Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sotho poetry - History and criticism'

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines space and characterization in Sesotho novels focussing on three main categories such as the space of travelling characters; the space of migrating characters; and the space as an abstraction. CHAPTER 1 introduces the aims of study as well as the theoretical framework which forms the basis on which the study is analysed. The notions of space and character are discussed within the theoretical framework of structuralism, and the focus is placed on narratology. CHAPTER 2 studies the travelling characters, focus is on Mofolo's novels, Moeti wa botjhabe/a and Pitseng which depict two types of space where one space is presented as traditional, and the other as a westernized space. The traditional and westernized spaces are symbolized by means of bad and good characters respectively. The good characters are depicted as angels, and the bad characters as monsters. CHAPTER 3 examines the space of migrating characters that leave their rural spaces for the urban spaces. Their characters are shown by means of changes that they experience at different spaces. In most of the novels examined, characters are motivated by certain desires to act in a particular way, and the change in them is the result of a crucial situation in life, hence we say characterization and space in those novels are reconciled in an appropriate way. CHAPTER 4 deals with the space as an abstraction which shows how the characters' personalities are affected by the political, psychological and socio-economic factors. Characterization in these novels is good except in Makappa's novel, Thatohatsi. In CHAPTER 5 we look as to whether the novels are good or bad in terms of literary appreciation and conclusion is drawn to the effect that it is not heredity that makes up a character, but the social environment. This is achieved through the literary aspects such as the way conflict is handled, types of characters and the portrayal of the space in which the characters live.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing wat hierdie proefskrif gedoen is het die soeklig op ruimte en karakterisering in Sesotho novelles laat val. Klem is op drie hoof-kateqorie gele. uimte wat deur rondreisende karakters ingeneem word, die ruimte wat deur nomadiese of rondtrekkende karakters beslaan word, en ruimte as n bepaalde begrip. Hoofstuk 1 stel die leser voor aan die doelwitte van die navorsing, sowel as die teoretiese raamwerk wat die grondslag waarop die studie berus, vorm. Die begrippe 'ruimte' en 'karakter' word binne die teoretiese raamwerk van die strukturalisme bespreek en die fokus word in hierdie geval op die vertelkunde geplaas. Hoofstuk 2 Ie klem op rondreisende karakters en ondersoek Mofolo se novelles Moeti wa botjhabela en Pits eng waarin twee soorte ruimtes uitgebeeld word; naamlik, tradisionele ruimte en verwesterse ruimte. Tradisionele en verwesterse ruimtes word onderskeilik deur slegte en goeie karakters versinnebeeld. Die goeie karakters word as engele uitgebeeld, terwyl die slegte karakters as monsters voorgestel word. In Hoofstuk 3 word die ruimte van die nomadiese karakters wat hulle plattelandse ruimte vir 'n stedelike ruimte verruil, ondersoek. Hierdie karakters word deur middel van veranderinge wat in verskillende ruimtes plaasvind, voorgestel. In die meeste novelles wat ondersoek is, het die karakters op n sekere manier opgetree omdat hulle deur bepaalde begeertes daartoe gedryf is. Die verandering in die lewens van hierdie karakters as gevolg hiervan, kan dan beskou word as die direkte gevolg van sekere deurslaggewende gebeurtenisse. Karakteriseering en ruimte word dus in hierdie novelles op n geskikte wyse met mekaar verbind. Hoofstuk 4 neem die begrip 'ruimte' onder die loep om sodoende aan te dui hoe die karakters se persoonlikhede deur politieke, sielkundige en sosio-ekonomiese faktore beinvloed word. Karakterisering in hierdie novelles is geslaagd, behalwe in Makappa se novelle Thatohatsi. In Hoofstuk 5, word aandag geskenk aan die beoordeling van die novelles in terme van die hulle literere waarde en daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat dit nie oorerflike eienskappe is wat gestalte aan 'n bepaalde karakter gee nie, maar veel eercer sy omgewing. Oit word veral duidelik as gelet word op bepaalde literere aspekete soos die manier waarop konflik uitgebeeld word, asook die beskrywing van die ruimte waarin die karakters hulle bevind.

To interpret a poem is to comprehend a complete act of written communication. And to comprehend such an act, the reader must break the codes in which the communication is framed. Thus, poetic interpretation becomes the study of codes--or semiotics. Poetic codes exist at pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, and phonic levels. The decoding requires the reader's linguistic skills, literary competence, and personal experience. It involves an initial reading and a retroactive reading. At the first step, the reader attempts to supply elements missing in the text. Yet trying to interpret the text literally, he encounters problems in pragmatics, semantics, syntactics, or phonics, and is unable to grasp a coherent sense of the poem. Those problems give rise to a retroactive reading. At this step, the reader looks for a higher level of understanding where a unity of meaning can be identified. And by explaining the clues in the text according to his linguistic and literary competence, and revising his understanding on the basis of his new findings, he finally discovers a kernel concept, on which the whole text can be seen as a single unit, and every element, which first appeared to be puzzling, has a significative purpose. This semiotic model of interpretation has proven to be very fruitful in the explication of Tu Mu's poetry. It also enables the reader to appreciate the poetic discourse more thoroughly. Some of the ideas advocated by the model may also serve as principles for the translation of poetry. For example, in reading a poem, the model requires a search for unified pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, and phonic patterns, which convey the kernel concept. Thus, in translating a poem, the translator should also try to re-produce in the target language such unified patterns so that the reader may grasp the same kernel concept as contained in the original discourse. The model stresses implicities of poetry. Hence the rendition of a poem should preserve the implicities of the original text in order to invoke from the reader a response similar to what would be induced by the original poem.

This thesis argues that as historians of English-Canadian poetry, A. J. M. Smith, John Sutherland, Northrop Frye, and Desmond Pacey explicitly promote the value of past conflict reconciled into present harmony. They do so by claiming that such reconciliation marks the maturity of English-Canadian culture. This thesis also argues, however, that the interactive progression of their histories implicitly undermines this value. It does so because each critic appreciates a different group of poets for realizing their shared cultural ideal, thereby establishing contradictory representations of what they all claim to be the culmination of English-Canadian literary history. The thesis concludes that while their lingering sense of present cultural maturity should now be fully renounced, the value these critics place on reconciliation is well worth preserving and transforming.

