The thesis pioneers a new methodology for the analysis of early modern literature: it embarks on a stylistic appreciation of Paradise Lost using early modern methods of interpretation and comprehension, specifically logic. In doing so it engages in the contest between historicist and stylistic criticism, providing a new methodology by which these two approaches are united to perform historically appropriate stylistic analysis of literary texts. Logic formed the bedrock of all early modern intellectual operations, including the literary, and it was the art used for all forms of analysis and interpretation. Yet in modern studies, logic has suffered from its own interdisciplinary dexterity: it is comparatively seldom studied, and when examined this tends to be in connection within a specific field of interest. As such there is a lack of a comprehensive developmental understanding of this subject in line with its original pragmatic purposes. This thesis addresses this quandary by examining a wide range of texts from the period to produce a syncretic appreciation of this art, similar to that acquired by early modern students. Having extrapolated the principles of early modern logic the second half of the thesis applies these in a practical way to analyse Milton’s style in Paradise Lost, reaching a new appreciation of the poem in accordance with the logical precepts that enabled its original production. The overarching aim of the thesis is to produce an innovative methodology enabling historically appropriate stylistic analysis of early modern texts, uniting the customarily disparate approaches of historicist and stylistic criticism in a literal and pragmatic way to open the possibility for future application of this methodology to other early modern literary texts.

Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt am Main, 2006. / Literaturverz. S. 15 - 39.

This study arranges symptoms of polarity into a causal sequence# beginning with the origin of contrarieties and ending with the ultimate effect. The origin is considered as the fall of man, denoting both a mythic concept and a specific act of betrayal. This study argues that a sense of separateness precedes the fall or act of separation; the act of separation produces various kinds of fragmentation; and the fragments are reunited through paradox. Therefore, a causal relationship exists between the "fall" motif and the concept of paradox.

In the span of this thesis, I investigate the queer nature of John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, and argue that in spite of the biblical subject matter it is in fact a text filled with instances of queer transgression. I focus on preexisting feminist critiques of Milton in my introduction in order to ground myself within the academic field, and in order to illustrate how I will be branching out from it. In my first chapter, I discuss the queered nature of the poem’s landscapes, such as Chaos and Hell, and the specifically queer and masculine nature of reproduction, such as Sin’s birth out of Satan’s head and Eve’s birth from Adam’s rib. I then turn to an in-depth discussion of Sin in Chapter Two, illustrating how she is punished with reproduction and sexual violence, and how this contrasts with her queer birth while illustrating the poem’s problematic stance toward fallen women. In my final chapter, I tackle the character of Eve, and argue that her narcissistic scene at the lake after her birth reveals her queer sexual desire for her feminine reflection. I also discuss how the poem sexualizes Sin and Eve, and how their physical appearances illustrate the state of women in the poem. I finish by arguing that a queer perspective of Milton is important because it allows modern critics to view as both illuminating and empowering.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / LosCon, the software program developed for the author's thesis and tested at sea, is designed to help the ASW commander regain tactical control in a loss of submarine contact situation. Persistent detection and cueing in the battlespace depend on utilizing contact reports from a network of combatant platform and offboard sensors. LosCon, an extended Kalman filter-based program modeled after MTST (Maneuvering Target Statistical Tracker), can integrate the sensor network very efficiently. Kalman filtering is a method of recursively updating the position of an evading target and accuracy of that position using imperfect measurements. Lines of bearing to the contact with associated standard deviation bearing errors and positions with their standard deviation range errors are the measurements LosCon uses to generate an ellipse of the submarine's likely position or AOU (Area Of Uncertainty). LosCon will also generate an expanded AOU for any future time, allowing commanders to correctly estimate the size of the search area. The effectiveness of the sea shield concept depends on the ability of organic forces to deny the enemy tactical control of the battlespace area. Incorporating the information generated by LosCon would assist ASW commanders in maintaining undersea superiority. / Ensign, United States Navy

This thesis examines the homefront experience of middle class, white women living in Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War. The experience of women in Winchester was unique because of Winchester's proximity to both the Union and Confederate capitals. Although the majority of Winchester's women were Confederate supporters a significant minority of the population remained loyal to the Union. Winchester citizens' divided status was further complicated by numerous occupations of the town by both armies. This thesis argues that in order to cope with wartime hardships women's concepts of patriotism changed as homefront morale waned. While early in the war women's patriotism reflected their support of the military, as the war progressed women began defining themselves as either Unionists or Confederates in order to maintain a sense of self. These wartime identities centered on the legitimacy of a particular cause and the vilification of the "enemy" thereby creating a clear line between good and evil to help women cope with the death and destruction of war. Winchester's various wartime occupations, however, undermined women's emotional justifications for war as contact with soldiers humanized the enemy and skewed the battle lines.

