This research examines the issues and visual processes that arise in the production of self-representations derived from literary texts. The construction of a series of photographic and video installations drawing upon T. S Eliot’s poem 'The Waste Land' (1922) allowed for the exploration and analysis of how literature functions as a device to represent autobiographical experience within my media arts practice. The study considered the relevance and usage of the literary source in relation to specific adaptation procedures, in terms of what complexities were encountered and how these were understood. Whilst orthodox film adaptation provided a theoretical framework for initial experimentation, it is argued that my practice is positioned outside this domain, employing alternative methods of visual translation within a fine art context. Having investigated the purpose of my literary interpretations, I conclude that I respond subjectively to the source materials, forming autobiographical associations with particular lines, images, characters, themes or concepts within the text. It was discovered that this fragmentary method of extraction into isolated elements, corresponded with ambiguous visual representation of the self. Placed within the critical context of relevant female practitioners, I was able to detect a number of recurrent, elusive strategies within my own practice that signified a shifting subjectivity. However, it was the identification with Eliot’s subversion of his impersonality theory in later life, which enabled the realisation that literature is used in my work as a means of projection for visualising past trauma and operates as a form of displacement for a confessional practice. The thesis that emerges from my research is that by allowing oneself to respond emotionally and selectively to an existing text through transformative processes of re-enactment, literary adaptation can act as catharsis for the recollection and re-imagining of previously repressed memories.

O poema icônico de T. S. Eliot The Waste Land, publicado em 1922, é indiscutivelmente o texto principal de poesia moderna em inglês. Eliot residia em Londres no momento da sua composição, e embora o poema contenha numerosas citações literárias e culturais, The Waste Land não é considerado como tendo sido influenciado por nenhum dos poetas ingleses que foram contemporâneos de Eliot. Pelo contrário, o poema é tido como um afastamento radical e uma reação contra, a poesia inglesa escrita antes e durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial (1914-1918). Neste artigo, eu argumento que The Waste Land contém ecos da obra dos poetas ingleses Harold Monro e Herbert Read, ambos os quais conheciam Eliot bem. Olhando retrospectivamente a partir de 1922, tendo The Waste Land como meu texto modernista base e ponto de partida crítico, eu conduzo uma reavaliação da cena poética inglesa do período 1910- 1922, a partir dos Georgian Poets do pré-guerra até o aparecimento, no pós-guerra, da obraprima de Eliot. Ambos Monro e Read foram influenciados pelo movimento radical 'Imagism' de Ezra Pound, que formou um elemento central na cena da poesia progressiva de Londres nos anos que antecederam a guerra. Portanto, utilizo ambos The Waste Land e os experimentos 'Imagist' de Pound como modelos de prática modernista através dos quais comparar e contrastar a obra dos Georgian Poets (especificamente Wilfrid Gibson), a poesia produzida durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, e a obra de Monro e Read. Os princípios orientadores da minha abordagem analítica são dois: em termos de prática poética, eu avalio o trabalho de Eliot e seus contemporâneos, comparando as suas abordagens quanto à forma, a fim de demonstrar como a forma poética não apenas define o conteúdo, mas também revela mudanças nos valores culturais. Em segundo lugar, minha abordagem teórica é baseada nos conceitos mutantes da função estética da poesia, buscando demonstrar como valores estéticos estão historicamente relacionados a, e determinam, a produção e a recepção da poesia, expondo como os experimentos modernistas de Eliot e Pound estão historicamente relacionados com princípios estéticos românticos. / T. S. Eliot’s iconic poem The Waste Land, published in 1922, is indisputably the key Modernist poetry text in English. Eliot was living in London at the time of its composition, and although the poem contains numerous literary references, The Waste Land is not thought to have been influenced by the poetry of Eliot’s English contemporaries. On the contrary, the poem is regarded as a radical departure from, and reaction against, the English poetry being written before and throughout the Great War (1914-1918). In this paper, I argue that The Waste Land contains echoes of the work of English poets Harold Monro and Herbert Read, both of whom knew Eliot well. Looking back retrospectively from 1922, with The Waste Land as my exemplary Modernist text and critical starting point, I carry out a reassessment of the English poetry scene from 1910 to 1922, from the pre-war Georgians to the post-war appearance of Eliot’s masterpiece. Both Monro and Read were influenced by Ezra Pound’s radical ‘Imagism’ movement, which formed a central plank in the progressive London poetry scene in the years leading up to the war. I therefore employ both The Waste Land and Pound’s ‘Imagist’ experiments as models of Modernist practice by which to compare and contrast the work of the Georgians (particularly Wilfrid Gibson), the poetry produced during the Great War, and the work of Monro and Read. The guiding principles of my analytical approach are twofold: firstly, in terms of poetic practice, I evaluate the work of Eliot and his contemporaries by comparing their approaches to form, assessing how poetic technique both defines content and offers insight into shifts in cultural values; secondly, my theoretical approach is based on changing concepts of the aesthetic function of poetry, revealing how aesthetic values are historically relative to, and determine, the production and reception of poetry, ultimately exposing how Eliot and Pound’s Modernist experiments are historically related to Romantic aesthetic principles.

