This study may be considered an exercise in graphemic analysis. It proceeds from the point of view that writing is an independent manifestation of language. As such, the writing system of a language may be subject to a descriptive analysis based upon methods similar to those used in the analysis of spoken language systems. The purpose of such a description is to determine the distinctive and non -distinctive elements of the system. Chapter V of this study is a graphemic analysis of one section of the Parker Manuscript. This analysis is based upon the principles discussed in Chapter II and follows the specific criteria presented in Chapter IV. Since the writing system of the text is an alphabetic one, Chapter VI indicates, to a limited extent, the relationship or fit of the writing system with the Late West Saxon dialect of Old English, of which the Parker Manuscript is a specimen.

Ford Madox Ford has often been seen by critics as an author of pure style, writing without philosophic underpinnings for his impressionistic techniques. However, philosophy plays a large role in Ford's work—as a foundation for both his themes and literary theory. This philosophy, phenomenology--the metaphysics of individual experience as opposed to universal determinism—came into existence during Ford's lifetime. Though Ford may never have read in phenomenology, his works reflect the movement both in what he writes, by emphasizing the individual over the communal experience, and how he writes, using the idea of the neutral author to present objective narration. The first three chapters explore three of Ford's works--the fairy tale The Queen Who Flew (1894), the novel The Good Soldier (1915), and the tetralogy Parade's End (1924-1928)—and show a growth of phenomenological thought within each. Starting with The Queen Who Flew, Ford portrays the first principle of phenomenology, the importance of individual perspective, a principle found in the early phenomenology of Edmund Husserl. In The Good Soldier, a second stage of phenomenology. Martin Heidegger's discovery of the underlying void and apparent meaninglessness of life, can be seen. Third, Jean-Paul Sartre's ideas of nihilation, freedom, and the self-created being are reflected in Parade's End. The final chapter applies phenomenology to Ford's literary theory, an early version of reader-response criticism, a literary school of thought which comes from phenomenological philosophy. Three central relationships appear in Ford's critical writings: the relationship between the writer and the word, epitomised by the removal of authorial presence; the relationship between the reader and the writer, marked by humbleness on the part of the writer; and the relationship between the reader and the word, a relationship based on surprise. Etch of these relate back to Ford's major intent, to become the neutral author. Ford's criticism shows his consciously applying the basic ideas of phenomenology to his own writing, allowing readers to arrive at their own subjective interpretations of life as presented in the novel.

Contemporary literary theorists, very much aware of themselves as constituting a break in, and a refutation of, an entire classical metaphysics, are trying to prove that James Joyce, the foremost prose writer of the twentieth century, writing when that classical view was falling from grace and the modern perspective was forcing itself upon the intellectual world, is, in fact, in his work--all works considered as one work--undermining the very tradition which critics consider his foundation. Consequently, the way in which Ulysses and Finnegans Wake are read and valued will be linked to an entire theory of literature. The body of this paper will comprise a general overview of criticism which has attempted to measure Ulysses subsequent to its publication; an analyzation of the direct influence of one of the earliest language theorists, Giambattista Vico, on Joyce's Ulysses; a brief review of the classical metaphysics; a detailed presentation of the Deconstructionist position; and an investigation into ways in which Joyce, and Ulysses, may be viewed as Modern and as Contemporary. In the conclusion, the writer, using E. D. Hirsch's probability theory as presented in Validity in Interpretation, will set forth her criteria for measuring the likelihood that Deconstructionists will be able to move Joyce from his Modern position to a Contemporary one.

The three books J.R.R. Tolkien has written about his imaginary world of Middle-earth, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, have a common element. In all thre& books, he presents the characters and their adventures within an historical framework which he has structured according to the four principles of Christian history: periodization, universality, apocalypse, and providence. While this historical perspective serves to give his fantasized world "an inner consistence of reality," it also frames one of the main themes of his stories: the relationship between Divine Providence and free will in a world containing good and evil forces. Although there is no mention of a creator in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien does provide countless allusions to the presence of providence. Furthermore, Gandalf, the wizard, is an agent of providence and influences other characters and events to a certain extent. he does not have total control over anyone or anything, however, for Tolkien has taken great care to establish the free will of Frodo and the other characters. And while the theme of providence revolves around Gandalf, the theme of free will centers upon the Ring of Power that the evil Sauron wishes to use to destroy or enslave all of the creatures of Middle-earth. To prevent Sauron from achieving his ends, Frodo must destroy the hing, and his will is consequently put to the test, a test which he ultimately fails. It is this do-or-die situation on which Tolkien focuses the full light of both themes, and it is the resulting happy ending in which Tolkien achieves what he believes to be the aesthetic mark of excellence, "eucatastrophe," for a fairy story.

