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Techniques and Content in Thornton Wilder: a Critical Re-Evaluation
The aim of this paper is not to disprove previous interpretations of Wilder's work, but to enlarge on them. The problem is not that the opinions of the early critics and many of the later ones were incorrect; the were merely incomplete. This paper shall attempt to show that Wilder's major thematic material falls into two interlocking and overlapping groups. Repeatedly Wilder deals with the relationship of man to something beyond himself, and the relationship of man to individual man and to mankind.
Tolstoy in America, 1890-1910
It is the purpose of this investigation to examine his popularity and influence in the United States during this period so as to provide a basis for a considered and adequate understanding of the problems and their implications.
The Use of Water in the Writing of Ernest Hemingway
This thesis explores the use of water in the writing of Ernest Hemingway. It includes chapters concerning rivers, rain, lakes, and the oceans.
The Use of Art Objects in the Fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne
This study is not concerned with the evaluation of Hawthorne's artistic criticism but with the uses he made art objects in his writing. Such a study should give suggestions for interpretation of his works, as well as information concerning literary devices and technique in style. It should consider the contribution of the art objects to the literary artistry of the works in which they appear. Such a study has not previously been made.
A Structural Analysis of The Brothers Karamazov
The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the structural unity of The Brothers Karamazov through the isolation and analyzation of the various techniques used by Dostoyevsky to unify the novel. In order to retain more than a few impressions and remembrances of outstanding events, in order to retain the novel itself, the reader needs to be aware of the structure of the work. If the fullest realization of the novel depends upon the reader's perception of its structure, the structure becomes the important critical element.
Christian Orthodoxy in the English Novel 1930-1950
This thesis discusses Christian orthodoxy in the English novel during the time period from 1930 to 1950.
A Language Arts Program for Ninth-Grade Slow Learning Pupils
The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of discerning the traits of a group of pupils who have low levels of learning and developing for them a more appropriate "differentiated program" of instruction in language arts.
Shakespeare's Monarchical Views
The purpose of this study is to treat one aspect of Shakespeare's political views, his views on monarchy as found in the two great English history tetralogies, and to compare them to the monarchical views of his age.
The Treatment of Nature in Thomas Hardy's Six Major Novels
The purpose of this thesis is to examine Thomas Hardy's treatment of nature in his major works. His interpretation of nature was sharply divergent from the traditional viewpoint regarding the natural world, and it was the direct antithesis of those interpretations of nature made by the writers who had preceded him.
Maria Edgeworth as a Precursor of Realism
The purpose of this thesis is to study the novels of Maria Edgeworth in an attempt to discover whether or not her novels have merit beyond their representation of the manners and morals of her historical period. This involves first an examination of her novels in the light of such criticism as has given rise to the question of their importance.
Pessimism in Three Major English Poets of the Nineteenth Century
This thesis examines the evidences of pessimism in the poetry of each poet, substantiated when possible by parallel prose writings and other critical and biographical material; and finally, it reaches tentative conclusions about the direction of the change in pessimistic outlook of three poets.
The Choric Element in Shakespeare's Second History Tetralogy
This thesis is a study of the anticipatory remarks and choric comments in Richard II, Parts I and II of Henry IV, and Henry V.
English Pastoral Drama, 1580-1642
It will be the purpose of the remaining chapters of this thesis to trace the characteristics and conventions of the pastoral as they can be observed in specific bucolic works from various writers of various nationalities and ultimately examine specific examples of English pastoral drama in light of these conventions and characteristics.
Joan of Arc as Personal Ideal and Literary Symbol in the Life and Writings of Samuel L. Clemens
This thesis offers a different concept of Mark Twain, who worshiped Joan of Arc and considered her the ideal of womanhood.
