Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

This thesis argues that the best genre parallel for the Acts of the Apostles is collected biography. This conclusion is reached through an application of ancient and modern genre theory and a detailed comparison of Acts and collected biographies. Chapter 1 offers prolegomena to this study and further delineates the contours of the thesis. Chapter 2 provides an extensive history of research, not only to provide the context and rationale for the present work, but also to indicate some of the shortcomings of previous investigations and the need for this present study. Chapter 3 presents the methodological perspective for this exploration. Making use of ancient and modern genre theory, I propose that scholars need to understand genre as a dynamic and flexible system that is culturally influenced and highly adaptable. In Chapter 4 I trace the diachronic development of ancient biographies, describe different sub-divisions, and note the strong, enduring relationship between biography and history. In evaluating the development of biography as a whole, there appears to be a distinct preference by ancient biographers for collected biographies. Chapters 5 to 7 interpret Acts in light of its possible relationship with collected biographies. Chapter 5 provides a detailed comparison of the structural and content features of history, novels, collected biographies, and Acts. Overall, this chapter argues that the structural and content features of Acts are most strongly related to the genre of biography and, secondarily, to history. Chapters six and seven evaluate Acts as a modified collected biography, identifying notable similarities in content features, structure, and endings. Chapter 8 summarizes and concludes the thesis, along with a brief mention of avenues for future research. Related literary investigations, such as a list of literary topoi references in biographies, biographies referenced by Diogenes Laertius, and a full discussion of biography’s adaptability in the first century (modelled by Plutarch and Philo), are treated in appendices.

This essay focuses on the alienation experienced by Rusty-James in S.E. Hinton’s Rumble Fish (1975). It more specifically centers on the causes of his alienation and how the alienation is illustrated in the novel. The analysis shows that the alienation Rusty-James experiences is caused partly by socioeconomic factors; for example his lack of hope for the future is closely connected to the fact that he belongs to a low socioeconomic class. In addition, there are also psychological factors, for example a childhood trauma. The alienation and its causes are mainly illustrated through the symbolism of the featured Siamese fighting fish and how Rusty-James’ relationships are depicted.

El agua cántara es una historiografía apócrifa de la literatura. Esta compilación incluye versiones paródicas del realismo, el romanticismo, el costumbrismo y el posthumanismo, entre otros discursos, géneros y movimientos (los cuales, desde la óptica del absurdo, bien pueden ser una misma cosa). Además de realizar un recorrido por algunas de las principales formas textuales de Occidente, esta antología elabora y rastrea su propio mito de origen de la literatura: el sonido como máximo valor estético.

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The thesis highlights the literary-critical work of Jan Lopatka in the context of his personal library. It is a literary-historical and critical description of his work by characterizing and defining thematic blocks, which Lopatka systematically pursued in his personal library. It centers on a comparison of the significance of his work and pinpoints defined blocks in Lopatka's library fund and their significance in his literary criticism. Based on a complete inventory of his personal library (prepared by the author of this thesis) and its knowledge, research characterizes his work mainly from this perspective. Attention will also be paid to manuscripts, typescripts and notes in his books.

This M.A. thesis focuses on the problematic relationship between Henry James and Aestheticism and Decadence on the example of his two masterpieces-The Portrait of a Lady () and The Golden Bowl (). The main task is to document the evolution of this relationship and to point out that despite his lifelong preoccupation with these two artistic movements in his literary works, James refuses to assume a concrete stance toward them. Before the literary analysis of the two abovementioned novels, the author devotes the first chapter to a brief historical survey as to the nature and purpose of the work of art, to the development Aestheticism and Decadence in Europe and Britain, and to James's relationship with some of the proponents of British Aestheticism. The rest of the thesis is devoted to the literary analysis of the two novels through the optics of Aestheticism and Decadence. Keywords: James, Henry; Aestheticism; Decadence; literary analysis; transatlantic studies

