DOCSLIB.ORG

Chaucer and the Disconsolations of Philosophy: Boethius, Agency, and Literary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chaucer and the Disconsolations of Philosophy: Boethius, Agency, and Literary Chaucer and the Disconsolations of Philosophy: Boethius, Agency, and Literary Form in Late Medieval Literature by Jack Harding Bell Department of English Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ David Aers, Supervisor ___________________________ Sarah Beckwith ___________________________ Thomas Pfau ___________________________ Nancy Armstrong Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of Duke University 2016 ABSTRACT Chaucer and the Disconsolations of Philosophy: Boethius, Agency, and Literary Form in Late Medieval Literature by Jack Harding Bell Department of English Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ David Aers, Supervisor ___________________________ Sarah Beckwith ___________________________ Thomas Pfau ___________________________ Nancy Armstrong An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of Duke University 2016 Copyright by Jack Harding Bell 2016 Abstract This study argues that Chaucer's poetry belongs to a far-reaching conversation about the forms of consolation (philosophical, theological, and poetic) that are available to human persons. Chaucer's entry point to this conversation was Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy , a sixth-century dialogue that tried to show how the Stoic ideals of autonomy and self-possession are not simply normative for human beings but remain within the grasp of every individual. Drawing on biblical commentary, consolation literature, and political theory, this study contends that Chaucer's interrogation of the moral and intellectual ideals of the Consolation took the form of philosophical disconsolations: scenes of profound poetic rupture in which a character, sometimes even Chaucer himself, turns to philosophy for solace and yet fails to be consoled. Indeed, philosophy itself becomes a source of despair. In staging these disconsolations, I contend that Chaucer asks his readers to consider the moral dimensions of the aspirations internal to ancient philosophy and the assumptions about the self that must be true if its insights are to console and instruct. For Chaucer, the self must be seen as a gift that flowers through reciprocity (both human and divine) and not as an object to be disciplined and regulated. Chapter one focuses on the Consolation of Philosophy . I argue that recent attempts to characterize Chaucer's relationship to this text as skeptical fail to engage the Consolation on its own terms. The allegory of Lady Philosophy's revelation to a disconsolate Boethius enables philosophy to become both an agent and an object of inquiry. I argue that Boethius's initial skepticism about the pretentions of philosophy is in iv part what Philosophy's therapies are meant to respond to. The pressures that Chaucer's poetry exerts on the ideals of autonomy and self-possession sharpen one of the major absences of the Consolation : viz., the unanswered question of whether Philosophy's therapies have actually consoled Boethius. Chapter two considers one of the Consolation 's fascinating and paradoxical afterlives: Robert Holcot's Postilla super librum sapientiae (1340-43). I argue that Holcot's Stoic conception of wisdom, a conception he explicitly links with Boethius's Consolation , relies on a model of agency that is strikingly similar to the powers of self-knowledge that Philosophy argues Boethius to posses. Chapter three examines Chaucer's fullest exploration of the Boethian model of selfhood and his ultimate rejection of it in Troilus and Criseyde . The poem, which Chaucer called his "tragedy," belonged to a genre of classical writing he knew of only from Philosophy's brief mention of it in the Consolation . Chaucer appropriates the genre to explore and recover mourning as a meaningful act. In Chapter four, I turn to Dante and the House of Fame to consider Chaucer's self-reflections about his ambitions as a poet and the demands of truth-telling. v Acknowledgements I would not have been able to complete this project without the love, support, and generosity of many people. My deep thanks go to my teachers, David and Sarah, whose bracing criticism and constant encouragement have held me to intellectual standards I did not think myself capable of. Their willingness to engage even my most bizarre flights of intellectual fancy is a testament to their faithfulness, patience, and commitment. They have shown me that a life of teaching and writing about the literature we love is an apprenticeship in intellectual virtue. I am grateful for their having taken a chance on me. My warm thanks go to my colleague, Will Revere, without whom I would