Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 98 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-98).

My essay is called “Alive but Insignificant: An Analysis of Cosmic Horror in H.P. Lovecraft’s Writing”. Howard Phillips Lovecraft has written many short stories surrounding the idea of “cosmic horror”. In this essay I seek to investigate how this cosmic horror works and what connections it has to occultism by analyzing six of his short stories: The Call of Cthulhu, The Colour Out of Space, The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Haunter of The Dark, The Nameless City and Nyarlathotep. In the essay I use sources that show Lovecraft’s biography and letters to build an idea of how he might have been thinking when writing and in the theory segment I bring up the sublime to show what “cosmic horror” means when analyzing Lovecraft. I analyze the stories based on three categories: The Fear of Cosmos, The Fear of The Occult and The Fear of The Abyss.   In the second to last segment called discussion I got through everything that I have found through my analysis: Within The Fear of Cosmos, I analyze The Colour Out of Space, Nyarlathotep and The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath to find that the fear comes from the idea that there is a force somewhere out in space that can destroy humanity on a whim and humans have no way of stopping it. Within The Fear of The Occult, I analyze the Cthulhucult in The Call of Cthulhu by bringing up Lovecraft’s connections to occultism and potential connections to Helena Blavatsky. To enforce the connection between Lovecraft and Blavatsky I use a quote from Haunter of The Dark that presents a book that Blavatsky has ties to. There I find that the fear comes from the idea that a malevolent monster is whispering in the ears of people, encouraging them to commit horrific acts and to abandon their humanity in its name. In The Fear of The Abyss, I analyze The Nameless City and The Call of Cthulhu to find that the fear comes from the idea that there is a powerful and horrifying monster sleeping somewhere under the earth and the ocean, waiting for the right time to awaken and come out of hiding, all while humanity is unaware of it.   In the very last segment I go through some comments regarding the essay, where I share my biggest problems with Lovecraft and why certain parts of the essay was cut out.