John Burgoyne, a British general during the American Revolution, is best known for his defeat by the Continental Army at Saratoga. In addition to serving as a general,Burgoyne was a playwright. While in Boston during the blockade following the Battle ofBunker Hill Burgoyne combined his interests, writing a satire of the war. The Blockade of Boston, Burgoyne's play, was first presented as an afterpiece to a production of The Busybody on January 8, 1776 (Silverman 292).Accounts of the performance differ in detail, but the central event is consistent: during the performance a soldier walked out on stage and announced that the rebels were attacking a British position. The audience of British military personnel, believing the statement to be a part of the performance, stayed in their seats to enjoy the show, only to then realize their mistake a moment later and rush off in great confusion. Most of the surviving records of this event are from the view of the delighted revolutionaries, who published accounts of it in their newspapers and pamphlets, to the lasting humiliation of the men involved with the production.I first encountered the story of Burgoyne's Blockade of Boston while working as a teaching assistant in an undergraduate theatre history class. The professor, Noreen Barnes, was lecturing on American theatre in the eighteenth century when she told the story of the interrupted first performance. I was intrigued by the story, and so when I wrote a paper on a disrupted performance for a historiography class, I chose to research the topic. I discovered that The Blockade of Boston, in addition to being a great story in its own right, could serve as a lens to examine the history of the period, opening questions of race, gender, and just what it means to be an American.

La notion de chance se rapproche de celle du hasard, mais c’est une notion critique, tenant compte de la mort de Dieu pensée par Nietzsche. Elle opère un renversement des valeurs et des représentations. Fugace, insaisissable, elle réfute toute logique du travail et de l’action. Elle s’accomplit dans l’instant. Elle entraîne une nouvelle ontologie et une nouvelle morale, celle du jeu.La chance est négative mais également positive. Elle apparaît comme une exigence, celle de dépasser les limites du donné ; et comme un risque, celui de se perdre dans la nuit du non-savoir.Elle prend forme dans les années 1930, dans un contexte de guerre de plus en plus menaçant. Elle trouve nombre de ses formulations dans la philosophie de Nietzsche dont Bataille se sert comme d’une arme contre le système hégélien. Elle apparaît comme le résidu ou le déchet des doctrines uniquement rationnelles et se présente comme une expérience sensible, ancrée dans le vécu de Bataille. Elle est un mouvement d’excès qui conduit la pensée à l’excès. Or, dans le monde moderne, les états extrêmes n’ayant plus de but (comme l’expiation et le salut) et l’action directe ayant remplacé le sacrifice, l’art seul les recueille. Bataille transpose donc sa recherche dans une écriture fragmentaire heurtée qui contrevient à toutes les normes littéraires. Il mêle les formes et les genres pour exposer la diversité, l’intensité et l’inquiétude qui caractérise cette expérience. Il invente une écriture qui ne cesse de se mettre en question pour faire sentir l’absence de certitude dans un monde où tout est instable, menacé de disparition. / The notion of chance is similar to fortuity, but it is a critical concept, taking into accountthe death of God, thought by Nietzsche. It reverses values and representations. Fleeting,elusive, it refutes all the logic of labour and of action. It is accomplished in the moment. It leadsto a new ontology and a new morality, that of playing. Chance is an opportunity and a risk. Itappears as a demand, that of exceeding the limits of the given, and as a hazard, that of gettinglost in the night of ignorance. It takes shape in the 1930s in a context of war more and morethreatening. It is often expressed in the philosophy of Nietzsche that Bataille uses as a weaponagainst the Hegelian system. It appears as the residue or waste of only rational doctrines andpresents itself as a sensitive experience, rooted in the life of Bataille. It is a movement of excessleading the thinking process to excess. However, in the modern world, the extreme states havingno purpose (such as the atonement and salvation) and direct action having replaced sacrifice,art alone collects them. Bataille therefore transposes his research in an encounteredfragmentary writing that contravenes all standards of literature. He combines the forms and typesto showcase diversity, intensity and anxiety which characterise this experience. He invents atype of writing that never stops challenging itself to highlight the lack of certainty in a world whereall is unstable, threatened with extinction.