This dissertation studies parts of six medieval Jewish Torah commentaries in order to examine how they related to what we call Pentateuchal poetry. It examines their general approaches to Bible interpretation and their treatments of all Pentateuchal poems. It focusses on qualities we associate with poetry--parallelism, structure, metaphor, and syntax--and explores the extent to which they treated poems differently from prose.
The effort begins by defining Pentateuchal poetry and discussing a range of its presentations by various ancient writers. Subsequent chapters examine its treatment by Rabbi Saadia Gaon of Baghdad (882-942), Abraham Ibn Ezra of Spain (1089-1164), Samuel Ben Meir (1080-1160) and Joseph Bekhor Shor (12th century) of Northern France, David Kimhi of Provence (1160-1235), and Obadiah Sforno of Italy (1470-1550).
While all of these commentators wrote on the poetic passages, none differentiated systematically between Pentateuchal prose and poetry or treated them in substantially different ways. Samuel Ben Meir, Ibn Ezra, Bekhor Shor, and Kimhi did discuss some poetic features of these texts. The other two men were far less inclined to do so, but occasionally recognized some differences between prose and poetry and some phenomena unique to the latter.

This interdisciplinary study locates Xhosa written poetry (1948-1990) within the framework of the socio-politico-economic scenario in South Africa. It sets out to examine the impact of the above stated factors on literature, by supporting the hypothesis that Xhosa written poetry of the Apartheid epoch is a terrain of the struggle for hegemony between the dominant ideology and the alternative ideologies.

