Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English England Themes'
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1
Galloway, James. "English Arminianism and the parish clergy : a study of London and its environs c.1620-1640 /." Title page, table of contents and abstract only, 1995. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phg174.pdf.
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Buchanan, Andrea Susan. "Perspectives of estrangement : England and Englishness in the novels of Justin Cartwright." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80338.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores how Justin Cartwright’s perspective on Englishness, as a South Africanborn writer living and writing in England, is played out in his novels. Four of Cartwright’s novels with English settings are analysed: In Every Face I Meet (1995), The Promise of Happiness (2004), To Heaven by Water (2009) and Other People’s Money (2011). Cartwright’s position as a self-conscious observer of English life is revealed as eliciting a nuanced critique of Englishness. It is argued that Cartwright adopts something of an anthropological approach towards his English subjects, and that this troubles the traditional gaze of the Western anthropologist upon the “other”. At the same time, his protagonists are represented with humane sympathy, though this is often tempered with irony. Drawing on Paul Gilroy’s ideas about race and multiculture in England and Robert J.C. Young’s The Idea of English Ethnicity, this thesis discusses Cartwright’s presentation of Englishness as both potentially inclusive and exclusive. Cartwright also sets England against America, and more significantly, against Africa. Cartwright’s portrayal of Africa is shown to reveal his somewhat ambivalent attitude towards his birthplace. Throughout the thesis, Cartwright’s novels are discussed with an awareness of the influence that the social philosopher Isaiah Berlin has had on the author, particularly with regard to his critique of idealism and his espousal of value pluralism and liberal humanism. Yet it is also suggested that Cartwright’s liberal humanism may be intertwined with his complex and ambivalent attitude towards Africa. Moreover, the ironic tone and postmodern, metafictional elements of these novels perform Cartwright’s belief in value pluralism in interesting ways. The relationship between literature, art and national fictions is furthermore discussed, in conversation with Benedict Anderson’s ideas about nationalism. This thesis provides a close-reading of the works of this under-researched author and examines the complexity of his “estranged” position towards Englishness.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis verken hoe Justin Cartwright, Suid-Afrikaans gebore skrywer woonagtig in Engeland, se die siening van Engelsheid (Englishness) in sy romans weerspieël word. Vier van Cartwright se romans met ‘n Engelse agtergrond word ontleed: In Every Face I Meet (1995), The Promise of Happiness (2004), To Heaven by Water (2009) en Other People’s Money (2011). Dit word onthul hoe Cartwright se posisie as self-bewuste waarnemer van Engelse lewe hom staat te stel om ‘n genuanseerde critique van Engelsheid te lewer. Daar word aangevoer dat Cartwright ‘n ietwat antropologiese benadering tot sy Engelse onderwerpe inneem en dat dit die tradisionele siening van die Westerse antropoloog van die “ander” ondergrawe. Terselfdertyd bied hy sy protagoniste met menslike erbarming aan, hoewel dit dikwels met ironie getemper word. Deur gebruik te maak van Paul Gilroy se opvattings oor ras en multikultuur in Engeland en Robert J.C. Young se The Idea of English Ethnicity, bespreek hierdie tesis hoe Cartwright Engelsheid voorstel as sowel potensieel inklusief as eksklusief. Cartwright stel ook Engeland teenoor Amerika, en meer belangwekkend, ook teenoor Afrika. Daar word aangetoon dat Cartwright se uitbeelding van Afrika sy nogal ambivalente houding teenoor sy geboorteplek verraai. Regdeur die tesis word Cartwright se romans bespreek met in agneming van die invloed van die sosiale filosoof Isaiah Berlin op die skrywer, veral ten op sigte van sy critique van idealisme en sy omhelsing van waardepluralisme en liberale humanisme. Tog word daar ook gesuggereer dat Cartwright se liberale humanisme verweef mag wees met sy verwikklede en ambivalente houding ten opsigte van Afrika. Daarbenewens is die ironiese toon en postmoderne, metafiktiewe element van hierdie romans op interessante maniere ‘n bevestiging van Cartwright se onderskrywing van waardepluralisme. Vervolgens word die verhouding tussen literatuur, kuns en nasionale fiksies bespreek in samehang met Benedict Anderson se idees oor nasionalisme. Hierde tesis bied ‘n noukeurige ondersoek van die werke van hierdie onderverkende skrywer en ondersoek die kompleksiteit van sy “vervreemde” houding teenoor Engelsheid.
