Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.Creative Writing)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Nathaniel Ndazana Nakasa [1937 - 1965] was a South African journalist who reported for llanga Lase [Natal] in 1956 and 1957, for Drum magazine from 1958 to 1964 and wrote a column for the Saturday edition of the Rand Daily Mail in I9B4. He also founded the literary journal The Classic in 1963. This essay is the first extended treatment of Nakasa's writing, and views his journalism as part of his own 'autobiography1. As such, his writing reflects his crisis of identity, which resulted from his endeavour to sustain his vision of a broad South African humanism in the face of the apartheid policies of the Government in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Nakasa's death by suicide in New York in 1965 signalled the tragic end of his search for equality and justice. Nakasa had been labelled 'the black face behind the white mask' and is criticised, particularly by adherents of Black Consciousness, for his evident faith in the tenets of liberalism. This essay attempts to locate Nakasa in the context of opposition by those of humanist inclinations to apartheid in the fifties and sixties and to view sympathetically his commitment to justice and compassion : values which remain relevant and valid in our search for a better society in South Africa. The investigation proceeds by an analysis of his journalism as both the record of the times and, more subjectively, the projection and expression of his own crisis-ridden personality. An introduction is followed by two sections on his writing, the first dealing with his articles on Drum, the second with his sketches on the Rand Daily Mail. A brief conclusion argues for the continuing interest of Nakasa's writing. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1990.

While a good deal of attention has been paid to pastoral and, less frequently, to antipastoral elements in Shakespeare's comedies and romances, the same does not hold for his tragedies. Granted, pastoral features, as one would expect, are not conspicuous in the tragic plays, but even their anti-pastoral ones have not received extended treatment. That is, they have not received extended treatment as anti-pastoral manifestations. So, for example, the furious tempest in King Lear has frequently been seen as a cataclysmic perturbation of Nature, and/or as an expression and reflection of Lear's condition, but only rarely as an anti-pastoral phenomenon. That is a gap this thesis seeks to fill. In treating of pastoral and its opposite in the three plays selected for study - King Lear, Macbeth and Othello - we have not been bound by a literal understanding of the genres in question. A broad interpretation has been preferred, in keeping with recent trends. Consequently, shepherds and shepherdesses will not be in evidence in the ensuing pages. Instead, the terms 'pastoral' and 'anti-pastoral' are understood to refer to such categories as setting, mood and attributes. Thus, for example, we spotlight the pastoral-like ambience of Macbeth's seat at Inverness when Duncan arrives there. The term 'pastoral' further implies attributes such as simplicity, mnocence, honesty, forthrightness, naturalness, loyalty, trustworthiness, trustfulness, decency, kindness, serenity, and a natural dignity, courtesy and modesty. The term 'anti-pastoral' implies a checklist of contrary qualities, few, if any, of them coloured by rural associations linked to the subgenre's historical development as a riposte to what was seen as pastoral's idealising falsification of the true conditions of rural life. Following an introductory chapter that offers a historical and theoretical sketch of the pastoral genre and the anti-pastoral reaction to it, each of the selected plays is accorded a close reading in terms of the pastoral and anti-pastoral criteria adumbrated above, with the emphasis falling, naturally enough, on anti-pastoral manifestations. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2003.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

This dissertation explores changing form and political purpose in selected works of Ronnie Govender, by analysing reasons for the shifts in Govender’s choice of genre, and the effects of these genre shifts in his work. Govender is unusual in that he has chosen to recast certain of his most popular works into different genres, throwing up questions of context and impact as associated with these works. The investigation of a selection of Govender’s works that have appeared in at least two genres over a period of change in South Africa allows for an examination of political impact on Govender’s works both during and post apartheid. This study will be analysed within a range of theatre ‘isms’ and theories which influenced Govender’s skills in the theatre. These are important to situate Govender as, firstly, in his early career, a theatre practitioner. Attention will be given to Constantin Stanislavski and the Method Acting Theory, (1937) as the philosophies advocated by Stanislavski were particularly useful to Govender for the staging and performance of his plays. Reference will be made to the ‘Theatre of Commitment’, Community Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed and Epic Theatre, as elements of these theories feature in Govender’s writing and stage performances. Some focus will also be given to Zakes Mda (1993), as both Mda and Govender are associated with the ‘Theatre of Commitment’, and share a vision of socio-political change through theatre and literature. As contributors to the South African literary canon, Mda and Govender continuously reinvent themselves through their experimentation with form which results in them consistently producing new works. In addition, this dissertation also examines audience reception of Govender’s stage performances and reader reception in his texts, and this allows for a brief investigation into Reception Theory. The theories of Wolfgang Iser (1978), Stanley Fish (1980) Hans Robert Jauss (in Bahti 1982) and Susan Bennett (1990) will be referred to in so far as they inform the reception of the works selected for the purposes of this study. In order to contextualise Govender as a writer of both plays and prose, a brief biography of his life and his work will be undertaken. The findings of researchers such as Rajendra Chetty (2002) and Pallavi Rastogi (2008) who have studied the work of South African Indian writers will be drawn on in order to contextualise Govender’s writing particularly and his position as a South African Indian writer generally. This dissertation assesses Govender’s contribution to the South African canon, and forwards him as an example of a South African writer who is pointing to new directions in writing. The fictional works selected for this dissertation which best illustrate political purpose, changing form and the changing dynamics of reader-audience response, include The Lahnee’s Pleasure as play, The Lahnee’s Pleasure as novel; “1949”, first as short story then as play; and “At the Edge”, first as short story then as play. These works which have appeared as both play and prose (novel and short story) have been chosen for their versatility and suitability to different genres and because Govender has chosen to recast them in new forms. Reasons for this will be explored. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.