This dissertation examines the nature and influence of the structural complexity of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy on Dante’s Commedia, arguing that the latter is a deliberate response to the former. The General Introduction sets the groundwork through a survey of the major scholarship on Dante and Boethius; the genre of the Consolation as understood through the modern, but inadequate, category of Menippean satire and through accessus ad auctores in the medieval commentary tradition on Boethius and related authors; and the conception of intertextuality used in the study, which is connected to both the practice of allegory and Boethius’ understanding of metaphysics. Chapter One examines the Consolation, beginning with the presentation and roles of its two major characters, Boethius and Philosophy. Anchoring the more abstract discussion of the Consolation’s structure and its scholarly interpretations is the subsequent analysis of three main themes, time, love, and prayer. Chapter Two considers five twelfth-century prosimetra and their intertextual relationships with the Consolation in order to map authorial strategies of imitation: Bernard Silvestris’ Cosmographia; Alan of Lille’s Plaint of Nature; Hildebert of Lavardin’s Liber de querimonia; Adelard of Bath’s De eodem et diverso; and Lawrence of Durham’s Consolatio de morte amici. Each work is examined for its Boethian elements and structural complexity; the most original, the Cosmographia, is considered at greatest length. This provides an overview of common interpretive and imitative options for the Consolation. Chapter Three examines the Boethian elements of Dante’s Vita Nuova and the Convivio before engaging with the Commedia in order to take issue with the prevailing scholarly opinion that the Commedia can be understood as a rejecton of Dante’s Boethian stage as symbolized by the Convivio. Through a thorough examination of the many ways the Consolation is an intertext in the Commedia, this chapter argues that the Commedia is deeply responsive to the challenges of the Consolation both philosophically and artistically, and, in fact, is positioned by Dante so as to supersede and typologically fulfill the Consolation. In conclusion, therefore, Boethius’ work is demonstrated to be integral to a proper understanding of Dante’s purpose in the Commedia.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Bryn Mawr college, 1930. / Vita. Appended is the Middle English poem, Templum Domini (p.[91]-112) transcribed form the British museum Additional ms. 32578. This poem is based upon Robert Grosseteste's Latin tract of the same title. cf. p.[90] and C. Brown, A register of Middle English religions & didactic verse, 1920, vol. II, no. 605. "A classified list of Latin allegories of the edifice (selective)": p.[82]-87. Includes bibliographical references (p. [75]-81).

This thesis examines the role of readerly engagement in the allegorical poetry of Edmund Spenser and William Blake. An analysis of their poetry reveals important affinities between the two poets. Not only was Blake aware of Spenser’s work, he can be seen to incorporate and build upon Spenser’s self-conscious poetic style in order to engage readers in the active process of interpretation. Meaning in their poetry can be shown to unfold gradually by way of complex interactions between the reader and the text, interactions fostered by the reader’s imagination and the (differently) visual quality of the two poets’ works. Blake promotes this way of seeing as being “four-fold,” the ability to perceive on several dimensions. The first chapter of this thesis looks at the definitions and attitudes towards allegory from the early sixteenth century onwards, showing how the mode has been constantly redefined. Chapter two investigates the self-conscious nature of allegory through an analysis of the placement of words, metaphors, unconventional language, and the way the poems may be read by readers. Both poets encourage a heightened awareness of the process of reading which may be termed allegorical. Blake owned his own printing press allowing him greater control over the words and design of his text. This enabled him to be more forceful in his communication of images and ideas than Spenser. Chapter three focuses upon the multiple (and contradictory) ways in which the text may be interpreted by the reader. Allegory is a means of communicating and simultaneously disguising criticism. Both poets can be seen to use it to voice resistance to forms of authority, even as they encourage readers to recognise these meanings within their texts. Spenser and Blake had to combat different forms of censorship with differing strategies. Whereas Spenser felt compelled to uphold the status quo, Blake sought to deconstruct rigid social conventions. Chapter four explores the relation between allegory and the imagination. Spenser uses allegory to inspire the imagination, whereas for Blake the imagination encourages allegory. The imagination is a means of pushing readers towards further learning and a deeper appreciation of allegorical meaning. Chapter five analyses Spenser and Blake’s verbal and imagistic visuality in relation to allegory. Blake’s illustrations promote further reader engagement, while Spenser’s illuminations are a part of his metaphorical and allegorical text. Both poets use the visual to trigger imaginative readerly interaction and to promote new ways of perceiving and relating to their poems.

Lawrence Ngoveni, Student no 0204864A, MA thesis, Literature & Language Studies, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences. 2006. ngovenil@yahoo.com. / This research report examines Mia Couto’s novel Under the Frangipani as an intervention into the problematic of memory in post-war Mozambique. It attempts to locate Couto’s narratives among contemporary writing in Africa. It argues that Couto’s narratives combine allegory and magic realism in their endeavor to highlight the complexity of the Mozambican past and the need to include a diversity of voices from different sources. It focuses primarily on the novel’s inclusive narrative approach which manifests through the coexistence of putative worlds. In doing so, I explore the tension between the ontological assumptions of officialdom and those of the weak.

by Ling Tun Ngai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaves [129]-139. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Format Details --- p.ii / Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1. --- Realism in the Chinese Conte --- p.xt / Chapter 2. --- The Revival of Realism: Han Shaogong's Early Works --- p.44 / Chapter 3. --- Young Writers in Search of An Identity: The Search for Cultural Roots in 1985-86 --- p.65 / Chapter 4. --- Allegorical Depictions of the Chinese People: Han Shaogong's Search for Roots --- p.90 / Conclusion --- p.127 / Bibliography --- p.129 / Glossary --- p.138

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-303).

Texte remanié de : Habilitationsschrift : Lettres : Hamburg : 1978. / Bibliogr. p. 269-293. Index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-219). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Pierre Paul Prud’hon (1758-1823) lived and worked as an artist during the last years of the French Monarchy, the Revolution, the Republic, the Empire and finally the Restoration. He mostly worked with allegory, setting him apart from other artists at the time, such as Jacques Louis David. While Prud’hon was a significant artist in his own time, he is only just being rehabilitated today. In this thesis I trace Prud’hon’s artistic career as an allegorical painter through the different governments, examining thematically his different types of allegories, from the moral to the political. In particular, the context of allegory is examined, including how Prud’hon approaches allegory and criticism and interpretation of his use of allegory. This examination of Prud’hon highlights what was so unusual about Prud’hon’s art – primarily his use, with reasonable success, of allegory. This alone makes it clear that he should be held in higher regard by today’s art historians.

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