Taking up recent arguments associated with New Lyric Studies, contemporary genre theory, and historical poetics, this dissertation examines the trajectory of the dramatic element in twentieth-century poetry and its specific practice in the verse drama. Particularly, it argues that the persistent interest among twentieth-century poets in composing verse drama arises out of a resistance to what has been called the lyricization of poetry. By investigating the dramas of poets as diverse as Sadakichi Hartmann, T. S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Robert Lowell, and Derek Walcott, among others, this study reconsiders poets’ engagements with the theater as endeavors vital to poetic, and not merely theatrical history. Through an examination of the poetic dramas of Hartmann and Eliot, I argue that the ways modernist poets deploy ritual are not merely anthropological, disinterested acts, but part of a larger interest in creating liturgical, actionable works of poetry, reforming our ideas of modernist interest in religious practices and communal experiences of poetry. Further, I argue that the verse dramas of Stein and Barnes help us to re-frame narratives of poetic subjectivity and repudiate the purported “death of tragedy” in a lyric age, developing a more full picture of poetry’s ability to engage with and present traumatic experience. In the final chapter, I demonstrate by looking to the verse dramas of Lowell and Walcott the ways that the verse drama challenges the lyric’s perceived a-historical status, finding in the theater a place for historical and political engagement. Thus, this dissertation addresses a current scholarly gap in the study of twentieth-century poetry by examining an oft-overlooked, yet vital form created during an era associated with the dominance of the lyric, and argues that by including verse dramas in contemporary accounts of poetry, we find a more fully-formed perspective of twentieth-century poetics and, particularly, the possibilities of poetic practice beyond the boundaries of the lyric. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2016. / June 30, 2016. / History, Lyric, Poetry, Resistance, Tragedy, Verse Drama / Includes bibliographical references. / Andrew Epstein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lisa Wakamiya, University Representative; S. E. Gontarski, Committee Member; Robert Stilling, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_366459 |
| Contributors | Walker, Andrew Scott (authoraut), Epstein, Andrew, 1969- (professor directing dissertation), Wakamiya, Lisa Ryoko, 1969- (university representative), Gontarski, S. E. (committee member), Stilling, Robert, 1977- (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of English (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (156 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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