Although many critics have dealt with their general impressions of the character of Eve or have traced specific passages concerning her to the Bible or to rabbinical tradition, no one critic has made a detailed study of the way in which Milton portrays Eve from prelapsarian innocence through the fall to her ultimate reconciliation with Adam and with God. This study is concerned with Milton's complete portrait of Eve and with the way in which he uses the themes of women's inferiority, of the hierarchy of nature, and of the virtue of reason over passion to explain the fall of man. These three themes are reflected in certain images with which Milton consistently surrounds Eve and which are used with variations to illustrate her weaknesses and to foreshadow the fall and its aftermath. The method of this study has been to trace Milton's use of these images and themes throughout Paradise Lost and to support observations with contemporary scholarship.

In the consideration of most critics and scholars. Middlemarch by George Eliot is a catalog of the Victorian era, depicting with clarity the concerns of the period as they appeared in all levels of social, economic, and political life. Although the form of the book is that of the novel, dealing primarily with the development of characters and their relationships, the author includes a sufficient number of references to contemporary political events to merit in-depth study of the purpose of these references. This paper locates and explains the references to contemporary political events in Middlemarch, it discusses the ways in which Eliot works the various references into the overall work and their contribution to the action and characterizations, and it draws some conclusions regarding the view of Middlemarch as a representative political or historical novel of the period. Any study of Victorian literature must include some discussion of the background provided by the times. In a paper dealing with the political elements of a novel. this aspect of research is particularly important. To aid the reader in understanding Eliot's use of politics. Chapter 1 explains the political set-up in effect during the years covered by the action of Middlemarch and the events generated either by that situation or by efforts to alter the arrangement. The novel itself provides the point of focus in Chapter II in determining Eliot's purpose for using political events. Each reference is studied to find what contribution it makes to the development of the story. Several events, such as the Reform Bill of 1832 and Catholic Emancipation, are referred to repeatedly; these running allusions are examined to see how they pertain to the overall idea of the novel. Various critical and scholarly works on Middlemarch, George Eliot, and the Victorian period are utilized in Chapter III to reach a conclusion regarding the novel's right to be considered a valid political or historical novel of the times. This determination rests on other factors, including comparison with other political and historical literature of the period, both by George Eliot and by other authors.

An examination of Conrad's life will provide one with insight into the revelation of his women characters. The following novels and short stories, investigated in this study, will reveal Conrad's portrayal of the woman, her characteristics and associated imagery, and her role in his works to unveil his all-encompassing philosophy of life: Almayer's Folly, The Arrow of Gold, Chance, Lord Jim, Nostromo, An Outcast of the Islands, The Rescue, The Rover, The Secret Agent, Under Western Eyes, Victory, "Amy Foster," "The Brute," "The End of the Tether," "Freya of the Seven Isle," "The Heart of Darkness," "The Idiots," "The Planter of Malata," "The Return," "A Smile of Fortune," and "Tomorrow.

In reading or seeing Antony and Cleopatra, several clear dualities emerge. The first is the polarity between Egypt and Rome as different settings for the action. Rome is cold, mechanical, rational, and businesslike, whereas Egypt is lush, erotic, exotic, and langourous. Antony is torn between the two worlds, and this split of loyalty and interest helps to make the second duality of the play, that of the personalities and attitudes of the main characters. Antony and Cleopatra are both seen in double perspective--as lustful, self-gratifying sinners and as lovers in a truly transcendent sense of love. Both perspectives are important to the play, and the tension between them is never entirely resolved. Finally, the tone of the play is neither purely tragic nor purely comic, but is a mixture of both. Antony and Cleopatra was written just before the period of the great tragi-comic romances, and may be seen as the first of these, or a transition piece between tragedy and tragi-comedy, rather than as a pure tragedy. These three polarities, Rome-Egypt, Antony and Cleopatra as lustful epicures vs. Antony and Cleopatra the world's greatest lovers, and the mixture of tragedy and comedy, form the framework of Antony and Cleopatra and make it one of the richest and most varied of plays.

Concepts of reason and imagination and their expressions through literature

No description available.