This dissertation investigates the development of W.B. Yeats’s aesthetic philosophy during his earlier career (1883 to 1907), particularly as it is presented in his prose writing and certain dramatic works of the period. Yeats is exposed to the folkloric tradition of Western Ireland from a young age while at the same time receiving a thorough education in the aesthetic philosophies of the Romantics, Pre-Raphaelites and French Symbolists. He finds the ideas regarding the ability of symbols to enlarge the imagination of the artist and his audience which these philosophies expound to be present in the folkloric tradition of Ireland. Yeats becomes involved with the nationalist cause of Ireland as a young man, and finds himself attracted to the prospect of contributing to Ireland’s struggle for independence on a cultural front. He chooses to apply his Romantic principles to art which draws on the shared folkloric tradition of Ireland in an effort to inspire cultural, rather than purely political, rejuvenation amongst his Irish audience. Yeats holds that art which only aims to serve political or moral ends often compromises its aesthetic integrity and he chooses to distance himself from such art, instead promoting an aesthetic ideal which values art for its inherent ability to communicate with an audience through the traditional symbols it encompasses. The artist is placed in the role of the bard and functions as the mediator who exposes the ancient truths that have been embedded in symbols through their traditional use. The poet must be able to create freely and without the pressure of serving a practical cause if he is to be successful in his cultural duty, and this too demands art to be valued autonomously as a force that has the potential to culturally invigorate a disenfranchised colonial Ireland. These ideas are honed during time spent in nationalist, occult, literary and theatre societies where different ideas and principles are unified with his early Romantic ideals to form an aesthetic which has the communicative and enlarging capabilities of art at its centre. The theatre in particular becomes a platform through which Yeats explores and expresses his own aesthetic ideals. This dissertation takes a historical and literary philosophical approach to establish Yeats’s aesthetic development from a traditional Romantic aesthetic to one that is thoroughly progressive and concerned with the autonomous value of Irish art. / MA (English), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This dissertation investigates the development of W.B. Yeats’s aesthetic philosophy during his earlier career (1883 to 1907), particularly as it is presented in his prose writing and certain dramatic works of the period. Yeats is exposed to the folkloric tradition of Western Ireland from a young age while at the same time receiving a thorough education in the aesthetic philosophies of the Romantics, Pre-Raphaelites and French Symbolists. He finds the ideas regarding the ability of symbols to enlarge the imagination of the artist and his audience which these philosophies expound to be present in the folkloric tradition of Ireland. Yeats becomes involved with the nationalist cause of Ireland as a young man, and finds himself attracted to the prospect of contributing to Ireland’s struggle for independence on a cultural front. He chooses to apply his Romantic principles to art which draws on the shared folkloric tradition of Ireland in an effort to inspire cultural, rather than purely political, rejuvenation amongst his Irish audience. Yeats holds that art which only aims to serve political or moral ends often compromises its aesthetic integrity and he chooses to distance himself from such art, instead promoting an aesthetic ideal which values art for its inherent ability to communicate with an audience through the traditional symbols it encompasses. The artist is placed in the role of the bard and functions as the mediator who exposes the ancient truths that have been embedded in symbols through their traditional use. The poet must be able to create freely and without the pressure of serving a practical cause if he is to be successful in his cultural duty, and this too demands art to be valued autonomously as a force that has the potential to culturally invigorate a disenfranchised colonial Ireland. These ideas are honed during time spent in nationalist, occult, literary and theatre societies where different ideas and principles are unified with his early Romantic ideals to form an aesthetic which has the communicative and enlarging capabilities of art at its centre. The theatre in particular becomes a platform through which Yeats explores and expresses his own aesthetic ideals. This dissertation takes a historical and literary philosophical approach to establish Yeats’s aesthetic development from a traditional Romantic aesthetic to one that is thoroughly progressive and concerned with the autonomous value of Irish art. / MA (English), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Etude des relations entre musique et astrologie par (1) un panorama européen de la présence de l’astrologie dans les traités de théorie musicale de la fin du 15ème siècle au début du 18ème siècle (Burzio, Gaffurio, Finck, Zarlino, Mersenne et l’horoscope du parfait musicien, Bartolus, Werckmeister) et dans les « Accademie » italiennes (l’Academia Ortolana d’Antonfrancesco Doni et l’Academia dei Gelati de Bologne), (2) l’étude des écrits astrologiques manuscrits et édités de compositeurs Italiens du 17ème siècle (Zacconi, Osio, P. F. Valentini) et (3) le décodage de l’astrologie dans un corpus de partitions musicales (analyse de Milleville, « Madrigali », 1617 ; Strozzi, « Elementorum », 1683 ; des sonates « Zodiacus Musicus »…). Lue en parallèle avec les énigmes musicales et « canoni enigmatici » italiens du 17ème siècle étudiés sous l’angle de l’expression de l’hermétisme et de l’ésotérisme musical. Les fonctions sociales, sacrées et symboliques de cette forme musicale ainsi que des caractéristiques esthétiques et herméneutiques propres au 17ème siècle se dégagent de l’analyse des sources (analyses détaillées des œuvres de Romano Micheli, du manuscrit de canons de P. F. Valentini et du manuscrit des « Hiéroglyphes musicaux » de Zacconi ; présentation des manuscrits de canons énigmes conservés au Museo Civico Musicale de Bologne (Nanino, Agostini, Costanzo Porta, Milanta, Martini, Mattei) et analyse des énigmes dans les messes romaines, Anerio, Soriano, Agostini…). Plus de 80 sources manuscrites (Venise, Pesaro, Milan, Bologne, Rome, Vatican, Londres) et de 120 sources anciennes (Agrippa, Bruno, Cardano, Ficino, Kircher ; Banchieri, Cerreto, Liberati, Rodio, Steffani…), 44 reproductions hors texte.

The Nigerian video film industry has emerged to become the first “popular” film industry in black Africa. Its means of production and consumption has redefined the parameters of African Cinema. The video films employ themes and images that captivate the audiences’ imagination and curiosity. Some of the most used themes in the Nigerian video films are those relating to the supernatural, magic and witchcraft. Whilst some scholars and filmmakers criticise the prevalence of themes of witchcraft, magic and the supernatural, it is these very themes that draw local audiences. This research project explores images and themes of witchcraft, magic and the supernatural in two genres of the video films; the evangelical or Christian genre, and the horror or voodoo genre, using the films End of the Wicked and Child of Promise as case studies of the two genres respectively.