Thesis (DLitt)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002.
207 leaves printed single pages, preliminary pages i-xiii and numbered pages 1-195. Includes bibliography.
Digitized at 600 dpi grayscale to pdf format (OCR), using a Bizhub 250 Konica Minolta Scanner.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The object of this study is to examine the expression of tragedy in randomly selected Sesotho novels in two major periods, namely the early period (1925 to 1970s) and the later period (1970s to 1990s). Five Sesotho novels will be discussed in each period and give an indication of tragic expression in that period. It is however not the main emphasis in this work to compare and contrast between the two periods but mainly to observe patterns of tragedy and tragic expressions in Sesotho novels. Chapter One orientates the reader by indicating aspects such as the problem identification, aim of the research, the approach or modus operandi, the scope as well as the organisation of the study, that is, a brief arrangement of chapters and presentation of what would be contained in subsequent chapters. Chapter Two presents the theoretical framework within which the research will be based. As the theoretical framework in this work, aspects of tragedy, namely, character, plot and theme will be discussed. Chapter Three focuses on the early Sesotho tragedies within the literary period 1925 to 1970s. As already indicated, five novels, namely, Chaka, Mphatlalatsane, Moiketsi, Mosali a nkhola, and Leshala Ie tswala molora will be discussed in terms of the theoretical principles suggested in Chapter Two. At the end of the chapter, an analysis of the findings and conclusions will be drawn on tragic expressions in these novels. These novels distinguish themselves as largely classical tragedies (there are modern ones also) in terms of the nature of tragic characters available. Chapter Four examines the later Sesotho tragedies ranging between the period 1970s to 1990s. As in early Sesotho novels, five novels will be discussed with a view to highlight tragic expressions in this period. Peo ena ejetswe ke wena, Mehaladitwe ha e eketheha, Nna ke mang, Ke lesheleshele leo a iphehletseng lona and Lehlaba la lephako will be the novels we analyse. Analysis of the findings will be made and conclusions drawn at the end of the chapter in how tragedy is expressed in all these novels. These novels distinguish themselves as largely modern tragedies in terms of the tragic characters portrayed in them. Chapter Five presents the general conclusions on all the novels discussed in the two periods. A comparison will be made as to how tragic expression differs from one period to another particularly in terms of the three aspects of tragedy. Each novel will be given the individual attention and focussed exclusively as to how it presents tragedy and how perhaps it differs from others.
SESOTHO ABSTRACT: Ka mosebetsi ona wa diphuputso re hlahloba ka moo mahlomola a totobatswang ka teng dingolweng tse kgethilweng dinakong tsena tsa bongodi, e leng ho tloha selemong sa 1925 ho isa selemong sa 1970 le tse hlahlamang esita le nako ya morao e qalang selemong sa 1970 ho isa dilemong tsa 1990 le tse hlahlamang. Re tla hlahloba dipale tse hlano mokgahlelong 0 mong le 0 mong wa nako e le ho totobatsa ka moo mahlomola a hlahiswang ka teng dipaleng tsa Sesotho. Ha se sepheo se seholo sa mosebetsi ona ho bapisa totobatso ya mahlomola mekgahlelong ena ya nako empa sepheo se seholo ke ho bontsha ka moo mahlomola a hlahiswang ka teng dipaleng tsa Sesotho. Kgaolong ya Pele re tla nyenyeletsa mrnadi diphuputsong tsena ka ho mo tsebisa dintlha tsa bohlokwa malebana Ie mosebetsi ona tse kang totobatso ya qaka, sepheo sa phuputso ena, mokgwa oo phuputso e tla etswa ka ona, dintlha tse tla fuputswa esita le tlhophiso ya mosebetsi ona. Ka tlhophiso ya mosebetsi ona re bolela tatelano ya dikgaolo esita le tlhahiso ya kgaolo ka nngwe, ho tse tla latela. Kgaolong ya Bobedi re hlahisa teori kapa moralo wa tsebo 0 tla sebediswa bakeng sa phuputso ena. Tse ding tsa dikarolwana tsa moralo ona wa tsebo e tla ba dikarolo tsa bohlokwa tsa pale ya mahlomola, mme ka hona mosebetsi 0 tla totobatsa mophetwa, moralo wa kgohlano (poloto) le mookotaba. Dintlha tsena tsa moralo wa tsebo di tla sebediswa dipaleng tsa Sesotho tse tla hlahlojwa dikgaolong tse tla latela. Kgaolong ya Boraro re hlahloba dipale tsa Sesotho tse ngotsweng mokgahlelong wa pele wa nako mme e le nako e qalang selemong sa 1925 ho isa selemong sa 1970 le tse mmalwa tse latelang. Jwalo ka ha re se re hlalositse, re tla hlahloba dipale tse hlano e leng Chaka, Mphatlalatsane, Moiketsi, Mosali a nkhola le Leshala le tswala rnolora ho latela dintlha tseo re buileng ka tsona kgaolong ya bobedi. Qetellong ya kgaolo ena re tla hlahloba diqeto tseo re di etsang ho latela tseo re di lemohileng dipaleng tsena malebana Ie tlhahiso ya mahlomola. Dipale tsena ke dipale tsa tlelaseki tse tshwanang le tsa.S ekgerike (le hoja ho ntse ho na le dipale tsa sejwalejwale) ho latela semelo sa mophetwa wa mahlomola. Kgaolong ya Bone re hlahloba dipale tsa mahlomola tsa mokgahlelo wa sejwalejwale mme e le dipale tse ngotsweng nakong ya selemo sa 1970 ho tla tihla dilemong tsa 1990 le tse hlahlamang. Jwalo ka ha re ile ra etsa dipaleng tsa kgale, re tla hlahloba dipale tse hlano e le ho bontsha ka moo mahlomola a totobatswang ka teng paleng tsa Sesotho. Dipale tseo re tla di hlahloba ke Pea ena ejetswe ke wena, Mehaladitwe ha e eketheha, Nna ke mang, Ke lesheleshele lea a iphehletseng lana Ie Lehlaba la lephaka. Ha re se re hlahlobile dipale tsena re tla fana ka diqeto tseo re di tihleletseng mabapi le ka moo mahlomola a hlahiswang ka teng paleng tsena. Dipale tsena di ka tsejwa e le dipale tsa sejwalejwale ho latela mofuta wa mophetwa wa mahlomola ya fumanwang ho tsona. Kgaolong ya Bohlano re fana ka diqeto tse akaretsang malebana Ie dipale tsohle tseo re di hlahlobileng mekgahlelong ena e mmedi ya nako. Re tla bapisa ka moo tlhahiso ya mahlomola e fapaneng ka teng ka lebaka la tshwaetso ya semelo sa mophetwa, diketsahalo kapa moralo esita Ie mookotaba kapa molaetsa. Re tla lekola pale ka nngwe mme re hlahlobe ka moo e hlahisang mahlomola ka teng le ka moo e fapanang le dipale tse ding ka teng.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om die voorkoms van die tragedie in geselekteerde Suid-Soetoe romans gedurende hoofsaaklik twee periodes, naamlik, die vroeere periode (1925 tot die 1970's) en die latere periode (1970 tot die 1990's) te ondersoek. Vyf Suid-Soetoe romans sal bespreek word rakende elke periode en sal 'n aanduiding gee van die tragedie gedurende die betrokke periode. Dit is egter nie die hoofdoel van die werk om vergelykings en onderskeidinge tussen die twee periodes te tref nie, maar eerder om tragedie en tragiese elemente binne Suid-Soetoe romans te bespreek. Hoofstuk Een se doel sal wees om die leser te orienteer aangesien dit aspekte soos die probleem identifikasie, die doel van die studie, die omvang en die voorlopige navorsing gemaak in terme van ander navorsingswerke rakende die onderwerp bevat, naamlik, vorige studies rakende die karakter in Suid-Soetoe romans met spesifieke verwysing na tragiese karakters. Die hoofstuk sal ook die uiteensetting van die studie, soos die uitleg van die hoofstukke en inhoud van daaropvolgende hoofstukke bevat, bespreek. Hoofstuk Twee stel die teoretiese raamwerk bekend waarop die navorsing gebasseer is. As deel van die raamwerk, sal aspekte van die tragedie soos karakter, intrige en tema bespreek word. Hierdie teoretiese aspekte sal dan toegepas word op Suid-Soetoe romans in opvolgende hoofstukke. Hoofstuk Drie fokus op die vroeere Suid-Soetoe tragedies binne die literere periode 1925 tot 1970s. Vyf romans, naamlik Chaka, Mphatlalatsane, Moiketsi, Mosali a nkhola en Leshala Ie tswala rnolora sal bespreek word in terme van teoretiese beginsels genoem in Hoofstuk Twee. Aan die einde van die hoofstuk sal 'n analise gemaak word van die bevindinge en gevolgtrekkings rakende die tragedie se voorkoms in hierdie romans. Hierdie romans onderskei hulself grootliks as klassieke tragedies in terme van die tragiese karakters se voorkoms. Hoofstuk Vier ondersoek die latere Suid-Soetoe tragedies gedurende die tydperk 1970 tot 1990. Soos in die vroeere tydperk, sal vyf romans bespreek word met die doel om die aspekte van tragedie te aksentueer. Peo ena e jetswe ke wena, Mehaladitwe ha e eketheha, Nna ke mang, Ke lesheleshele leo a iphehletseng lona en Lehlaba la lephako sal romans wees waarop gefokus word. 'n Analise van die bevindinge en gevolgtrekkings sal gemaak word aan die einde van die hoofstuk en sal die voorkoms van die tragedie in al die romans beskryf. Hierdie romans onderskei hulself hoofsaaklik as moderne tragedies in terme van die tragiese karakters se voorkoms. Hoofstuk Vyf verskaf algemene gevolgtrekkings waartoe gekom is in die voorafgaande bespreking van die genoemde twee periodes. 'n Vergelyking sal gemaak word oor hoe die voorkoms van die tragedie verskil van een periode na die ander, rakende die tragiese figuur. Elke roman sal individuele aandag kry en klem sal gele word op hoe dit verskil van ander romans.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the conversations in the humanities about the treatment of the physical environment in the context of a global ecological fragility and increased scholarly interest in the poetry of Arthur Nortje, a South African poet who wrote in the 1960s. While previous studies on Nortje concentrate on the political, psychic and technical aspects of his poetry, this study particularly explores the representations of the environment in Nortj e’s poetic imagination. Writing in the dark period of apartheid in South Africa’s history, Nortje’s poetry articulates a strong interest in the physical environment against the backdrop of official racialization of space and his personal nomadic life and exile. The poetry abounds with constant intersections of nature and culture (industrialism, urbanity and the quotidian), a sense of place and a deep sense of dislocation. The poems, therefore, present a platform from which to reevaluate conventional ecocritical ideas about nature, place-attachment and environmental consciousness. Drawing mainly on Felix Guattari’s ideas of three ecologies and transversality along with other theories, I conduct the study through what I call a transversal postcolonial environmental criticism, which considers the ecological value of the kind of assemblages that Nortje’s works represent. The first chapter focuses on conceptualizing a postcolonial approach to the environment based on Guattari’s concept of transversality to lay the theoretical foundation for the whole work. The second chapter analyses Nortje’s poetic imagination of place and displacement through his treatment of the private-public tension and the motif of exile. While the third chapter examines Nortje’s depiction of nature as both an everyday and urban phenomenon, the fourth chapter turns to his direct treatment of environmental crises handled through his imagination of the Canadian urban spaces, exile memory of apartheid geography, war and ecocide and the human body as a subject of environmental degradation. The fifth chapter, which is the conclusion, takes a brief look at the implication of Nortje’s complex treatment of the environment on postcolonial environmentalism.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter which marks the introductory chapter deals with the general introduction to the entire study, the scope of the study, statement of the aim and objectives of this study, also looks at the research methods and gives St J Page Mbalana Yako's brief biographical sketch. The second chapter provides a brief theoretical background to the study of poetry. This forms the basis upon which the entire study will rest as it provides different poetic devices and stylistics, which reveal what makes poetry. The third and fourth chapters concentrate on a critical evaluation of Yako's poems. The poetry, which is presented in these chapters, is selected from Yako's anthology entitled Ikhwezi. It represents a particular genre from a wide range of poetic forms that Yako has written. Chapter three concentrates on educators and the achievements of certain individuals. Chapter four concentrates on traditional leaders. It is in this chapter that Yako displays his expertise in the use of excellent and appropriate poetic devices and stylistics in his poetry. The fifth chapter contains general conclusions drawn from the entire study. Translations are provided for each poem and are contained in the appendix that is found at the end of this study, which is immediately followed by the bibliography. Yako's endeavour to bring light to the nation through poetry is admirable. Further research will unearth more art and craft in this author's poetry.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is verdeel in vyf hoofstukke. Die eerste hoofstuk bied In algemene inleiding tot die hele studie. Dit omskryf die omvang van die studie, die doelstelling en oogmerke, die navorsingsmetodologie, en gee In kort biografiese skets van St. J. Page Mbalana Yako. Die tweede hoofstuk gee 'n kort teoretiese agtergrond oor die studie van poësie. Dié hoofstuk dien as die basis vir die hele studie, omdat dit verskillende poëtiese middele en stylvorme uitlig wat die verskynsel van poësie verklaar. In die derde en vierde hoofstukke word gefokus op In kritiese evaluering van Yako se gedigte. Die gedigte wat in hierdie hoofstukke aangebied word, is geselekteer uit Yako se bloemlesing, getiteld Ikhwezi. Dit verteenwoordig 'n sekere genre uit In wye reeks poëtiese vorme wat deur Yako gebruik is. Hoofstuk drie se fokus is op opvoeders en die prestasies van sekere individue, en hoofstuk vier konsentreer op tradisionele leiers. In hierdie hoofstuk word Yako se kundigheid in die gebruik van uitstekende en toepaslike poëtiese middele en stylvorme uitgelig. Die vyfde hoofstuk bevat algemene afleidings gemaak uit die hele studie. Vertalings vir elke gedig word gegee in die bylae aan die einde van die studie. Yako se poëtiese bydrae is bewonderenswaardig. Verdere navorsing sal nog meer kuns en vernuf in hierdie digter se poësie na vore bring.

