ABSTRACT DREAMS, VISIONS, AND THE RHETORIC OF AUTHORITY Authors' uses of dreams and visions in literature inherently involve questions about the text's access to (or distance from) higher (or lower) authorities. Whether including a brief dream sequence within a larger narrative or framing a narrative within a dream, authors often depict the ultimate sources of their texts' dreams and visions as standing outside the rational mind of man. Unless intending them for ironic effect, authors typically present their literary dreams and visions as incorporeal, otherworldly, revelatory--transcending the thoughts of the day and providing (usually transformative) insight into not only the past and present, but, prevalently, the future. These dream elements inherently link literary texts to a "non-literary" or non-fictional tradition: "authentic" prophetic and visionary texts. The literary mode imitates the authentic, which claims access to divine sources outside of the temporal (present and past) strictures of knowledge. The reader inevitably connects (whether consciously or unconsciously) the literary revelatory dream or vision to the generally more authoritative tradition of prophetic and visionary writing. This "borrowed" sense of authority elevates the overtly literary fiction, producing the impression of transcendent knowledge. The present study is predicated upon two underlying arguments: 1) that dreams and visions in literature frequently function as authorizing devices and 2) that texts involving dreams and visions draw upon numerous conventional strategies for both affirming and complicating (especially in the ironic dream vision) the text's authority. My method for exploring this thesis involves four case studies in which I synthesize recent dream and vision scholarship, consider historical context and intertextual dialogue, and perform my own close reading of relevant passages. While I address the diverse issues intrinsic to dream literature--especially their complex historical, philosophical, and spiritual contexts--I explore these connections and sub-arguments primarily in terms of authority and textual self-authorization. While many scholars have noted the importance of authority in dream literature--Steven Kruger, J. J. Collins, A. C. Spearing, Kathryn Lynch, Jessica Barr, J. Stephen Russell, Michael St. John, among many others--the present study takes this broad concept of authority and applies it in a more specific and comprehensive manner than previous scholarship. I have chosen four key texts in the history of Western dream and vision literature that 1) are paradigmatic representations of their respective genres and 2) exercised a high degree of influence on that formal tradition. Chapter 1 presents a taxonomy of dream and vision genres, emphasizing the role of authority in their distinctions. Chapter 2 focuses on the issue of cultural authority in the Book of Daniel (the dream sequence and the apocalyptic vision in the Jewish tradition). Chapter 3 discusses the importance of authority in Macrobius' Commentary on the Dream of Scipio (Neoplatonic dream theory and the classical dream vision). Chapter 4 analyzes authorizing devices in Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Love (the medieval mystic vision). Chapter 5 is a close reading of the ironic treatment of authority in Chaucer's House of Fame (the medieval ironic dream vision). These four works from four distinct traditions feature several conventional "authorizing devices" that characterize the dream and vision genres they represent. While some of these strategies remain particular to one genre and/or era, others clearly cross periods, cultures, and traditions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Program of Interdisciplinary Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / November 29, 2012. / apocalypse, dream literature, dream sequence, dream vision, mystical
vision / Includes bibliographical references. / David Johnson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Matthew Goff, University Representative; Francois Dupuigrenet Desroussilles, Committee Member; Nancy de Grummond, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183664 |
| Contributors | Bickley, John T. (authoraut), Johnson, David (professor directing dissertation), Goff, Matthew (university representative), Desroussilles, Francois Dupuigrenet (committee member), De Grummond, Nancy (committee member), Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| 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, 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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