still be stuck on chapter one. It is rare to name your colleague one of your best friends; rarer still to have them witness the birth of your first child. It has been a privilege to work alongside you as we learn to name the goods internal to the strange yet wonderful vocation we have chosen. I would also like to thank my other colleagues in the English Department, whose kindness and wit I have benefitted from enormously: Chris Catanese, Thomas Manganaro, Jonathan Howard, Mary Caton Lingold, Pete Moore, Allison Curseen, Rebecca Evans, and Patrick Alexander. Special thanks go to Erin Walsh (Religion) and John Slotemaker (Religion, Fairfield U.). They do not simply indulge but enthusiastically share my interest in medieval biblical commentary. John has been a wise teacher and a wiser friend. I will sorely miss Erin's Latin reading groups, a mainstay of my time at Duke. vi This project has born witness a tumultuous and beautiful time of my life: the death of my grandparents, the birth of two children, three moves, prison ministry, caretaking a farm, figuring out how to be the spouse of a pastor of a church. Through it all my greatest pleasure has been learning how to be a better husband and a better father. I dedicate this project to my wife, Goodie, whose love has sustained my work at times when I did not think its completion possible. vii Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements...................................................................................................vi Introduction................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: The Consolation of Philosophy : Narrative, Autonomy, ........................24 Self-Knowledge Chapter 2: Robert Holcot, O.P., and the Invention of a Stoic Christianity..............65 Chapter 3: The Disconsolations of Philosophy: Tragedy.......................................128 and the Passions in Troilus and Criseyde Chapter 4: The Afterlife of Words: Dante and Chaucer on Fame..........................162 and Philosophy Bibliography...........................................................................................................200 Biography...............................................................................................................214 viii Introduction This wiked custom is so longe yronne, Til that of Athenes kyng Egeus Mot senden his owene sone, Theseus, Sith that the lot is fallen hym upon, To ben devoured, for grace is there non. Chaucer, Legend of Good Women , 1944-47 At the conclusion of the first of The Canterbury Tales , The Knight's Tale , a character named Theseus offers a speech in defense of the "Firste Moevere" of the cosmos (2987). According to Theseus, this Prime Mover, "Juppiter" (3035), established a fair chain of love that governs the nature and movement of every material element of the universe: fire, air, water, and earth. The cause of Jupiter's creation of this chain was this god's "wis purveiaunce" [ foresight ] (3011). His chain is an interlocking series of cosmic bonds, bonds that establish order and regularity from the eternal, perfect, incorruptible heavens all the way down to the corruptible, sublunary realm of contingency. The chain is the law of all living things, and it allows every corner of nature's realm to participate in and reflect the rationality of the "Moevere" himself (3003-5). Indeed, the growth, perfection, and decay of contingent beings expresses the intrinsic rationality and goodness of the Mover and his chain: "loo the ook, that hath so long a norisshynge/ From tyme that it first bigynneth to sprynge,/ And hath so long a life...Yet at the laste wasted is the tree" (3017-8, 3020). Like the oak, human beings must die, too, but it is a mistake to see death as an aberration from the Mover's law. By means of his chain of love the "prince and cause of alle thyng" converts all "unto his propre welle," and finite human 1 beings are no exception (3036-7). To complain against death and misfortune, however untimely and painful they may be, constitutes a failure to appropriate the divine rationality that pervades all things. The failure to let the "purveiaunce" of the Prime Mover permeate every aspect of one's existence is a human failure, a failure to live a fully human life. Theseus offers this speech to his "parlement" in commemoration of the death of Arcite, a Theban knight who had died several years before the speech's delivery (2967). The circumstances surrounding Palamon's death comprise the substance of the poem's narrative: Theseus had captured
Load more

Recommended publications
  • RELG 399 Fall2019