This thesis presents for the first time a critical reading edition of all known poems by N. H. Brettell. It makes no claim to being definitive, nor does it attempt to establish a final text. It represents merely the best thinking of the editor. Brettell printed and circulated his poetry primarily in hand-made illustrated volumes in a process reminiscent of the scribal publication of the seventeenth century. Only 137 of his 206 extant poems were commercially published during his lifetime. In this study all known printed versions of Brettell's poetry whether in privately printed or commercially published form were examined. All variant readings were recorded and are shown. Wherever possible the relationships between texts are also noted. The poems in this edition are ordered in each case according to the version in the latest datable privately produced collection. The commentary and critical introduction were compiled with the general reader in mind. No previous familiarity with southern African fauna and flora is assumed: animals, birds and insects are described and their scientific names supplied. Expressions current in ordinary British or South African English and present in non-specialist dictionaries are not glossed, but archaic and dialectal forms felt to require explication are briefly explained. So too are less familiar South African dialectal expressions which have been assimilated into the South African English lexicon. Intertextual, Christian and mythological references, both African and Western, are annotated in an attempt to make such references accessible to readers who may not share Brettell's cultural background. The intention is to close the changing distance between the text and the audience. An essay discussing the merits, potential and limitations of electronic scholarly editing is included as part of the textual introduction. A CD-Rom containing Brettell's watercolour illustrations in his privately produced collections and audio-clips of him reading his poetry accompanies this thesis.

This is a study of the poetry of Don Maclennan in four chapters. Chapter One explores the poetry's deep involvement with the immediate world, and with the being that encounters it. Chapter Two examines the corpus's mistrust of abstract thought, and its suggestions for alternative ways of intepreting (or at least approaching an interpretation of) our existential situation. Chapter Three deals with Maclennan's writing on the subject of death, while the final chapter looks at the response of the poetry to the fact of death: put simply, this is to learn to love the situation we are in, and to record our thoughts for future generations, thus reaching beyond death to share with others the necessarily unique experience of our one and only life.

The early Canadian long poem has often been faulted for its lack of aesthetic integrity, being seen in many cases as little more than poorly "versified rhetoric," but it has never been submitted to a thorough rhetorical analysis. An investigation of the rhetorical devices at work in the early Canadian long poem, however, reveals them to be highly strategic operations of both the imperial-colonial project in British North America and the emerging national consciousness of the new nation of Canada. These operations may be understood more clearly through the close examination of periodic "ruptures" in the texts--inconsistencies, contradictions, anomalies, and deflections--which underscore the frequently conflictual nature of the "unsaid" (the real historical, economic and social conditions) and the surface level of the narrative (the aesthetic and generic constraints). Such an analysis reveals the extent to which the problems of allegiance, anxiety and identity were inextricably involved in the colonial and national projects, an involvement which the poetry, despite its intentions, could neither mask nor resolve.

The production of dissimilar and contradictory literary discourses which originates in Latin America during the Conquest and Colonial periods has traced grave problems for literary criticism. Until the 1950's and 1960's, positivist historians and literary scholars tried to affix and evaluate this period of transatlantic transfer and acculturation without satisfactory results. The fundamental fact that had been slantedly presented by positivist historians and literary critics was the cultural shock produced by the invasion and colonization process. This cultural shock did not result in an ideal synthesis since the cultural foundations of indigenous societies were destroyed. The colonial regime incorporated advantageous aspects of the indigenous societies for its own growth and reorganized them in a disconcerting fashion for the colonized. One of the major changes to which the indigenous population was subjected was the implant of a new language. As one can clearly expect, the linguistic transference in itself produced a severe scission at the cultural level, not only from a literary perspective but from a political one as well. Semeiotically, one can propose that the sign of the new society is linguistic disjunction and that a consequence of this phenomenon is, in turn, social disjunction. The study, from an interdisciplinary perspective, analyzes the acculturation process through a close look at traditionally considered "social" oral poetic tradition and texts brought by the Spanish to America. The study of the "social" poetry in Spanish from the area today known as Peru demonstrates how these poetic discourses contribute to the acculturation process instead of fulfilling the denunciatory function of the socially oriented discourse. Ultimately, this study intends to divulge how through the use of oral and erudite European poetic tradition, the Spanish founded and established a dependent culture in the area we know as Peru and how this dependency permeates the poetry written in this area from the Sixteenth until the Twentieth century. In the Twentieth century, however, the study demonstrates through a close look at Antonio Cisneros' poetry how the contemporary Peruvian poet has taken conscience of dependency and "rewrites" Peruvian culture through truly social poetic discourse.