O poema icônico de T. S. Eliot The Waste Land, publicado em 1922, é indiscutivelmente o texto principal de poesia moderna em inglês. Eliot residia em Londres no momento da sua composição, e embora o poema contenha numerosas citações literárias e culturais, The Waste Land não é considerado como tendo sido influenciado por nenhum dos poetas ingleses que foram contemporâneos de Eliot. Pelo contrário, o poema é tido como um afastamento radical e uma reação contra, a poesia inglesa escrita antes e durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial (1914-1918). Neste artigo, eu argumento que The Waste Land contém ecos da obra dos poetas ingleses Harold Monro e Herbert Read, ambos os quais conheciam Eliot bem. Olhando retrospectivamente a partir de 1922, tendo The Waste Land como meu texto modernista base e ponto de partida crítico, eu conduzo uma reavaliação da cena poética inglesa do período 1910- 1922, a partir dos Georgian Poets do pré-guerra até o aparecimento, no pós-guerra, da obraprima de Eliot. Ambos Monro e Read foram influenciados pelo movimento radical 'Imagism' de Ezra Pound, que formou um elemento central na cena da poesia progressiva de Londres nos anos que antecederam a guerra. Portanto, utilizo ambos The Waste Land e os experimentos 'Imagist' de Pound como modelos de prática modernista através dos quais comparar e contrastar a obra dos Georgian Poets (especificamente Wilfrid Gibson), a poesia produzida durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, e a obra de Monro e Read. Os princípios orientadores da minha abordagem analítica são dois: em termos de prática poética, eu avalio o trabalho de Eliot e seus contemporâneos, comparando as suas abordagens quanto à forma, a fim de demonstrar como a forma poética não apenas define o conteúdo, mas também revela mudanças nos valores culturais. Em segundo lugar, minha abordagem teórica é baseada nos conceitos mutantes da função estética da poesia, buscando demonstrar como valores estéticos estão historicamente relacionados a, e determinam, a produção e a recepção da poesia, expondo como os experimentos modernistas de Eliot e Pound estão historicamente relacionados com princípios estéticos românticos. / T. S. Eliot’s iconic poem The Waste Land, published in 1922, is indisputably the key Modernist poetry text in English. Eliot was living in London at the time of its composition, and although the poem contains numerous literary references, The Waste Land is not thought to have been influenced by the poetry of Eliot’s English contemporaries. On the contrary, the poem is regarded as a radical departure from, and reaction against, the English poetry being written before and throughout the Great War (1914-1918). In this paper, I argue that The Waste Land contains echoes of the work of English poets Harold Monro and Herbert Read, both of whom knew Eliot well. Looking back retrospectively from 1922, with The Waste Land as my exemplary Modernist text and critical starting point, I carry out a reassessment of the English poetry scene from 1910 to 1922, from the pre-war Georgians to the post-war appearance of Eliot’s masterpiece. Both Monro and Read were influenced by Ezra Pound’s radical ‘Imagism’ movement, which formed a central plank in the progressive London poetry scene in the years leading up to the war. I therefore employ both The Waste Land and Pound’s ‘Imagist’ experiments as models of Modernist practice by which to compare and contrast the work of the Georgians (particularly Wilfrid Gibson), the poetry produced during the Great War, and the work of Monro and Read. The guiding principles of my analytical approach are twofold: firstly, in terms of poetic practice, I evaluate the work of Eliot and his contemporaries by comparing their approaches to form, assessing how poetic technique both defines content and offers insight into shifts in cultural values; secondly, my theoretical approach is based on changing concepts of the aesthetic function of poetry, revealing how aesthetic values are historically relative to, and determine, the production and reception of poetry, ultimately exposing how Eliot and Pound’s Modernist experiments are historically related to Romantic aesthetic principles.