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Shelton, Paul Hunter. "The cook as physician : medical philosophy, nutrition, and diet in England, 1450-1650 /." Thesis, This resource online, 1990. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08182009-040212/.
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Cattle, Graham. "Other Englands: Regionalism in Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1999. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1217.
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This dissertation examines the representation of England in the plays of the first tetralogy. Arguing that a large number of studies of Shakespearian drama have tended to gloss over the inherent differences within the English nation. I suggest that regionalism and regional identity play a pivotal role in Shakespeare's dramatisation of English history from the accession of Henry VI to the death of Richard Ill. In this thesis I propose that the first tetralogy is not only a representation of the past, but an expression of the political, cultural and geographical divisions within England during the period of the plays first production. While Shakespeare's first tetralogy forms part of an interconnecting discourse of nationhood -- contributing to what has been termed the discovery of England -- I explore how the plays also serve to highlight the extent to which regionalism and regional diversity remained powerful factors within English society. By drawing attention to the proliferation of geographical references in the tetralogy, I discuss how the localisation of scenes and the identification of characters with specific places represents an encounter with the kingdom beyond the confines of the theatre. In a series of plays that appear to be principally concerned with the struggle between rival dynasties for control of the realm, the various regional references can be read as the site of competing voices and sectional interests: an acknowledgment of not one England, but various other Englands. While the image of the regional world in these plays is largely informed by the chronicle sources, this study considers how Shakespeare's fashioning of regional identity was governed by the need for Elizabethan acting companies to secure and maintain the protection of powerful and influential patrons, by censorship, company rivalry, and the demands placed on theatre companies by touring. With this in mind, I argue that the manner in which certain characters and regions are presented in the tetralogy is an indication that these plays may have been performed throughout England. After a theoretical overview, chapter one presents an examination of regionalism as a social, cultural, political and economic phenomenon in early modem England. It is followed by a discussion of the various ways in which a sense of place was projected on the Elizabethan stage. Appropriating William Harrison's division of the late Tudor kingdom into four distinct provinces, this dissertation interrogates the role and representation in the first tetralogy of the area south of the Thames (chapter two), the midlands (chapter three), Wales and the English border counties (chapter four), and northern England (chapter five).
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Donovan, Barry. "Buried baby's [sic] : evidence from English epitaphs of sentiment changes in England until 1900 /." Title page, contents and introduction only, 1990. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09ard687.pdf.
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Joiner, Sandra Carol. "Charlotte Mew: An Introduction." TopSCHOLAR®, 1989. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1717.
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Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) published short stories, essays, and poetry between 1894 and the time of her death. She published a slim volume of poems in 1916, a few of which place her as one of the great English poets. Indeed, both Thomas Hardy and Virginia Woolf thought her one of the greatest living female poets. Mew is particularly interesting as a poet who was born in the Victorian period, published during the “decadent decade” of the nineties, throughout Edward’s reign, and well into the reign of George V. Although few of Mew’s poems are dated, there is a gradual yet continual change from her early work to her latest.
In her work, Mew questions her relationship with God, nature and humanity. She asked questions asked by Emily Bronte, George Meredith, and Thomas Hardy. Like them, she was knowledgeable in the new science and believed in its results. She was a seeker for a workable philosophy on which to base her life, which she never fully found. It is both painful and fruitful to join her in her search through her works as she tries to come to terms with these issues.
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Badcock, Pamela Jennifer. "The English family and the Black Death : the impact of the Black Death on families in England /." Title page, table of contents and introduction only, 2003. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arb132.pdf.
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Speakman, Malcolm V. "Shell's England : corporate patronage and English art in the Shell posters of the 1930s." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2014. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/shells-englandcorporate-patronage-and-english-art-in-the-shell-posters-of-the-1930s(9cd3b1e2-ecfb-4967-a0a3-cb82dcd2625d).html.