The Morality and Wit of Congreve and Sheridan in the Comedy of Manners
Considering the comedies of the Restoration, and those of Congreve in particular, as the prototype of the comedy of manners and as the model for Sheridan later to revive and emulate, this thesis proposes to point out how the concepts of morality and wit have been a major obstacle to literary critics in analyzing the comedy of manners from its very beginnings, to discuss morality and wit as the basis of a proper evaluation of the comedy of manners both from the standpoint of seventeenth-century precepts and those of a century later, and, finally, to show how, during the early periods in which the comedy of manners flourished,--that of Congreve, 1693-1700; and of Sheridan, 1775-1779--morality and wit were modified and used to suit the divergent sociological and psychological conditions of each period.
Shakespeare's Troilus and the Critics : A Survey of Twentieth-century Criticism
This thesis is a study of Shakespeare's character Troilus, from his play Troilus and Cressida, and a survey of twentieth-century criticism.
Today is Past
Today is Past is a serious play in which the main character does not meet defeat at the end. This is not to say, however, that the play has a conventional happy ending. It hasn't. But at the final curtain the protagonist has made an important decision which will determine the direction of her life.
The Comic Element in the Novels of Thomas Wolfe
As to form, Wolfe's novels are deliberately loose, because that is important to his purpose. Conceiving America as an open society of potentiality, he could do no less than remain open himself. To do otherwise would have meant impotence if not sterility. In this thesis, I shall attempt to show that the episodes, divergences, and observations all illustrate and amplify this spiritual growth.
Consonantal Assimilation in English
The purpose of this study is to show that the phonetic changes wrought by assimilation in the development of the sound of Modern English are still at work. To do this, historical examples will be placed side by side with others from present-day English. No effort is made to restrict examples to any one dialectical area or time.
Pragmatism as the Religion of Defoe
This study attempts to resolve the question of Defoe's sincerity through examination of his life, his journalistic writings, and his major works or imagination.
Representation of the Social Class Structure in the Fiction of Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway has given us pictures of individual members of society in the United States, in Africa and in Europe from the nineteen-twenties to the present time. In order to present Hemingway's characters as a study in social structure, the following classes will be considered: primitives, peasants, middle class, upper class, aristocrats.
Walt Whitman and the Theatre
This study attempts to establish the fact that Whitman was a frequent attendant at the legitimate theatre and that throughout his life he had a vital concern for it. The nature and scope of Whitman's interest in the legitimate theatre has been examined in detail to show by specific reference to his works the probable effect of his theatrical interest.
War as a Factor in the Fiction of Ernest Hemingway
This thesis is a study of war as a factor in Ernerst Hemingway's novels and stories.
Characterization of Women in the Fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne
While his Transcendentalist contemporaries were expounding their optimistic philosophy of natural goodness, progress, and perfectibility, Hawthorne probed into the human heart, recording the darkest motives of his characters and writing bitter criticism of life. Around him men were declaring that scientific inventions, political organizations, and religious reforms were ushering in a new era; but Hawthorne viewed the new society as a probable continuation of old evils and a manufacturer of new ones. His fiction has been called "an elaborate study of the centrifugal, . . . a dramatization of all those social and psychological forces that lead to disunion, fragmentation, dispersion, incoherence. Critics generally comment on Hawthorne's obsession with guilt. His pessimistic analysis of the mind, his somber outlook on living, and his personal tendency to solitude are frequently credited to his Puritan ancestry; yet as Arvin points out, "He had no more Puritan blood than Emerson and hundreds of other New Englanders of his time: and who will say that they were obsessed with the spectral presence of guilty. One must go beyond Calvinist theology to comprehend the source of guilt that hovers over the pages of his fiction. His religious, moral, educational, and economic background was so typical of his time and locality that one can hardly believe that the nature of his writing or thinking could have been determined by these factors. Indeed, his imperviousness to contemporary influences causes one to look intensely at his personal life in searching for the explanation of the Hawthorne enigma. An important influence on his writing was his prolonged association with women. From his life in a feminine world and his reaction to that world, he devised the major part of his style, themes, and feminine character types. A review of the facts of his biography will establish the nature of …
The Effect of Journalism on Modern American Writing
This paper is an analysis of the relationship between journalism and formal literary usage in America. It is the purpose of this study to define and illustrate characteristics of modern journalese and to make a comparison of standards of correct usage advocated by recent textbooks in English composition and journalism. Particular attention will be given to diction, structure and length of sentences, capitalization, abbreviation, and punctuation. The conclusion will be a brief evaluation of modern journalism, a succinct resume of its impact on modern language and literature, and a simple prediction of future tendencies in journalistic and literary language. And to give a better perspective to the analysis of journalism and American English, the paper begins with a description of the American linguistic heritage.