Introdução. A infecção causada pelo vírus da hepatite B (HBV) é um dos agravos de maior prevalência no mundial. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) existem mais de 350 milhões de portadores crônicos da doença. A infecção pelo HBV é rotineiramente identificada quando há a presença do HBsAg circulante. Entretanto, em alguns casos o HBV-DNA tem sido detectado em indivíduos HBsAg negativos, positivos ou negativos para anti-HBc e anti-HBs. Essa apresentação sorológica e molecular é denominada infecção oculta pelo HBV (OBI). Geralmente a concentração do HBV-DNA no soro será abaixo de 200 UI/mL. Objetivo: Determinar a prevalência da OBI, em doadores de sangue do Estado do Amapá no ano de 2014. Material e Métodos. Foram analisadas um total de 62 amostras de doadores de sangue do estado do Amapá, no ano de 2014, que apresentavam o perfil sorológico: HBsAg negativo, anti-HBc positivo e com anti-HBs negativo ou positivo. Os marcadores sorológicos HBsAg e anti-HBc foram determinados através do imunoensaio quimioluminescente. As amostras selecionadas para a detecção do HBV-DNA foram testadas utilizando as metodologias de Real-Time PCR Kit NAT HIV/HCV/HBV (Bio-Manguinhos®) e PCR \"in house\". Resultados. Do total de 13.261 doadores triados para infecções transmissíveis pelo sangue, 283 apresentaram resultados reagentes para os marcadores da hepatite B, nos quais: 35 (0,3%) foram HBsAg e 248 (1,9%) para anti-HBc reagentes. Um total de 62 amostras foram testadas pelos métodos moleculares. Todas as amostras apresentaram resultado HBV-DNA não-detectável. Conclusão: O índice de inaptidão sorológica no ano de 2014 no HEMOAP foi de 1,9% para anti-HBc e 0,3% para HBsAg. A população estudada foi constituída predominantemente por adultos com idade entre 29-65 anos, do sexo masculino, casados e naturais de municípios do estado do Amapá / Introduction. The infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are more than 350 million chronic carriers of the disease. HBV infection is routinely identified when there is presence of circulating HBsAg. However, in some cases HBV-DNA has been detected in HBsAg negative individuals, positive or negative for anti-HBc and anti-HBs. This serological and molecular presentation is termed HBV-occult infection (OBI). Usually the concentration of HBV-DNA in serum will be below 200 IU / mL.Objective: To determine the prevalence of OBI in blood donors, in the State of Amapá, in the 2014. Material and methods. A total of 62 samples of blood donors from the State of Amapá in the year 2014 were analyzed, presenting the serological profile: HBsAg negative, anti-HBc positive and with negative or positive anti-HBs. Serum markers HBsAg and anti-HBc were determined by the chemiluminescent immunoassay. Samples selected for HBV-DNA detection were tested using the Real-Time PCR Kit Kit HIV / HCV / HBV (Bio-Manguinhos®) and in-house PCR. Results. Of the total of 13,261 donors screened for blood-borne infections, 283 presented reactive results for hepatitis B markers, in which: 35 (0.3%) were HBsAg and 248 (1.9%) for anti-HBc reagents. All samples showed nondetectable HBV-DNA result. Conclusion: The serological disability index in the year 2014 in HEMOAP was 1.9% for anti-HBc and 0.3% for HBsAg. The studied population consisted predominantly of adults aged 29-65 years, males, married and natural of cities of the state of Amapá

De acordo com a teologia cristã, o Diabo caracteriza-se como paradigma definitivo e origem inconteste daquilo que se convencionou chamar de Mal na mundividência ocidental. Todavia, ao transpor as fronteiras dos textos religiosos em que se originou, o Diabo veio a se tornar, nos domínios da literatura, um símbolo recorrente e de indisputável significância, como atestam suas várias e multifacetadas manifestações literárias. Destarte, partindo de uma interpretação do Adversário enquanto símbolo literário de extensa tradição, o presente trabalho objetiva analisar a representação de Satã no conto A Hora do Diabo, de Fernando Pessoa. Tenciona-se, em substância, por meio de uma leitura analítico-comparativa do discurso de Satanás, deslindar a figura do Tentador enquanto sumo conhecedor de mistérios e iniciador que, ao longo da narrativa, sumariza e expõe ao leitor o pensamento esotérico de Fernando Pessoa para, a partir daí, estabelecer uma relação entre os desígnios do Diabo, o Oculto e o fazer poético / According to the Christian theology, the Devil is the utmost paradigm and unquestionable origin of what is commonly named Evil in the Western outlook. Howeveer, by crossing the borders of the religious texts in which it sprang, the Devil became, in the realms of literature, a recurring and indisputably significant symbol, as its various and manifold literary manifestations bear witness. Starting, thus, from an interpretation of the Adversary as a literary symbol of broad tradition, this paper aims at analyzing the representation of Satan in the short-story A Hora do Diabo, by Fernando Pessoa. By means of an analytical comparative study of Satans discourse, our purpose is, essentially, to unfold the figure of the Tempter as the supreme bearer of mysteries and the initiator who, along the narrative, synthesizes and exposes to the reader Fernando Pessoas esoteric thought in order to, from this point on, establish a relation among the Devils intent, the Occult and the poetic creation.