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This thesis establishes why the Shell Oil Company produced a series of seventy-one posters of the British landscape in the 1930s. Through an examination of the 76 cm. x 114cm. posters that were attached to the sides and backs of the company’s delivery lorries, the thesis determines why Shell chose this form of publicity. The thesis examines the posters as historical, if ephemeral, artefacts and analyses the social, economic and cultural context of their production. Whilst there has been some historical analysis of poster design within the field of design history, the significance of the poster within these contexts has been largely neglected. The unique hybrid nature of the Shell posters as advertising based upon fine art using over fifty artists and designers makes them a unique repository of British visual culture of the 1930s. This thesis describes how Shell created three landscape poster campaigns, not through the enlightened patronage of its publicity manager, Jack Beddington, but through a complex set of circumstances that included: the cartel that was formed by the oil companies supplying Britain; the development and encouragement of motoring tourism and its effect on the countryside; the middle-class rejection of working class holiday destinations; concern about the preservation of the countryside; the effect of the ‘slump’ on the working lives of artists; economic and aesthetic arguments about the relationship between fine and commercial art and the relationship between landscape and national identity. Chapter 1 explores the background and influences that led to the creation of the posters, including the precursors of Beddington and the development of the poster as a medium. Chapter 2 investigates the inter-war debate that exposed the uneasy relationship between fine art, commercial art and industry. Chapter 3 investigates the concept of ‘place’ and uses case studies of places Shell wished to portray as destinations. Chapter 4 examines, through case studies, how the landscape, as portrayed by the posters, is represented for tourists and also the posters’ function within tourism.
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Winchcombe, Rachel. "Constructing America : English encounters with the New World and the development of colonial discourse, 1492-1607." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2017. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/constructing-america-english-encounters-with-the-new-world-and-the-development-of-colonial-discourse-14921607(507d487b-ae96-46df-98db-0a5a4720597e).html.
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This thesis explores English representations of America and Americans from the 'discovery' in 1492 to the establishment of the Jamestown colony in 1607. In examining this earlier period of English engagement with the New World, this thesis aims to illustrate the many ways that sixteenth-century understandings of America impacted the development of English colonial discourse, from shaping where colonies should be located, to influencing how native populations should be incorporated into colonising schemes. In particular, this thesis establishes two fundamental sixteenth-century approaches to the construction of English colonial ideology: the use of continental European portrayals of America that were manipulated and adapted to meet the discursive demands of early English projects in the New World and the selective appropriation of frameworks of knowledge, both old and new, that were employed in an attempt to explain the new lands across the Atlantic. The following chapters analyse the various processes by which an English colonial discourse, focused on America, came into being. This thesis assesses how English colonisers and explorers constructed the theory of empire using Old World frameworks of understanding, examines how explorative failures and an oscillating English religious, economic, and cultural landscape affected early English colonial discourse, and explores how the practicalities of English trade and settlement in the New World manifested themselves in descriptions of native appearance and behaviour and in accounts of the American environment. By employing a methodology of 'thick' contextualisation and close reading, and by interpreting travel narratives and colonial texts as sites where rhetoric, inter-textual influences, and cultural priorities converge, this thesis enhances historical understandings of the development of English colonial ideology. The formation of early English colonial discourse took place within an international framework of European rivalry and shared cultural heritage and a domestic context of fluctuating economic, political, and religious circumstances. This discourse, which was first articulated in the sixteenth century, was therefore the product of a complex process of assimilation, manipulation, colonial competition, and cultural appropriation.
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Mayers, Simon. "From "the Pharisee" to "the Zionist Menace" : myths, stereotypes and constructions of the Jew in English Catholic discourse (1896-1929)." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2012. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/from-the-pharisee-to-the-zionist-menace-myths-stereotypes-and-constructions-of-the-jew-in-english-catholic-discourse-18961929(8d51f9e6-a0e9-4e56-ab33-ad1f8e0b61d9).html.