Modern Trends in the Interpretation of Falstaff
The different interpretations of the character of Sir John Falstaff have been so controversial that at no time since the presentation of the Henry IV plays have critics been able to agree as to his precise qualities. He has been called the greatest humorous character in all literature by even those critics who have spoken adversely of his other traits. George Bernard Shaw called him "a besotted and disgusting old wretch," an opinion added to those of others who have seen him as a coward, liar, cheat, thief, glutton, and rogue. There is no denying that he is one of the most captivating and controversial of all characters in English literature.
The Treatment of Human Cruelty in the Novels of Mark Twain
The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate Mark Twain's awareness of and sensitive reaction to the cruelty which surrounded him throughout his lifetime, and to evaluate his literary use of cruelty for both comic and satiric effects.
The Treatment of Women in the Restoration Comedy of Manners
Reflecting the real beau monde of Restoration London, the treatment of women in the comedy of manners was the best and most unusual characteristic of this dramatic type. With the first gay reaction against the past, the independent ladies demanded complete equality with men; intellectually, they gained that equality. To the gay belles, no less than to the beaux, wit was the passport to society. The truewit had everything; the witwould was social refuse, marked for that worst of all punishment--ridicule.
The Wordsworths' Scottish Tour
Together Dorothy and William translate. a simple tour into aesthetic loveliness To his sister the journey was the juxtaposition of impoverished society and pastoral elegance. To Wordsworth the tour was a reawakening of poetic Impulse. Through his intense feeling for natural beauty, Wordsworth became the poet of all mankind..
Characterization of the Heroine in the Fiction of Ernest Hemingway
The purpose of this paper is to examine both the women in Hemingway's life and his works, to search for influences exerted by the biographical women, to categorize the fictional women, and to draw whatever conclusions the evidence may justify.
The Crimson Veldt
This thesis is a work of creative fiction in the form of a novel.
Ellen Glasgow, Virginia Rebel
This study shows that her fiction was an influence in pointing the way to American Naturalism as a literary school and that, by her devotion to a single idea over a long span of years, she endows all womankind with stature.
Falsity in Man: Tennessee Williams' Vision of Tragedy
It is the purpose of this paper to examine the major plays of Tennessee Williams in an effort to formulate the key concepts which appear in the work of a modern successful dramatist who is sensitive to the tragedy of man and to discover Williams' beliefs in regard to man, his need, and the tragedy that results if he does not find the fulfillment of his nature.
The French Element in the English Language
The present study has been undertaken in order to create an informative presentation of the scope of French influence throughout the development of English. With this goal in mind a word list has been compiled and arranged by historical periods to show to what extent the language of each period has benefited from its borrowing.
Pejoration in the English Language
This study of pejoration in the English language covers general principles of semantics, socio-cultural terms, ability-condition terms, ethical-sexual terms, medical terms, and miscellaneous terms.
Shakespeare's Treatment of Source Material in Julius Caesar
This study of Shakespeare's treatment of source material in Julius Caesar covers sources and influences, plot and diction, the character of Caesar, and the character of Brutus.