Ao longo dos anos, a obra de Fernando Pessoa tem sido objeto de diferentes miradas da crítica especializada. Poucas foram, porém, as ocasiões em que os comentadores se ocuparam da figura de Satã e dos diferentes matizes que colorem o episódico diabolismo dos escritos do poeta lisboeta. Todavia, embora errático, o percurso do Tentador nos textos de Pessoa indica a insuspeitada, porém indisputável marca do Demônio no pensamento do autor, mormente em sua juventude literária e em textos ensaísticos de cariz hermético. Por essa ascendência, é possível reconhecer Fernando Pessoa como herdeiro imediato da \"satânica geração\" de escritores lusitanos que, sob o efeito dos vapores mefistofélicos que então pairavam sobre o ambiente literário europeu, redefiniram as letras portuguesas no final dos oitocentos. Assim, partindo do exame das origens e das várias configurações do que se entende por satanismo literário, bem como dos sinais e sintomas de sua manifestação na literatura de Portugal em fins do século XIX, esta pesquisa tenciona investigar a presença do Diabo e a expressão do satânico na obra de Fernando Pessoa. O que se pretende, por meio de leituras analíticocomparativas que tracem as andanças do Tinhoso nos escritos pessoanos orto e heteronímicos, é entender as formas pelas quais o satânico toma posse, em verso e prosa, da escrita de Fernando Pessoa e, com isso, revelar em que sentido é possível reconhecer nele a faceta de um autor inspirado pelo Gênio das Trevas. / Throughout the years, Fernando Pessoa\'s work has been under different gazes by the specialized criticism. However, few were the occasions in which scholars occupied themselves with the figure of Satan and the different shades that color the episodic diabolism in the writing of the Lisbon-born poet. Albeit erratic, the Tempter\'s route in Pessoa\'s texts points at the unsuspected yet indisputable mark of the Devil in the author\'s thought, mainly in his early writings and in essays on hermeticism. Consequently, Pessoa can be seen as the immediate heir of the \"satanic generation\" of Portuguese writers that, under the influence of the mephistophelic vapors then hovering over Europe\'s literary environment, redefined Portugal\'s literature at the end of the eighteen hundreds. Thus, starting with an examination of the origins and sundry configurations of what is known as literary Satanism, as well as the signs and symptoms of its manifestation in Portuguese literature by the end of the nineteenth century, this research aims at investigating the Devil\'s presence and the expression of the satanic in the work of Fernando Pessoa. Using an analytical-comparative approach that traces Old Nick\'s wanderings in Pessoa\'s orto and heteronymic texts, the research intends to understand the ways in which the satanic possesses, in verse and prose, Fernando Pessoa\'s writings, thereby revealing to what extent it is possible to recognize in him the face of an author inspired by the Genius of Darkness.

