the blame for the failed marriage, he is generally stronger, and able to influence the course of his life, instead of yielding to invisible forces. Because of his weak sense of self the narrator is paralyzed by conflict and is unable to take effective action to improve his situation.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how and why Frost employs irony. The types of irony Frost uses can initially be classified into two categories; "natural" and "artificial" irony. The distinction between these two terns will be elaborated and the various aspects or types of irony encompassed by each tern will be discussed. The reasons for Frost's use of irony will also be examined. The poetry to be studied consists of selected long dramatic poems from three of Frost's early books: North aof Boston (1914), Mountain Interval (1916), and New Hampshire (1923). The observations arising from an examination of these works should sufficiently elucidate frost's uses of irony.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>It is the contention of this thesis that Thomas Chatterton had an artistic and philosophic influence on Keats comparable to that of Shakespeare. By treating first the biographical similarities that exist between the two poets, and then moving into actual artistic influence, the close interrelation of life and art, and the osmotic nature of Keats's organic response to Chatterton reveal themselves. Exciting stylistic and linguistic affinities are to be discovered between Keats and Chatterton, affinities which have either been overlooked or dismissed as irrelevant. In all cases, the affinity between the two poets deepens from the word surface into the meaning of their art.</p> <p>The study of artistic parallels is always. rewarding for it intensifies our understanding of the poets under consideration. My thesis is from the point of view of Keats, and so the comparison has greater ramifications for his art. While Chatterton shows himself a true craftsman, the empathic nature of Keats's artistic response is confirmed. Indeed, if Shakespeare was a good omen to Keats, Chatterton was his silent presider.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The theme of maturation is a central one in the early work of both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. This thesis examines this theme in Hemingway's first two novels, The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms as well as selected early stories, particularly those concerning Nick Adams. Similarly, Fitzgerald's first two novels are examined, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned with some attention given to some selected short stories.</p> <p>The thesis attempts to offer some reasons for the recurrence of this theme in the works; to compare Hemingway's and Fitzgerald's distinctive treatment of the theme, and finally to propose some conclusions concerning the nature of the early fiction of both authors with respect to the theme of the hero's maturation.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The first chapter of this thesis is directed toward Grove's and Hardy's view of man in their novels. After reading the major works of both writers the conclusion put forward here is that neither Grove nor Hardy is willing to write a novel that ignores the possibility of suffering. They do not, however, look upon suffering as the focal point of life. Essentially they direct their attention to man's unique capacity to adapt continually to new, and often difficult, situations. The misfortunes that confront both writers' characters are aimed at showing the reader a variety of consequences for particular patterns of action. There are no guarantees of happiness, but for both writers man is not meant to suffer either irrationally or passively. The freedom to act is an essential part of his character and, as such, he must continually exercise his freedom of choice. For both Grove and Hardy it is this individual freedom to choose, to redefine one's self and one's situation, that enables man to discover and maintain some degree of happiness in life. Similarly, it is this individual freedom, to act that allows all men the chance to discover the profound and the tragic proportions that lie within the human spirit.</p> <p>Both writers locate their characters in settings that are never too removed from the demands of a force that may generally be called Nature. Often the demands of this external force are beyond the intellectual scope and physical strength of men. The suffering that results from the confrontation between Nature and man would seem to indicate that man is destined to suffer irrationally. The conclusion that is made in the second chapter of this thesis, however, is that both Grove and Hardy appear to believe that man must use Nature's laws as co-ordinates that place him in Nature and, at the same time, above it. Both Grove and Hardy repeatedly illustrate that man is more than just a receptor of Nature's fury. He is also a recorder or focal point of Nature's order. Both Grove and Hardy show that man can use his unique relationship with Nature to discover toleration and understanding.</p> <p>Both writers also use the simplicity of rural order and the demands of more complex urban social beliefs as guidelines against which the actual needs of individual men may be measured. Grove and Hardy appear to support a belief in the individual's right to test the validity of any social structure. Similarly, both writers illustrate that the demands of society, like the demands of Nature, are external requirements that test individual men. The conflict that arises as a result of the confrontation of man and society is an integral part of both writers' approach to an appraisal of the freedom of individual men. The final chapter of this thesis, then, concludes with the belief that neither writer sides for or against a particular view of society, but both writers do side with man's right to discover from society a more accurate understanding of individual needs and characteristics.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)