O poema icônico de T. S. Eliot The Waste Land, publicado em 1922, é indiscutivelmente o texto principal de poesia moderna em inglês. Eliot residia em Londres no momento da sua composição, e embora o poema contenha numerosas citações literárias e culturais, The Waste Land não é considerado como tendo sido influenciado por nenhum dos poetas ingleses que foram contemporâneos de Eliot. Pelo contrário, o poema é tido como um afastamento radical e uma reação contra, a poesia inglesa escrita antes e durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial (1914-1918). Neste artigo, eu argumento que The Waste Land contém ecos da obra dos poetas ingleses Harold Monro e Herbert Read, ambos os quais conheciam Eliot bem. Olhando retrospectivamente a partir de 1922, tendo The Waste Land como meu texto modernista base e ponto de partida crítico, eu conduzo uma reavaliação da cena poética inglesa do período 1910- 1922, a partir dos Georgian Poets do pré-guerra até o aparecimento, no pós-guerra, da obraprima de Eliot. Ambos Monro e Read foram influenciados pelo movimento radical 'Imagism' de Ezra Pound, que formou um elemento central na cena da poesia progressiva de Londres nos anos que antecederam a guerra. Portanto, utilizo ambos The Waste Land e os experimentos 'Imagist' de Pound como modelos de prática modernista através dos quais comparar e contrastar a obra dos Georgian Poets (especificamente Wilfrid Gibson), a poesia produzida durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, e a obra de Monro e Read. Os princípios orientadores da minha abordagem analítica são dois: em termos de prática poética, eu avalio o trabalho de Eliot e seus contemporâneos, comparando as suas abordagens quanto à forma, a fim de demonstrar como a forma poética não apenas define o conteúdo, mas também revela mudanças nos valores culturais. Em segundo lugar, minha abordagem teórica é baseada nos conceitos mutantes da função estética da poesia, buscando demonstrar como valores estéticos estão historicamente relacionados a, e determinam, a produção e a recepção da poesia, expondo como os experimentos modernistas de Eliot e Pound estão historicamente relacionados com princípios estéticos românticos. / T. S. Eliot’s iconic poem The Waste Land, published in 1922, is indisputably the key Modernist poetry text in English. Eliot was living in London at the time of its composition, and although the poem contains numerous literary references, The Waste Land is not thought to have been influenced by the poetry of Eliot’s English contemporaries. On the contrary, the poem is regarded as a radical departure from, and reaction against, the English poetry being written before and throughout the Great War (1914-1918). In this paper, I argue that The Waste Land contains echoes of the work of English poets Harold Monro and Herbert Read, both of whom knew Eliot well. Looking back retrospectively from 1922, with The Waste Land as my exemplary Modernist text and critical starting point, I carry out a reassessment of the English poetry scene from 1910 to 1922, from the pre-war Georgians to the post-war appearance of Eliot’s masterpiece. Both Monro and Read were influenced by Ezra Pound’s radical ‘Imagism’ movement, which formed a central plank in the progressive London poetry scene in the years leading up to the war. I therefore employ both The Waste Land and Pound’s ‘Imagist’ experiments as models of Modernist practice by which to compare and contrast the work of the Georgians (particularly Wilfrid Gibson), the poetry produced during the Great War, and the work of Monro and Read. The guiding principles of my analytical approach are twofold: firstly, in terms of poetic practice, I evaluate the work of Eliot and his contemporaries by comparing their approaches to form, assessing how poetic technique both defines content and offers insight into shifts in cultural values; secondly, my theoretical approach is based on changing concepts of the aesthetic function of poetry, revealing how aesthetic values are historically relative to, and determine, the production and reception of poetry, ultimately exposing how Eliot and Pound’s Modernist experiments are historically related to Romantic aesthetic principles.