Flora Süssekind constitui um exemplo ímpar na prática do nosso ensaísmo crítico, destacando-se como uma pesquisadora cujos vínculos com a Universidade, com a imprensa e com instituições de pesquisa resultaramem colaborações de natureza diversa, como artigos, resenhas e livros, entre outros. A sua reflexão -impulsionada por obras de diferentes gêneros e produzidas em épocas distintas -vem sendo constante nas últimas décadas, trazendo aos seus leitores uma visada crítica bastante particular sobre autores representativos do Romantismo, do Naturalismo, do Modernismo, da poesia concreta, da poesia marginal da década de 70 e de tantos outros fenômenos literários do país. Dentre um universo profícuo de ensaios muitos deles produzidos em um curto intervalo de tempo, sobretudo durante a década de 1980 abordaremos nesta tese aqueles que, sob nosso ponto de vista, permitirão apontar os elementos de destaque em seu percurso, sob uma perspectiva do estabelecimento de uma voz crítica singular que ainda está em plena atividade e, portanto, em constante processo de construção e mudança. O contato aprofundado com essa produção (englobando seus objetos, seus referenciais teóricos e suas reflexões) permitiu a elaboração da hipótese inicial de que Flora Süssekind não descarta a tradição que busca pensar as particularidades da literatura nacional, aproveitando-a, no entanto, de maneira cautelosa, rejeitando a ideia de origem de uma brasilidade unificadora das expressões culturais de um povo e, consequentemente, de uma literatura. Repercute insistentemente em sua obra, assim, uma questão de fundo: a maneira como uma determinada ideia de nacionalidade conforma a representação artística brasileira, dando destaque (por parte da crítica e dos próprios artistas) aos trabalhos que privilegiem um enfrentamento mais direto e menos transfigurador de fatoscorrentes no cotidiano problemático do país. Assim, com sua prática, defenderá caminhos teóricos que se contraponham a esse paradigma que identifica como sendo dominante em nossa literatura, de extração mimética (não no sentido de expressividade artística, mas de cópia). Acreditamos, portanto, que seu trabalho dê um sentido específico à concepção do intelectual atento à realidade local, privilegiando obras que não se circunscrevam a tal paradigma ou, ainda, que forneçam aportes para um recorte crítico quedeixe aparentes as engrenagens do aparelho reprodutor desse modelo. Para tanto, as suas referências teóricas são variadas, compreendendo a pesquisa de autores brasileiros do século XIX, da nossa tradição sociológica do século XX (em autores como Antonio Candido ou Roberto Schwarz), da teoria francesa que se projetou, sobretudo, a partir dos anos 1960 (com exemplos como Michel Foucault e Gilles Deleuze) e também intelectuais cuja relação com o marxismo se dê por vias mais reconhecidas (como Fredric Jameson e Theodor Adorno). Interpretamos esse gesto de constante pesquisa e inquietação teórica como uma disponiblidade de acompanhar o objeto, um desejo de persegui-lo para poder comentá-lo mais adequadamente e de forma mais aprofundada, recusando-se a observá-lo de maneira distante e inflexível. O percurso e a perseguição tornam-se, nesse viés, mais importantes do que a estabilidade do ensaísta, o que nos levou a denominar esse método praticado por Flora Süssekind de itinerância crítica. / Flora Süssekind is a unique example in Brazilian literary criticism, especially as a researcher whose bonds with the University, the press and the research institutions resulted in a vast array of collaborations, such as articles, reviews and books, among others. Her reflection on criticism in recent decades - improved by works produced in different genres and about distinct epochs - has been bringing her readers a very particular critical point of view about representative works from Romanticism, Naturalism, Modernism, concrete poetry, 1970\'s poesia marginal (marginal poetry) among many other Brazilian literary movements. Among a prolific universe of essays wrote by Süssekind - many of them produced in a short period of time, especially during the 1980\'s - this thesis will cover the texts that, in our opinion, point out the major elements of her career, considering the perspective of a singular critical voice that is still active and, therefore, has been under construction. The study of these essays (encompassing its objects, theoretical frames of references and reflections) support our initial hypothesis that Flora Süssekind does not put away the tradition of thinking about the particularities of a national literature, taking advantage of it. However, Süssekind cautiously rejects the idea of an original Brazilian cultural expression and does not support the concept of a unifying national literature. Therefore, it resonates strongly in her work a fundamental question: how can a certain frame of nationality shape the Brazilian artistic representation? This can be highlighted (by the critics and by the artists themselves) in works that emphasize a confrontation more direct and less transfiguring of Brazilian problematic daily events. Thereby, Süssekind will defend theoretical paths that defy the paradigm she identifies as dominant in Brazilian literature: the paradigm of mimetic extraction (not in the sense of 8 artistic expression, but mere copy). We believe, therefore, that her work gives a specific meaning to the concept of intellectual attention to local realities, favoring works that do not confine themselves to such a paradigm or even to provide critical inputs for a framework that leaves apparent the gears of the reproductive system of this model. We can also state that she applies theories of heterogeneous lines, comprising research by Brazilian authors of the nineteenth century, the sociological tradition of the twentieth century (in essayists such as Antonio Candido and Roberto Schwarz), the French theory from the 1960\'s (such as Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze) and Marxist intellectuals (as Fredric Jameson and Theodor Adorno). We interpret this gesture of restlessness as a theoretical availability to follow the object, a desire to pursue it in order to properly comment more and more thoroughly, refusing to observe it in an inflexible manner. The route and pursuit become more important than the stability of the essayist, which led us to call this method practiced by Flora Süssekind as critical roaming.