現代性，在 19 世紀初傳入中國時，只算是願景，成為晚清以後知識份子推動社會改革的目標；而詩，則是幾千年來的中國文化精粹, 是士人操持的語言。兩個分別屬於過去和未來的理念卻多次給譚嗣同、梁啟超、黃遵憲、胡適等先鋒拉在一起，試圖以解放詩體帶動社會改革 ---- 新詩便是以「修身到治國」的推展模式成就的「現代傳統」。在第一重的推展中，周作人率先以〈小河〉實踐其所謂的「人的文學」，聞一多有感於滿目瘡痍的文化景象，以「休息的馳態」，勉勵人伺機而動；在第二重的推展中，魯迅、徐志摩以散文詩來包容「現代鄉愁」中的文化矛盾，保住了時代的開放性；在第三重的推展中，曹葆華、李金髮和侯汝華進一步擴大接收的面向，通過翻譯外國的詩論和詩作鞏固新詩的格局，拓展風格。論文題目中的「盪懷生家國」所涉的就是此層層推展的家國關懷。中國的現代性或許就是那以借來的現代性為目標的追尋，令近代中國掉入了如此弔詭：當國家因救亡的迫切需要而從西方承接了「實用現代性」以興產業、壯國防；而中國詩歌幾千年以來都是最能啟蒙民心的「抒情傳統」的載體，它的發展在「詩體解放」後卻遭到忽略，連同其中所包含的「審美現代性」也遭到壓抑---- 中國詩人嘗試掙脫個人抒懷和羣治籌謀的矛盾的困鎖，將自己歸化到歷史發展的大勢中去推動社會發展，遂激起上述的重重波瀾。

在近代中國大變局中，詩歌文化傳統如何面對「現代世界」，是一個值得注意的問題。本文選擇的研究對象「三元」（開元、元和、元祐）、「三關」（元嘉、元和、元祐）、「四元」（元嘉、開元、元和、元祐）是陳衍 (1856-1937)、沈曾植（1850-1922）和馬一浮（1883-1967）對詩歌傳統的建構，它們既共同反映出舊體詩人維繫傳統的努力，又分別帶有三人對各自時代的反應。本文共六章，以中間四章的論述結構為核心。第二、三、四章分別就「三元」、「三關」和「四元」的形成過程和詩學意涵做出詳盡考察。本文認為「三元」是陳衍1899年以後逐漸形成的詩史體系，在1912年12月分兩個系統建立。「三元」包含了對近代不同詩歌風格的歷史追溯，以杜甫、韓愈、白居易、蘇軾為詩史典範。「三元」最重要的唐宋詩法傳承，陳衍的關注點在「白居易、梅堯臣、蘇軾、陸游、楊萬里」一脈，而他的詩歌理想是「能」與「稱」或者「至」。沈曾植的「三關」說是他1918年對自己1899年「三元」唐宋詩史論的顛覆。「三關」說是代降詩史觀下的復古學詩方法，強調由「元祐」、「元和」上溯「元嘉」詩歌的「雅」、「玄理」。其中「元祐」重在黃庭堅和江西詩派，「元和」重在韓愈和韓門詩人，「元嘉」則以陶潛和謝靈運、顏延之共同作為典範。相比陳衍的「三元」，「三關」擴大到對文化價值的整體關懷，這與沈氏的人生經歷息息相關。馬一浮的「四元」說在「三關」的基礎上增加了「開元」，同時融入了他早年以「仁」為核心的詩教觀，1943年提出「四元」並完成詩史體系建構。該說以他對詩歌「脫俗」、「神悟」的追求為基礎，以「史」、「玄」為內容，以「仁」和「理境」為理想，兼重詩歌社會功能和審美價值，反映出他超越以杜甫為代表的唐宋詩人、挑戰近代宗宋詩學的理論個性。本文第五章結合時代語境比較分析了三種詩史觀同異的成因。三者相同的「元和」、「元祐」源於繼承晚清宋詩傳統以對抗現代衝擊的共性價值。三者的差異表現在具體的詩史典範選擇和「元嘉」、「開元」等詩史階段的取捨排列上，這又分別決定於他們的時代文化心理和自我定位。「三元」重視個性和強調新變，反映出陳衍融入時代以保留傳統的新型「學人」定位。沈曾植「三關」強調「見道」和上溯「元嘉」，反映出他對堅守文化傳統的「士人」理想。馬一浮 「四元」對「仁」和「理境」的追求，表現出他以「復性」重建文化傳統並以「獨立人格」實現傳統文化永恆價值的人生理想。本文選取了近代中國最成體系的三種詩史觀為研究對象，填補了相關研究的空白，在揭示三說歷史語境和文化氛圍的同時，也希望能為近代中國詩學研究做出貢獻。= In the century since 1840, China had experienced dramatic change in society, politics and culture. But due to the focus on modern tendencies in literature (especially vernacular literature) in the twentieth century, traditional poetics has long been neglected. This thesis takes Chen Yan(1856-1937), Shen Zengzhi (1850-1922), Ma Yifu (1883-1967) and their San Yuan (Kai Yuan (713-741), Yuan He (806-820) and Yuan You (1086-1094)), San Guan (Yuan Jia (424-453), Yuan He (806-820) and Yuan You (1086-1094)) and Si Yuan (Yuan Jia (424-453), Kai Yuan (713-741), Yuan He (806-820) and Yuan You (1086-1094)) theories as major research foci to discuss one question: how did poetic tradition respond to the modern world? Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, this thesis includes four chapters. From the second chapter to the fourth, the forming process and poetic concerns of Chen's, Shen's and Ma's perspectives are investigated in turn. The fifth chapter compares the poetic values and historical views of their theories, and analyzes the identities and differences by integrating with their cultural psychologies and self-identifications. As the most elaborated and systematic theories of poetic criticism in the last period of the poetic tradition, the three perspectives are linked by the similar form of historical perspectives, though were all developed under personal considerations. By explicating the underlying historical and cultural concerns of perspectives on poetic history in modern China, this thesis not only achieved breakthrough in related research area, but also provided references to contemporary studies of classical Chinese poetics and poetic history.