This feminist analysis addresses Lindsey Collen’s intertextual use of myth in The Rape of Sita and how her reformation of the parodied texts becomes a resistance to patriarchy. Collen’s examination of possible counteractions against patriarchy is analysed and it is determined whether or not she posits writing, especially demythologization, as the best resistance to patriarchal discourse. Also, her assertion that transformation and a unity of the sexes are needed to bring about equality is studied. The methodology used is qualitative and inductive. The sources are examined and interpreted through close-reading strategies which reveal the complexities of the text and the way in which Collen subverts myth. Classical and Hindu myths and other texts, such as T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, are re-read and re-examined to investigate to what extent they have challenged or championed patriarchal ideology, through which it is hoped that a greater understanding of the way in which mythology contributes to attitudes to rape is gained. Three other texts dealing with rape are also studied, in order to better place Collen’s novel in context of the genre. Primarily, feminist criticism, particularly with an African feminist viewpoint, is used. However, because a conflation of post-colonial and postmodern approaches is embedded within feminism, these concepts are dealt with also. Theorists drawn upon include Michel Foucault, Roland Barthes, Mircea Eliade and Margaret Atwood. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / English / MA / unrestricted

This essay demonstrates how three popular writers of the twentieth century have created novels that contain echoes of Eliot's poem. They are F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925), Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (1926), and John Steinbeck's To a God Unknown (1933). I chose these particular novels because they exemplify widely different and distinctive echoes of the poem. Fitzgerald's use of waste land imagery is readily perceptible the most effective in defining and summing up the temper of the Jazz Age in America. Hemingway's borrowing lies principally in parallel characterization (Jake Barnes as he Fisher King is the outstanding example) and in depicting a morally and spiritually bankrupt world by showing that a satisfactory sexual relationship between man and woman is impossible. Steinbeck's borrowing is unique. HIs novel not only contains the Fisher King figure, desert land imagery, water motif, and the quest theme, but his protagonist, Joseph Wayne, like Eliot's Fisher King-Tiresias protagonist, is able to metamorphose from one "personage" into another. Steinbeck's borrowings are not used by him for the purpose of depicting the world of the Twenties, or any era. He may have done no more than build upon a piece of literature from the immediate past as Eliot had done from the more remote past when he created The Waste Land. There is also a possibility that Steinbeck disagrees with some of Eliot's philosophical ideas and playfully chides the poet for harboring them. In showing the nfluence of the poem on three important American novelists, perhaps this essay will disprove Karl Shapiro's statement that "at no point in the career of Eliot has there been the slightest indication of literary following,"5 and will furnish proof that Robert E. Knoll's statement regarding the influence of The Waste Land is a valid one: What The Rape of the Lock was to the Augustans and Tintern Abbey to the Romantics, The Waste Land has become to the Moderns, It is inescapable.6

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Uppsatsen utforskar relationen mellan Karin Boyes Astarte och T.S. Eliots The Waste Land, särskilt med avseende på modernistisk tematik och med avstamp i tidigare forskning som kommenterat relationen mellan verken, främst Gunilla Domellöfs och Caroline Hauxs. Analysen omfattar den senares upptäckt att ”Det öde landskap som skrivs fram hos Eliot existerar dolt och outsagt i Astarte.” Verken jämförs med avseende på: Skildringen av den moderna staden; Krig, trauma, våld och utvecklingsskepticism; Den ofruktbara masskulturen; (Naturens, Guds och Kärlekens död); Verkens mytkomplex; Psykoanalytiska perspektiv på gemenskap, behov och begär. Uppsatsen innehåller även en sammanställning av likheter mellan episoderna som utspelar sig mellan Viola och Hill i Astarte och mellan maskinskriverskan och kontoristen i The Waste Land. Undersökningen bekräftar betydande beröringspunkter mellan verken vad gäller såväl tematik som de positioner författarna intar – det gäller utvecklingsskepticismen, masskulturen (där Astarte i högre utsträckning intresserar sig för handel och konsumtion), samt fruktbarhetsförlusten med avseende på Naturen, Gud och Kärleken. Myter har en betydelsefull roll i båda verken. I Astarte är Gudinnan/belätet Astarte i och för sig närvarande, men hon fyller inte sina ursprungliga funktioner. Undersökningen identifierar nya tolkningsmöjligheter gällande Astartes potentiella roll, kopplade till våld och skydd. På ett övergripande plan finns en korsställning mellan verken, där det som utgör The Waste Lands förgrund tenderar att blottas genom sprickor i ”Astartesamhällets” fasad, genom Boyes didaktiska exposéer, samt vid kritisk läsning. Den sammanlagda effekten av dessa aspekter är att Eliots ödeland – den levande döden – är mer av en tydlig referenspunkt än något dolt och outsagt i Astarte.