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This thesis is the result of an investigation into the representations of the Jew that existed in the English Catholic discourse during the final years of the nineteenth- and the early decades of the twentieth-century (1896-1929). As very little has been written about English Catholic representations of the Jew during this timeframe, the primary aim of this project has been to excavate a layer of discourse which, with the exception of the published works of a few prominent individuals, has hitherto remained largely unexamined. In order to increase our understanding of the English Catholic discourse as much as possible, a wide range of sources have been examined, including the published works of prominent, obscure and anonymous authors, the pastoral letters and sermons of cardinals, bishops and priests, articles and editorials in English Catholic newspapers and periodicals, pamphlets, personal correspondence, letters to the editors of newspapers, unpublished documents and a small number of oral testimonies. Three main types of representation of the Jew have been uncovered in this project: the roles assigned to the Jew in traditional Christian myths, contemporary stereotypes of the Jew, and composite constructions which combine themes drawn from myths and stereotypes. Representations of the Jew which originated in traditional Christian myths include the Jew as Pharisee, Christ-Killer, fanatical murderer, diabolic sorcerer and Antichrist. Contemporary stereotypes portray the Jew as usurious, cowardly, unpatriotic and secretive. Composite constructions combining themes from traditional myths and contemporary stereotypes include the Jew-Freemason conspirator and the Zionist Menace. The material examined reveals that representations of the Jew in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century were not always modern in character. In the case of the English Catholic discourse, they were often pre-modern or anti-modern. Many existing studies of English antisemitism argue that by the late nineteenth century, constructions of the Jew based on traditional Christian myths had largely, though not entirely, been replaced by modern socio-political and racial forms of antisemitism. This study however demonstrates that traditional religious myths about the Jews continued to thrive and function in the English Catholic discourse. Their continued existence was not confined to a handful of narrative artefacts from a bygone era. English Catholic constructions of the Jew combined these persistent Christian myths with other more contemporary social stereotypes, though surprisingly, the one element that was usually absent from these constructions was "race." Jews were rarely denigrated as racially inferior in the English Catholic discourse and there were few references to biology or pseudo-scientific "race" theories. They were however portrayed as greedy, cowardly, disloyal and secretive villains and diabolized as Pharisees, Christ-Killers, fanatical murderers, sorcerers and Antichrists. In some cases the language used to describe the Jew, the Pharisee, the Zionist and the Jew-Freemason, drew upon a vocabulary which suggested an apocalyptic conflict between the forces of good and evil.
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Lobban, Paul. "Inhabited space : writing as a practice in early modern England; Margaret Hoby, Eleanor Davies, Katherine Philips." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phl796.pdf.
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Prattley, Jennifer Anne. "The effect of partner and household characteristics on the continued employment of coupled older women in England." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2016. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-effect-of-partner-and-household-characteristics-on-the-continued-employment-of-coupled-olderwomen-in-england(08e26f8b-932a-48d4-898a-0605f4fcec7c).html.
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The economic wellbeing, physical and mental health of the ageing population in the United Kingdom is associated with continued participation in the labour force. Encouraging later life employment is therefore a key policy issue. Research into older person's employment trajectories is concentrated on male working patterns, and often takes an individualistic approach that does not account for the domestic context. Previous research on women's labour force participation has been informed by small scale qualitative studies that do consider the household domain but these findings cannot be generalized to the wider population. This research investigates the factors associated with the continued employment of women aged 50 to 59 using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Transition rates out of employment between 2001 and 2011 are modeled using multilevel discrete time event history specifications that permit the inclusion of time varying covariates. Retirement is characterized as an ageing process which allows the impact of predictors on transition rates to be assessed and measured as women approach state pension age. Alternative time structures are considered, with parameter estimates from an age baseline model compared with those from a time on study specification. Results illustrate the sensitivity of parameter estimates in discrete time event history models to the measurement of time, and emphasize the importance of adopting a time metric that is commensurate with the theoretical representation of retirement as a dynamic ageing process. The domestic context is realised as sampled women and their male partners are positionedwithin a household structure, and asymmetric effects of predictors on the transition rate of each gender are considered. Own poor health, caring responsibilities and a retired or inactive spouse accelerate labour market exit for women whilst high levels of accrued pension wealth predict earlier transitions for their male partners. The age of employment exit for females is independent of pension wealth, but pension resources do predict the retirement pathway taken following any transition that does occur. Women residing in the wealthiest households are more likely to report as voluntary retired prior to state pension age whilst those in the poorest of couples are at higher risk of following an involuntary pathway into an alternative inactive state. These findings emphasize the importance of conducting research into later life employment trajectories on a household, rather than individual, basis.
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Kanno, Mami. "Constructing gender and locality in late medieval England : the lives of Anglo-Saxon and British female saints in the South English Legendaries." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2016. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/constructing-gender-and-locality-in-late-medieval-england(9b907f0a-4858-4386-9892-33a7c056e5e5).html.