In June 1917 W.B. Yeats wrote to his father : Much of your thought resembles mine . . but mine is part of a religious system more or less logically worked out, a system which will I hope interest you as a form of poetry. I find the setting it all in order has helped my verse, has given me a new framework and new patterns. (Wade 1954, 627) The new framework and new patterns that he claimed to have found in his system generated a new, and for Yeats, radically different sort of poetry. Before 1919 (The Wild Swans at Coole), the poetry had as its subject various traditional themes: the pity of love; the romance and heroism of Irish mythology; the threat of age, change and death. The poetry up to this point is, formally speaking, highly skillful, but locked into its own admissions of failure to touch or incorporate reality in any but a romantically defeatist way. However, the order which Yeats refers to in his letter, and the system he generated as a propaedeutic to this new order, once assimilated into the habit and texture of the poetry, generated new topics of its own which made those of the earlier work seem subjective, self- indulgent and intellectually uninformed. Yeats's poetry now changed drastically in focus and form, from subjective to objective poetry. Whereas the earlier poetry had opposed reality with romantic heroism or selfdestructive despondency, the poetry subsequent to his change of practice, incorporates a new vision of reality as the intrinsic architechtonics of poetry itself. Now the measure of human and aesthetic completion is no longer an inexplicable and inscrutable sadness, but an intelligent and informed detachment, an energy of mind that Yeats called "gaiety". My thesis explores this energy of mind and what it meant for Yeats and his poetry. My contention is that the idea of gaiety provides a way for Yeats to grant meaning to his life, a way for him to create himself. As the poetry is completed thanks to the new system, so is the poet. In order to see this, it is necessary to read the poems as a series of collections, or stories, that resonate back and forth with meaning and qualification and understanding. Yeats's system is his myth, and he writes his poetry in terms of and informed by that myth, shaping and re-shaping the experience of the created and fictional self until it has meaning in a way that the real self does not. The thesis explores this process of creation firstly in theoretical terms, using Lotman's ideas of Story and Myth, and looking at Yeats's intellectual and poetic inheritance. It goes on to examine some of the great poems in an attempt to define gaiety, and how Yeats achieves it in the poetry, and then to look at the early, pre-system poems to see how they differ. Finally, it takes the last of Yeats's lyric collections, Last Poems, and shows how gaiety works in the most mature poetry when the poems are read as narrative events within a story.

In the history of Chinese literature, poetry is undoubtedly the most significant genre that could represent the Tang Dynasty. There were many great poets including Li Bai and Du Fu who wrote regarding a rich variety of topics. This thesis attempts to study the research works of Ganyu Poetry in the perspective of the literature history and aesthetic conception. It is hoped that this dissertation can give readers a clear understanding of Ganyu Poetry in the Tang Dynasty. Through studying the themes and aesthetic features and of Ganyu Poetry, we could discuss this kind of poetry written in different centuries. As the basis of this study is the "Quantangshi", the content and the aesthetic features of Tang Ganyu Poetry will be discussed. "Quantangshi", is a collection of the primary source of Tang poetry published in the Qing Dynasty, that was amended by different scholars. The 74 poems with the theme of Ganyu Poetry from Tang Ganyu Poetry will be studied. There are five chapters in this thesis, preceded by an introduction. Chapter one deals with the introduction of the structure of this thesis, the literature review, the research methods and the significance of the research. Chapter two explains the definition of Ganyu Poetry based on the literature review and previous research conducted by other scholars in order to define the meaning of Ganyu in this thesis and design the scope of study. Chapter three discusses the development of Ganyu Poetry in the early Tang, mid Tang and late Tang periods. Chapter four makes an analysis of the aesthetic features of in Tang Dynasty in order to give us a thorough understanding on Ganyu Poetry. Chapter five, the concluding chapter, summarizes the arguments stated in this thesis. 一代有一代之文學，最能代表唐代的文學是詩歌，詩人輩出，如李白、杜甫；詩派紛繁，題材多變。唐代感遇詩是十分重要的唐詩類別，不少作家均曾創作感遇詩，如陳子昂和張九齡。本論文選擇研究唐代感遇詩這個題目，以整體的文學史視野來研究唐代感遇詩的論著，運用美學觀念分析的研究。本文也希望能藉今次研究，加深我們對唐代感遇詩的認識，並且能對「感遇」這種文學的主題類型和美學特質加深理解，恊助我們討論不同時代的「感遇類」詩詞作品。 本論文將以《全唐詩》作為研究基礎，研究唐代感遇詩的內容和美學特徵。《全唐詩》是清代的唐詩總集，後經不同的學者修正，收錄第一手紥實的唐詩材料，作為研究的根據。本人搜尋《全唐詩》中以「感遇」為題的詩歌作為研究對象，共有74首詩，全文分為五個章節，第一章是導論，介紹全文的架構、研究回顧、研究方法和研究重要。第二章對「感遇詩」作出定義，爬疏文獻資料和前人學者的研究，說明本文對「感遇」的理解，劃出一個研究範圍。第三章會探討「感遇詩」在初唐、盛唐、中唐和晚唐發展情況，勾勒唐代感遇詩的發展概況。第四章以美觀念切入，探討唐代感遇詩的美學特質，配合第三章的主題分析，讓我們更全面認識唐代感遇詩。最後，第五章是結論，總結全文的論點。
published_or_final_version
Chinese Language and Literature
Master
Master of Arts

x, 208 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.
The scattered instances depicting material literature in Anglo-Saxon poetry should be regarded as a group. This phenomenon occurs in Beowulf, The Dream of the Rood, and The Husband's Message. Comparative examples of material literature can be found on the Ruthwell Cross and the Franks Casket. This study examines material literature in these three poems, comparing their depictions of material literature to actual examples. Poems depicting material literature bring the relationship between man and object into dramatic play, using the object's point of view to bear witness to the truth of distant or intensely personal events. Material literature is depicted in a love poem, The Husband's Message, when a prosopopoeic runestick vouches for the sincerity of its master, in the heroic epic Beowulf when an ancient, inscribed sword is the impetus to give an account of the biblical flood, and is also implied in the devotional poem The Dream of the Rood, as two crosses both pre-and-post dating the poem bear texts similar to portions of the poem. The study concludes by examining the relationship between material anxiety and the character of Weland in Beowulf, Deor, Alfred's Consolation of Philosophy, and Waldere A & B. Concern with materiality in Anglo-Saxon poetry manifests in myriad ways: prosopopoeic riddles, both heroic and devotional passages directly assailing the value of the material, personification of objects, and in depictions of material literature. This concern manifests as a material anxiety. Weland tames the material and twists and shapes it, re-affirming the supremacy of mankind in a material world.
Committee in charge: Martha Bayless, Chairperson, English; James Earl, Member, English; Daniel Wojcik, Member, English; Aletta Biersack, Outside Member, Anthropology

Bibliography: p. 362-393.
In this thesis, the discussion of South African English poetry is undertaken in terms of critical questions to which the body of work, to date, has not been subjected. In the nineteen-seventies and -eighties, several anthologies of South African English poetry were published which, despite their differing foci, attested to the strength, innovation, and international stature of the work. Their editors made claims which emphasised both the importance of Sowetan poetry and the emancipation of white poetry, particularly in the last three decades, from the legacy of a stultifying colonial past. This thesis sets out to examine the validity of these critical evaluations. The impetus for such an examination is threefold. Firstly, in comparison with a world literature, South African English poetry has had little impact on the kinds of aesthetic questions which have led to the radical work of international figures like Milosz, Walcott, Neruda. Secondly, South African English poetry tends to be bifurcated by critical analysis, both locally and internationally, into the work of black poets and the work of white poets. Despite the realities of social history which have indeed dichotomised the human experience of South Africa in racial terms, this dichotomy does not seem the most fertile assumption from which to approach the achievement of a nation's poetry. Thirdly, as a poet himself, the writer of this thesis embarked upon the scholarly analysis of a poetic ancestry to which his own work looked ,in vain for location. The re-examination of the roots and value of South African English poetry begins in the thesis with the dilemmas posed by a legacy of romanticism in its displaced relation to a British colony. From this point the discussion argues that this legacy is visible in the unsatisfactory work of liberal poets in the nineteen-seventies and eighties, and argues that such choices cannot be nourishing to a South African cultural originality. Turning to the work most forcefully emphasised as culturally original - i.e. the work of the Soweto poets in the nineteen-seventies and after - the thesis explores this poetry's claims to stylistic and conceptual innovation. The poetry of the late eighties is then examined in relation to its desire to support, and even to drive, anti-apartheid philosophy and practice. The conclusions of the final chapter, presaged throughout the entire argument, suggest that earlier critical estimations of South African English poetry ignore crucial aspects of what has usually been meant by a fully achieved poetic tradition and that such neglect amounts to the betrayal of the very meaning of the term "poem".

Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2015.
This research ‘Nxopaxopo wa switlhokovetselo hi ku kongomisa eka tsalwa ra Swilo swa humelela’ hi KJ Ngobeni na SJ Malungana highlights what happens in schools nowadays in the era of democracy. There is lack of discipline in schools. Educators are not respected by learners. Circuit managers no longer pay visits to schools for inspection. Black people fought to dismantle separate development, racial segregation and in particular to overthrow the white minority regime commonly known as Apartheid. This research also gives the historical background of protest poetry, its characteristics and its causes. Lastly, we analyse twenty selected poems from Swilo swa humelela by K.J Ngobeni and S.J Malungana. This research consists of five chapters. Chapter one outlines the background to the research, its aim and definition of important terms used in the study. These are terms about poetry such as protest poetry, enjambment and rhetorical questions. This chapter will also present the literature review. Chapter two examines the research methodology used in the study. Explication of two types of research methods, namely qualitative and quantitative research methods are discussed. Chapter three deals with protest poetry in details, its characteristics, origin, causes and its functions. Chapter four gives a critical analysis of twenty selected poems from the book Swilo swa humelela by K.J Ngobeni na S.J Malungana. Chapter five looks at the general conclusion, which indicates the research findings and recommendations of the study.

This thesis is concerned with the pseudo-Hesiodic Aspis, also known as the Scutum or Shield of Herakles (Heracles). It is divided into two halves: the Introduction, consisting of four chapters, is followed by detailed line-by-line commentary on a portion of the Greek text. Chapter I surveys the evidence for the poem's origins and dating before moving on to its scholarly reception since Wolf. It then argues that, for a proper understanding of the Aspis, the methodologies of oral poetics must be balanced with an awareness of its responses to fixed texts (in particular the Iliad). Chapter II examines the author as a poet within the oral tradition, focussing on: narrative style and structuring; type-scenes; similes; poetic ethos; the poem's position relative to the Hesiodic corpus; the use of formular language; and the growth of the poem in the author's hands. These problems are most fruitfully approached by taking account of the interplay of tradition on the one hand and of allusion to specific texts on the other. Wider points about the advanced stages of the oral tradition also emerge; in particular, from an analysis of narrative inconsistencies in the Aspis it is suggested that writing played a role in the poem's composition. Chapter III positions the poet within the literary tradition: his interactions with other songs and tales are sometimes sophisticated engagements of a kind more often detected in Hellenistic and Roman poetry. The presentation of the protagonist of the Aspis evinces the poet's skilful handling of myth, here manipulated for political purposes. Chapter III concludes with a survey of the poem's reception in early art and in literature up to Byzantine times. In Chapter IV the central section of the poem, the description of Herakles' shield (vv. 139-320), is examined in detail, both in relation to the Homeric Shield of Achilles and within the context of the Aspis. The second half of the thesis comprises a critical edition of and lemmatic commentary on vv. 139-237.

This dissertation proposes that George Herbertʾs poetry may profitably be understood as a sacramental means by which the divine is made present in temporal existence. In order to support this claim, the relation between sacramental symbolism and literary symbolism, particularly Herbertʾs, is examined from a number of perspectives. The symbolic meanings suggested by Herbertʾs title (The Temple), and their relation to sacramentalism are considered in the opening chapter. This includes a consideration of some of the background to the analogical thinking prevalent in both the seventeenth-century and Herbert. It is followed in the second chapter by an examination of some of the modern theories about how literary symbolism may relate to sacramental symbolism, a discussion which is followed by a consideration of this dissertation's argument in relation to modern scholarship. The chapter ends with a reading of ʺThe Flowerʺ. The third chapter discusses the poet's attempt to imitate the divine by ʺcopyingʺ both Scripture and Nature, and this includes a consideration of the allegorical and hieroglyphic modes of thought prevalent in the poems. The concern with imitation encourages an examination of the poet's frequent invitation for God actually to assume the poet's role, and this is the subject of the fourth chapter. The argument suggests that the poet's attempt to ʺsacrificeʺ his own writing may be seen in his concern with corporate imagery and corporate (impersonal) structures. The five ʺAfflictionʺ poems are examined as examples of the first, while structures such as synecdoche and metonymy are examined as examples of the second. The final chapter considers aspects of narrative time in the poems, particularly the sense often evoked of the eternal being imminent in the present. This involves a consideration of both liturgical imagery, and what may be called liturgical structures as they can be seen to operate in the poems. Particular examples of the latter are the relation between the liturgical anamnesis and the poems, as well as certain narrative structures that may be called ʺachronisticʺ.

The poetry written by combat veterans and other witnesses to the Vietnam War is a testament to what they saw and felt in Southeast Asia. Through their poetry they build 'monuments' to their traumatic experience, piecing together memories in order to heal themselves and teach future generations about the horrors of Vietnam. These poems function in much the same way as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., both poem and Memorial requiring the effort of the 'reader' in order to propagate the legacy of the Vietnam War. By bearing witness to the Vietnam experience, the poem and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial facilitate questions; questions through which the reader and the visitor are able to construct their own imaginary monuments to the Vietnam War.

The Second World War witnessed what was recognised at the time as a poetic revival in France. The phenomenon of Resistance poetry in particular commanded literary attention throughout the war. Immediately afterwards, however, this large corpus of poetry was widely dismissed as an unfortunate aberration. Viewed as ephemeral poetry of circumstance with only a documentary value, as tendentious poésie engagée, as propaganda or as conservative patriotic verse, it was thought unworthy of consideration as poetry. Marked by the reputation it gained just after the war, Resistance poetry has been given short shrift in critical studies, and has only rarely been the focus of academic attention. This study reexpounds in detail and with a wide range of reference the debate concerning Resistance poetry, and draws attention to a number of poets who are not widely known, or who are not known as Resistance poets. It demonstrates through a thematic and formal analysis of a selection of Resistance poetry that it is in fact no different from poetry as implicitly understood by critics who have dismissed it. A description of commitment in Resistance poetry is followed by a thematic study of its three related objects, namely France, man and language. Detailed examinations of these three major concerns in the poetry challenge the received view that Resistance poetry is conservative in its patriotism, dogmatic or essentialist in its commitment, and reactionary in its use of language. This thematic study is complemented by illustrative analyses of individual poems or parts of poems, and by a concluding commentary.