Foreword This paper will be of value in answering continuing questions regarding John Milton's position on war and peace. The questions continue and are valid because Milton's works, as considered in the paper, offer support for both pro-war and pro-peace interpretations. The paper also addresses a middle-ground interpretation-that Milton's position can best be understood in light of the legal theories of Hugo Grotius, the seventeenth-century Dutch scholar who is generally accepted as the father of modern international law. The works considered include, among others, the Nativity Ode, the sonnets, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes (including post 9/11 controversy involving its alleged endorsement of terrorism), Christian Doctrine, and Milton's infrequently cited History of Britain. No ultimate answers are suggested except that more than three hundred years of Milton scholarship have left little unexplored regarding Milton's views on war and peace. Milton will always be known for his admiration of soldiers, particularly his employer, Oliver Cromwell, and for his military imagery, particularly in Paradise Lost. He will also be known as a man who lived in a time of constant warfare, and yet who valued and sought individual inner peace.

Recent studies have investigated the hydrological and geochemical characteristics of karst aquifers in different settings; however, telogenetic karst aquifer processes remain poorly understood. In south-central Kentucky, the iconic Lost River Cave and Valley represents a large, complex telogenetic karst drainage basin with a series of discharge points along a collapsed section of the cave. Two Campbell Scientific® CR1000 automated dataloggers were installed at Blue Hole Four, a primary discharge point of the Lost River Karst Aquifer (LRKA). These dataloggers recorded spring discharge, water temperature, specific conductance (SpC), and pH at ten-minute intervals from January to November, 2013. During the year, data for 34 storm events were captured, including water samples that were analyzed for major cation/anion concentrations. These concentrations were correlated to SpC to yield a continuous record of ionic concentrations. Rainfall data were acquired from the Kentucky Mesonet’s Warren County Site within the LRKA basin. Dissolution rates, Ca2+/Mg2+ ratios, and a mass flux of dissolved CaCO3were calculated to assess aquifer evolution processes and identify seasonal and storm event variability throughout the year. A two end member mixing analysis (EMMA) is used to analyze storm flow conditions versus baseflow conditions, and a predictive model is presented that is used to predict peak springflow based upon rainfall totals. A detailed water budget analysis and comparison to historical data is used to assess groundwater storage and aquifer complexity. The annual data reveal both seasonal and storm event patterns in geochemical and hydrologic conditions of the aquifer. The data indicate distinct responses to storm events. These responses, as well as EMMA results, indicate that storm event flows are composed initially of water formerly stored in the aquifer flushed through the aquifer by incoming meteoric water; this gradually gives way to a mixture of meteoric water and storage water that becomes gradually more similar to pre-storm conditions as discharge recedes to baseflow levels. The highest proportion of meteoric water is coincident with the highest potential for CaCO3 dissolution, indicating that storm events drive dissolution in the LRKA. Water budgeting for the full study period and individual storm events indicate that a large proportion of water in the LRKA is not discharged at Blue Hole Four, but rather is stored in the aquifer or follows another flowpath through the aquifer. Additionally, the higher rainfall totals during storm events tend to increase the proportion of water discharged from the aquifer rather than that stored within it. The predictive model indicates a strong correlation between total rainfall and peak discharge. The results overall indicate two critical times at which contaminant transport may occur: first, any contaminants stored in the aquifer will be flushed out first with storage water as discharge peaks, followed by a period in the falling limb of the discharge hydrograph that coincides with the peak proportion of meteoric water carrying contaminants that entered the aquifer during this event. This study helps to improve understanding of telogenetic karst aquifer processes and evolution, particularly in large, complex drainage basins. Future research is necessary to understand the dynamics of these important groundwater reserves and their response to continuing pressures from climate change, human impacts, and natural processes.