    McGill University School of Religious Studies RELG 399 TEXTS OF CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY (Late Antiquity) In the Fall Term of 2019 this seminar course will focus on Christian spirituality in Late Antiquity with close study and interpretation of Aurelius Augustine’s spiritual odyssey the Confessiones, his account of creation in De genesi ad litteram, and his handbook of hermeneutics De doctrina Christiana. We will also read Ancius Manlius Severinus Boethius’s treatment of theodicy in De consolatione philosophiae, his De Trinitate, and selections from De Musica. Professor: Torrance Kirby Office Hours: Birks 206, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 10:00–11:00 am Email: [email protected] Birks Building, Room 004A Tuesdays/Thursdays 4:05–5:25 pm COURSE SYLLABUS—FALL TERM 2019 Date Reading 3 September INTRODUCTION 5 September Aurelius Augustine, Confessiones Book I, Early Years 10 September Book II, Theft of Pears 12 September Book III, Adolescence and Student Life 17 September Book IV, Manichee and Astrologer 19 September Book V, Carthage, Rome, and Milan *Confirm Mid-Term Essay Topics (1500-2000 words) (NB Consult the Style Sheet, essay-writing guidelines and evaluation rubric in the appendix to the syllabus.) 24 September Book VI, Secular Ambitions and Conflicts 26 September Book VII, Neoplatonic Quest for the Good 1 October Book VIII, Tolle, lege; tolle, lege 3 October Book IX, Vision at Ostia 8 October Book X, 1-26 Memory *Mid-term Essays due at beginning of class. Essay Conferences to be scheduled for week of 21 October 10 October Book X, 27-43 “Late have I loved you” 15 October Book XI, Time and Eternity 17 October Book XII, Creation Essay Conferences begin this week, Birks 206.
    [Show full text]
  • A Hell of a City: Dante's Inferno on the Road to Rome ([email protected]) DANTE's WORKS Rime (Rhymes): D.'S Lyrical Poems, Cons
    A Hell of a City: Dante’s Inferno on the Road to Rome ([email protected]) DANTE’S WORKS Rime (Rhymes): D.'s lyrical poems, consisting of sonnets, canzoni, ballate, and sestine, written between 1283 [?] and 1308 [?]. A large proportion of these belong to the Vita Nuova, and a few to the Convivio; the rest appear to be independent pieces, though the rime petrose (or “stony poems,” Rime c-ciii), so called from the frequent recurrence in them of the word pietra, form a special group, as does the six sonnet tenzone with Forese Donati: http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/rime.html (Testo critico della Societa' Dantesca Italiana; Florence: Societa' Dantesca Italiana, 1960. Edited by Michele Barbi. Translated by K. Foster and P. Boyde.) Vita nova (The New Life): Thirty-one of Dante's lyrics surrounded by an unprecedented self-commentary forming a narrative of his love for Beatrice (1293?). D.'s New Life, i.e. according to some his 'young life', but more probably his 'life made new' by his love for Beatrice. The work is written in Italian, partly in prose partly in verse (prosimetron), the prose text being a vehicle for the introduction, the narrative of his love story, and the interpretation of the poems. The work features 25 sonnets (of which 2 are irregular), 5 canzoni (2 of which are imperfect), and 1 ballata: http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/vnuova.html (Testo critico della Società Dantesca Italiana; Florence: Società Dantesca Italiana, 1960. Edited by Michele Barbi. Translated by Mark Musa.) In the Vita Nuova, which is addressed to his 'first friend', Guido Cavalcanti, D.
    [Show full text]
  • Spawn: the Eternal Prelude Darkness
    Spawn: The Eternal Prelude Darkness. Pain. What . oh. Oh god. I'm alive! CHOOSE. What? Oh great God almighty in Heaven . NOT QUITE. CHOOSE. Choose . choose what? What are you? Where am I? Am I in Hell? NOT YET. DO YOU WISH TO RETURN? Yes! Yes, of course I want to go back! But . what's the catch? What is all this? IT IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE FOR A RETURN? TO SEE YOUR LOVED ONES, TO ONCE MORE TASTE LIFE? WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE? I . I'm dead, aren't I? YES. But . what can I give? I am dead, so I have nothing! NOT TRUE. YOU HAVE YOURSELF. Myself? I don't understand . is it my soul you want? NO. I ALREADY HOLD YOUR SOUL . I WISH TO KNOW IF YOU WOULD SERVE ME WILLINGLY IN RETURN FOR COMING BACK. Serve . to see my wife again . yes . to hold my children once more . yes. I will serve you. VERY WELL. THE DEAL IS DONE . In a rainy graveyard, something fell smoking to the ground. It sat up, shaking its head, looking around itself. Strange. Why was he lying here? He tried to stand up, surprising himself by leaping at least twenty feet into the air, landing as smoothly as a cat. How . then something caught his attention. He stared into the puddle of rainwater, trying to discern the vague shape that must be his own face. And then he screamed. Because what stared back was the burn-scarred skullface of a corpse, its eyes glowing a deep green.