This thesis is about curses. It shows how the mechanics of cursing are intrinsically linked to shamanic practice in the ethnographic context of social, economic and political shifts in post-Soviet Kyzyl, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Tuva. Moving beyond discourses that understand 'economics' as narrowly pertaining to wealth, power and the circulation of goods, the thesis explores curses as distinct social mechanisms within an 'occult economy' that constitutes a wider sociocosmic politics emergent from human and non-human interactions. Along these lines, while presenting Tuvan shamanism as central to cursing phenomena, the thesis explores the distinctiveness and efficacy of shamanic practice as a form of artistry embedded in instrument-derived (shamanic drum) and human (the shaman's voice) sound production. Thus, it challenges the 'classical' readings of shamanism which emphasise trance and mediumship usually seen as involving significant changes in the 'physical' and 'psychic' states of the shamans. Contextualizing cursing in the practice of Tuvan shamanism, the thesis illuminates the significance of sound creation among Tuvans in order to introduce the notion of 'turbulence' as integral not only to shamanic sound production, but also to immediate experiences of cursing and the overall patterning of the cosmos. More than that, bringing sounds and turbulence together in the context of shamanic rituals, it shows how sounds are imbued with a potency of their own rather than simply constituting a sonorous aspect of shamanic words. Along these lines, it contributes to a better understanding of im/materiality and the logic of representation. Lastly, exploring the multiplication of curses in the post-Soviet context, the thesis also offers an interpretative framework which unveils how occult phenomena can become efficacious analytical tools, allowing us to grasp the mosaic-like characteristics of the sociocultural contexts in which they are embedded. In this way, the thesis attempts to emancipate 'occultism' from the rigid dichotomies of tradition and modernity, and challenge those anthropological approaches to post-colonial transformations which emphasise cultural revivalism and ethnic identity, remaining caught in the usual dynamics of 'the old' and 'the new' - dynamics we need to leave behind.

The Victorians obsessed over the supernatural and this fascination with the otherworldly emerges in the literature of the day. With this thesis, I look at two nineteenth century novels that exhibit supernatural phenomena: Charlotte Brontë's Villette (1853) and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847). Both novels, I propose, utilize this aspect of the gothic tradition to enhance their characters' psychological realism. With Villette, I examine the supernatural as a fabricated experience. First, I study the protagonist's psyche and show how her emotional state directly contributes to the appearance of fantastic material. Specifically, I examine Lucy Snowe's childhood experiences in Bretton and then look at her continuing emotional isolation at the boarding school in Villette. I then illustrate how Lucy compensates for this loneliness by transforming the identities of her acquaintances and by often embellishing her own experiences. Following this, I examine her response to an external phenomenon, the ghostly nun. I argue that as Lucy discovers emotional fulfillment via her relationship with Paul Emanuel, she grows increasingly skeptical of the nun. This skepticism climaxes in a scene of violence, after which Lucy successfully denies the existence of the otherworldly. With Wuthering Heights, I examine the supernatural as a genuine phenomenon. To begin, I analyze two significant scenes which frame the main narrative: Lockwood's dream and Heathcliff's death. Both events, I subsequently demonstrate, are instances of supernatural interaction with the real world. Finally, I examine the spiritual and occult beliefs of the lovers, Catherine and Heathcliff. I then show how their ideology influences their decisions and, ultimately, brings about their reunion in the afterlife.