Structure as a Literary Technique in the Major Novels of Ernest Hemingway
The purpose of this thesis is to study the structure of the five major novels of Hemingway, excluding Torrents of Spring and Across the River and into the Trees. They are: The Sun also Rises; A Farewell to Arms; To Have and Have not; For Whom the Bell Tolls; and The Old Man and the Sea.
A Survey of Shakespearean Productions in New York: 1935-1955
The aim of this thesis is to present a comprehensive view--a survey--of plays by William Shakespeare that have been produced for the New York stage from 1935 through 1955 in order to ascertain not only the quantity of Shakespearean drama that has been presented during this twenty-one-year period, but also to appraise the quality of the productions as seen by the critics. A related aim of this study will be the analysis of the televised Shakespearean plays by presenting the works and their merits through the eyes of the critics of that medium.
Jane Austen and Her Critics, 1940-1954
The purpose of this thesis is to survey Jane Austen biography and criticism published since 1940 in order to show the present state of Jane Austen study while providing a bibliographical guide to recent material.
Paul Green's South: A Land of Contrasts
This study deals almost exclusively with Green's folk plays, and identifies three major contrasts in his portrayal of the South: (1) wealth versus poverty, (2) culture versus barbarism, and (3) white versus black.
The Messenger in Shakespeare
Examines the functions of messengers in six plays by Shakespeare.
Browning's The Ring and the Book in Twentieth-century Criticism
Proceeding from the general judgment that The Ring and the Book is, indeed, Browning's greatest achievement, and that it, more than any other of his works, was responsible for establishing him in an extraordinary position of public acceptance and esteem, I propose, in this study, to examine the four features of The Ring and the Book which have most frequently attracted critical attention and to which the greater portion of analysis and review of The Ring and the Book have been devoted.
A Decade of Grammatical Liberalism
Against the background of conservatism, liberalism, and counter-reaction among linguists, this study will survey the degrees of liberality shown by the writers of a group of present-day handbooks and grammars toward six disputable issues.
Fire on Abel's Altar
This thesis is a work of fiction in the form of a novel.
Impressionism in the Prose Fiction of Stephen Crane
This study will examine the works of a writer whose style is radically different from that of his contemporaries,who owes little to writers who came before him, and one who, although he had considerable influence on those who came after, had so individual a manner of writing that he seems to be unique in American letters.
The Napoleonic Wars in the English Novel, 1820-1880
This thesis is a study of the novelists of the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns (veterans and non-veterans), the novelists of the naval war, and the novelists of the home front in the Napoleonic Wars.
The Slavic Aspects of Joseph Conrad
Since the problem of criticism of Conrad has deteriorated often into a case study of supposed or imagined abnormalities, this study will survey this body of criticism and then attempt to place in proper perspective the various elements which comprise Conrad's artistic individuality. This thesis is intended to present an over-all view of the artistic individuality of Conrad, coupled with a more intensive interpretation of representative novels to illustrate this individuality.
Strong Verbs in English
The purpose of this study is to give a brief history of the strong verbs in Old English and to trace their development in Middle English and in Modern English, concentrating on the last period. In Modern English two lines of development are of particular interest and importance: the confusion of children and illiterates in using strong verb forms and the treatment of strong verbs in recent grammars. It is hoped that this study will show the pertinence of these verbs and that from this study recommendations can be made as to the simplest procedure for teaching them.
Characterization of the Nonconformist in the Novels of Sinclair Lewis
A cursory glance into the background of Sinclair Lewis reveals that he was an ardent nonconformist. In this study, however, it is pertinent to view more closely the conditions that caused his rebellious attitudes, not only those concerning social reform but also those concerning his personal quest for individuality.
Characterization of the Schoolteacher in Nineteenth Century American Fiction
This study is limited largely to teachers in the public or common schools, although a few academy and female seminary teachers and at least one governess are included. It is not a definitive study, but a sufficient number of writings have been examined to make a fair sampling of the range of the nineteenth century American fiction.
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