From Preface: A reader looking to this study for a charting of the diverse religious views held by Tennyson at different periods in his life may be disappointed. My primary concern has been not with religious forms, but with the numinous impulse. However, though I approached the topic with a completely open mind, I find my own Christian convictions have been strengthened through the study of Tennyson's poetry. As the title indicates, I have not attempted to deal with the plays. To explore both the poetry and the plays in a study of this length would have been impossible. I have perhaps been somewhat unorthodox in attempting to combine several disciplines, especially since I cannot claim to be a specialist in the areas concerned. However, I felt it necessary to approach the subject from a number of points of view, and to see to what extent the results could be said to converge on some sort of central "truth". When I have despaired of being able to do justice to a particular aspect within the imposed limits, I have sometimes found comfort in the words of Alan Sinfield (The Language of Tennyson's "In Memoriam", p.211): "We can only endeavour continually to approach a little closer to the central mystery; the ma j or advances will be infrequent, but most attempts should furnish one or two hints which others will develop. "

This dissertation tests and evaluates four current theories of the verse structure of biblical Hebrew poetry. These theories are: the counting of minimal units, such as poetic feet, stresses or syllables, practiced in various forms since antiquity, and recently employed by D. N. Freedman, F. M. Cross and others, the analysis of poetic line-forms proposed by Terence Collins, the syntactic structural analysis proposed by M. O'Connor, and the semantic analysis practiced by Willow van der Meer, Johannes de Moor and a group of scholars associated with the Kampen School of Theology. All of these theories purport to identify and explain the fundamentals of biblical Hebrew verse structure. Each of these theories is presented comprehensively. These presentations include a review of literature relevant to the field of Hebrew verse structure studies in general, and to these four current theories of verse structure in particular.
These four theories are applied to four poetic passages from the Hebrew Bible: Judges 5:2--31, Isaiah 5:1--7, Lamentations 1 and Psalm 126. These applications show how each of these theories describes the verse structure of each of the poems. Following this, the theories and their applications to these passages are compared to determine which, if any, of these theories are effective in distinguishing poetry from prose, distinguishing one poem from another, predicting the form of a poem, and prescribing rules for the composition of poetry. The strengths and weaknesses of each theory are identified. In addition, the reasons for the failure of these theories to provide an adequate description of the verse structure of biblical Hebrew poetry are indicated.

The Historia de la Nueva Mexico, by Gaspar Perez de Villagra, has been one of the less studied epic poems in Hispanic American literary criticism. The purpose of this study is to show the text's literary characteristics and justify its inclusion within the tradition of Ariosto's romanzi, which was earlier followed by La Araucana, paradigm of the epic discourse in Hispanic America. The analysis borrows from a structuralist-narratologic methodology developed in the works of Gerard Genette, Felix Martinez Bonatti, Cedomil Goic and Julia Kristeva. The study begins with the analysis of the different definitions of 'epic genre' from Aristotle and Horatio to the twentieth century and the theories of Genette about architextuality. Once establishing the definitions, the study proceeds to differentiate between the two generic variants: the romance and the epic. The purpose here is to show that the principles of textual disposition applied by epic authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Hispanic America belong to the romance, and this gives the discourse a very distinct structural physiognomy. A comparative analysis of some of the best known epic poems in Hispanic America show their structural singularity, as well as their inclusion within Ariosto's tradition. The texts analyzed are: Arauco domado, Peregrino indiano, Puren indomito, Argentina y Conquista del Rio de la Plata, La Christiada, and Bernardo. In Chapter Four the study centers on the transtextual relationships established between La Araucana and Villagra's poem, which determine the individuality of the Historia de la Nueva Mexico and its inclusion within the Hispanic American literary canon. The poem's uniqueness is based on its peculiar narrative structure, the hypertextual relationship it maintains with the Ercillan paradigm, as well as the juxtaposition of codes that determine an intertextual space. This space is the aesthetic image of ideological tensions in the narrator's perspective. It is the tensions which place both the narrator and the text within the ideological and artistic parameters of the Baroque period.

M.A.
Lestrade (1949) has already stated that the African people themselves regard traditional praise poems as the highest form of their literary art. Scholars such as Goma (1967), Kunene (1971) and Swanepoel (1983) have already highlighted some aspects concerning the "literariness" of Soho dithoko tsa marena. In this study, an attempt is made to highlight some of the literary features of dithoko within the literary framework established by the Russian Formalists almost a century ago. Focus is placed on the devices used by the traditional composer to create poetic' language, which is different from everyday communicative language. In the study an important vehicle used by traditional composers to create - literariness namely the application of allusion to violate normal language usage is investigated. The interaction between the so-called narrative lines in dithoko and events alluded to in the poems is discussed. Allusion and traditional beliefs are also focused on. The function of poetic devices such as metaphorical language, symbols and poetic diction is also investigated within the framework of the Formalists.

This thesis is a critical evaluation of the content, form and technique of traditional and modern praise poetry in Northern Sotho. Chapter 1 presents the aim of the study and the method of research and defines the concepts of poetry and praise poetry. Praise poetry is viewed from a traditional and modern perspective. Chapter 2 deals with the content and technique of praise poetry. Content consists of oral praise poetry lauding the heroic deeds of men in battles and casual encounters. Modern praise poetry comments on current events. Devices for rapid composition of the praises are discussed. Techniques differ between poets and according to time, place and occasion. Chapter 3 covers the traditional praises of chiefs, warriors, initiates, animals, birds, divining bones and totem praises, examining them from the perspective of content and form. The praises extol human achievements, peculiar animal characteristics and the interpretation of "mawa" of divining bones. Chapter 4 deals with the development and transition from traditional to modern form as well as the reciprocal influence. The content and form of modern praises of chiefs, academics, community leaders, animals, birds, divining bones, man-made objects and some natural phenomena are discussed. Many modern poets have also written praises of fictional characters. Chapter 5 compares oral and written praise poetry by concentrating on the similarities and differences between traditional and modern praise poetry. This study shows that there are differences in of theme, rhyme, beginning and ending, sentence length and significant emphasis on man-made objects such as cars and locomotives as exceptional modes of transport for commuters. Chapter 6 concludes the study and proves that praise poetry is a living or dynamic entity which will continue to exist. Praise poetry highlights persons, interpersonal relationships, attitudes and values derived from an African conceptions of the universe.
African Languages
D.Litt. et Phil (African Languages)