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This thesis examines the construction of gender and locality in late medieval England through the lives of Anglo-Saxon and British female saints in the South English Legendaries (SELS). Focusing on a distinctive characteristic of the SELS, the inclusion of native saints, it examines a group of native female saints in the British Isles, who appear in the fourteenth and fifteenth-century manuscripts of the SELS. All female saints covered in this study were monastic women, who were nuns and abbesses, from various parts of England and Wales, living between the seventh and tenth centuries. The thesis, consisting of five chapters, explores the vitae of these saints in turn, namely Frideswide of Oxford, Æthelthryth of Ely, Mildred of Minster-in- Thanet, Edburga of Winchester, and Winifred of Gwytherin, focusing on topics distinctive to each vita. Through reading their vitae, this study aims to shed light on aspects of gender, and particularly virginity, of these medieval female saints, analysing various literary motifs such as enclosure, incorrupt bodies, and danger of rape. By comparison with classical virgin martyr legends, it examines how the virginity of medieval insular women in some ways followed but at others most significantly departed from the classical models in order to present a new form of female sanctity. This thesis is not only a detailed study exploring medieval English abbesshood in hagiography, but also provides insights into the roles of the vitae of native female saints in the formation of localities and nationality, looking at issues such as the translation of relics and local cult activities. Given that the SELS are one of the post- Conquest hagiographic collections, that aimed to present saints from Anglo-Saxon, British, Irish, or Celtic backgrounds, as ‘English’ saints, this study demonstrates how the SELS present a late medieval view of the nation composed of various localities of saints.
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Chan, Tzu-Ying. "John Playford's The Division Violin: Improvisation and Variation Practice in English Violin Music of the Seventeenth Century." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1011780/.
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English publisher John Playford (1623-1686/1687) first published his "The Division Violin: Containing a Collection of Divisions Upon Several Grounds for the Treble-Violin" in 1684. The first edition of this violin collection contains 26 written-out examples of improvisation, serving as a living snapshot of the performance practice of the time. This research is based on the second edition, which Playford had expanded into 30 pieces for the violin, published in 1685. The purpose of this study is to investigate the art of improvisation in England during the late 17th century, focusing on Playford's "The Division Violin." The dissertation first surveys the development of English violin music in the 17th century. Then, the dissertation traces eight selected 16th-century Italian diminution manuals. This will help readers understand the progression of the Italian diminution and improvisation practice in the 16th century and how it relates to the English division of the 17th century. Finally, based on a thorough research of the 17th-century improvisatory style and rhetorical approach, the author of this study provides performance suggestions on "Mr. Farinell's Ground," No. 5 from "The Division Violin."
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Urban, Misty Johnson David F. "The figure of Judith in Anglo-Saxon England." 2003. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-10212003-205005/.
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Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2003.Advisor: Dr. David F. Johnson, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Feb. 18, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.
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Malo, Chenard Marianne Alicia. "Narratives of the saintly body in Anglo-Saxon England." 2003. http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-12022003-012945/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2003.Thesis directed by Michael Lapidge and Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe for the Department of English. "December 2003." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-288).
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Smith, Scott Thompson. "Writing land in Anglo-Saxon England." 2007. http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-04172007-111752/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007.Thesis directed by Michael Lapidge and Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe for the Department of English. "April 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 272-290).
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Cahill, Samara Anne. ""Intelligent souls" women, reason, and identity in England's "long" eighteenth century /." 2009. http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06232009-095753/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2009.Thesis directed by Margaret Anne Doody for the Department of English. "June 2009." Examines the concept of the soul in English literature written by women, 1660-1800. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 283-297).
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Herer, Lisbeth Diane Saladin Linda. "Tropes of otherness abjection, sublimity and Jewish subjectivity in Enlightenment England /." 2004. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07182004-152345.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004.Advisor: Dr. Linda Saladin-Adams, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Humanities. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 30, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.
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Dwiggins, Laura J. "Henry Thoreau's Debt to Society: A Micro Literary History." 2013. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/1034.
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This thesis examines Henry David Thoreau’s relationships with New England-based authors, publishers, and natural scientists, and their influences on his composition and professional development. The study highlights Thoreau’s collaboration with figures such as John Thoreau, Jr., William Ellery Channing II, Horace Greeley, and a number of correspondents and natural scientists. The study contends that Thoreau was a sociable and professionally competent author who relied not only on other major Transcendentalists, but on members from an array of intellectual communities at all stages of his career.
