This dissertation proposes a new interpretation of the concept of mimesis, viewed through a recent paradigm derivative of the natural sciences: complexity theory. The apparent universality of what are considered complex phenomena suggests that human systems, such as historical and cultural events, societies, and also narratives, are shaped by seemingly chaotic scenarios. Rejecting reductionism and determinism, chaos and complexity theory favour a holistic embrace of complexity and flux.
In this project, complexity theory provides a matrix for examining the deep structure that underlies the act of creating a poem. In an analytical study of selected works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Friedrich Nietzsche I establish the link between the natural sciences and the humanities by extending to the moral realm the notion of natures relentless drive to create. The concept of autopoiesis forms the basis of my discussion of Emersons and Nietzsches concepts of defining the self. The continuous re-creation of the self within its environment also underlies my subsequent analyses of poems by two twentieth-century poets, Gottfried Benn and Wallace Stevens.
This dissertation suggests that the act of poetic creation in the continuous and dynamic re-creation of form is grounded in natural forces themselves. In a world of ever changing and fleeting phenomena, the poem functions like a periodic center, that is as a salutary moment of confluence between subject and object.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-04092007-154516 |
| Date | 11 April 2007 |
| Creators | Schlee, Claudia Simone |
| Contributors | John A. McCarthy, Elizabeth R. Horan, Meike Werner, William Franke, Dieter Sevin |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-04092007-154516/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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