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Greyvensteyn, Annette. "Hans Christian Andersen's romantic imagination : exploring eighteenth and nineteenth century romantic conceptualisations of the imagination in selected fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen." Diss., 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/25146.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-131)Text in English with summaries in English and Afrikaans
There are certain influences from the eighteenth and nineteenth century English and German romantic Zeitgeist that can be discerned in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. The role of the imagination stands out as a particularly dominant notion of the romantic period as opposed to the emphasis on reason during the Enlightenment. It is this romantic influence that Andersen’s tales especially exemplify. For him the imagination is transcendent – one can overcome the mystery and hardship of an earthly existence by recasting situations imaginatively and one can even be elevated to a higher, spiritual realm by its power. The transcendent power of the imagination is best understood by viewing it through the lens of negative capability, a concept put forward by romantic poet, John Keats. The concept implies an “imaginative openness” to what is, which allows one to tolerate life’s uncertainties and the inexplicable suffering that forms part of one’s earthly existence by using the imagination to open up new potential within trying circumstances. In selected fairy tales, Andersen’s child protagonists transcend their circumstances by the power of their imagination. In other tales, nature is instrumental in this imaginative transcendence. The natural world conveys spiritual truths and has a moralising influence on the characters, bringing them closer to the Ultimate Creator. This follows the philosophy of German Naturphilosophie, as well as that of English romantics like Coleridge and Wordsworth, for whom nature functions as a portal to the spiritual world. The concept of the “sublime” underpins this philosophy. If nature is viewed through an imaginative, instead of an empirical lens, it becomes the means by which the temporal world can be transcended. It is a message of hope and as such is in keeping with Andersen’s self professed calling as visionary who uses his art to uplift mankind. In this he is the ultimate romantic hero or outsider who, while standing on the periphery of society, observes its shortcomings and feels called upon to show the way to a better world.
Sekere invloede van agtiende- en negentiende eeuse Engelse en Duitse romantisisme kan in Hans Christian Andersen se feëverhale bespeur word. Veral die rol van die verbeelding staan uit as ‘n dominante invloed van romantisisme, in teenstelling met die laat sewentien- en vroeë agtiende eeuse fokus op rasionaliteit. Dit is hierdie romantiese invloed wat Andersen se verhale veral versinnebeeld. Vir hom is die verbeelding transendentaal – ‘n mens kan die misterie en swaarkry van jou aardse bestaan oorkom deur situasies deur die oog van die verbeelding te bejeën en kan selfs deur die mag van die verbeelding opgehef word na ‘n hoër, meer spirituele vlak. Die transendentale mag van die verbeelding kan beter begryp word wanneer dit deur die lens van “negative capability” gesien word. Hierdie konsep is deur die romantiese digter, John Keats, voorgestel. Die konsep impliseer ‘n verbeeldingryke openheid in die aangesig van aardse onsekerheid en swaarkry, wat die mens uiteindelik in staat stel om nuwe potensiaal in moeilike omstandighede raak te sien. In uitgekose feëverhale, oorkom Andersen se kinderprotagoniste hul moeilike omstandighede deur die mag van die verbeelding. In ander verhale is die natuur deurslaggewend in dié transendentale verbeeldingsreis. Nie net dra die natuur geestelike waarhede oor nie, maar dit het ook ‘n moraliserende invloed op die karakters, wat hulle nader aan ‘n Opperwese bring. Dit herinner aan die Duitse Naturphilosophie, asook die sienswyse van Engelse romantikusse soos Coleridge en Wordsworth, vir wie die natuur ‘n deurgangsroete na die geestelike wêreld is. Die idee van die “sublime” is onderliggend aan hierdie filosofie. As die natuur deur middel van die verbeeldingslens, in plaas van deur ‘n empiriese lens bejeën word, kan dit ‘n manier word om die aardse te oorkom. Dit is dus ‘n boodskap van hoop wat in lyn is met Andersen se selfopgelegde taak as profeet wat sy kuns gebruik om die mensdom op te hef. In hierdie opsig is hy die absolute romantiese held of buitestaander, wat, ofskoon hy aan die buitewyke van die samelewing staan, tóg tekortkominge raaksien en geroepe voel om die weg na ‘n beter wêreld te wys.
English Studies
M.A. (English)