    [Show full text]
  • De Vulgari Eloquentia
    The De vulgari eloquentia, written by Dante in the early years of the fourteenth century, is the only known work of medieval literary theory to have been produced by a practising poet, and the first to assert the intrinsic superiority of living, vernacular languages over Latin. Its opening consideration of language as a sign-system includes foreshadowings of twentieth-century semiotics, and later sections contain the first serious effort at literary criticism based on close ana- lytical reading since the classical era. Steven Botterill here offers an accurate Latin text and a readable English translation of the treatise, together with notes and introductory material, thus making available a work which is relevant not only to Dante's poetry and the history of Italian literature, but to our whole understanding of late medieval poetics, linguistics and literary practice. Cambridge Medieval Classics General editor PETER DRONKE, FBA Professor of Medieval Latin Literature, University of Cambridge This series is designed to provide bilingual editions of medieval Latin and Greek works of prose, poetry, and drama dating from the period c. 350 - c. 1350. The original texts are offered on left-hand pages, with facing-page versions in lively modern English, newly translated for the series. There are introductions, and explanatory and textual notes. The Cambridge Medieval Classics series allows access, often for the first time, to out- standing writing of the Middle Ages, with an emphasis on texts that are representative of key literary traditions and which offer penetrating insights into the culture of med- ieval Europe. Medieval politics, society, humour, and religion are all represented in the range of editions produced here.
    [Show full text]
  • AUGUSTINE, Sermones Ad Fratres in Eremo
    PS.-AUGUSTINE, Sermones ad fratres in eremo (Sermons to the Brothers in the Desert); BONAVENTURE, Soliloquium de quatuor mentalibus exercitiis (Soliloquium on the Four Spiritual Exercises); [ANONYMOUS], Pianti e le lamentatione della nostra dona (The Tears and Lamentations of Our Lady), in Italian; PS.-BERNARD of CLAIRVAUX, De contemplatione (On Contemplation); [ANONYMOUS], De religio (On Religion) In Latin and Italian, decorated manuscript on parchment Italy (Northern?), c. 1400-1430 i (paper) + 163+ i (paper) folios on parchment (very fine), lacking leaves at the end (collation i-xiii10 xiv10 [-10, probably cancelled blank] xv-xvi10 xvii4 [original structure uncertain, but lacking leaves at the end]), some leaf and quire signatures remain very bottom outer corner with a letter designating the quire and an Arabic numeral the leaf, horizontal catchwords center lower margin, usually flourished, ruled lightly in ink with single full-length vertical bounding lines (written space 90 x 72-71 mm.), copied in twenty-seven long lines in a very regular southern Gothic bookhand by several scribes, majuscules within the text touched with pale yellow, red rubrics, two- to four-line alternately red and blue initials with pen flourishes in the opposite color, in excellent condition apart from a few folios with very slight powdering of the ink. Bound in eighteenth-century parchment over pasteboard, smooth spine lettered in ink “Sermones/ S. Augustini/ Episc. delin/gua dolosa,” with “C” (a shelfmark), below, in excellent condition. Dimensions 144 x 106 mm. This small-format miscellany contains texts to nourish the religious life, both practically and spiritually. The Sermons to the Brothers in the Desert (attributed to Augustine, but composed many centuries after his death), and the Soliloquy by St.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Souls and the Triad of Intellectual Operations
    chapter 6 Human Souls and the Triad of Intellectual Operations As we have seen, all animals are superior to plants in that they have not only vegetative powers but also sensory, that is, cognitive powers. The possession of cognition is what establishes a psychological continuity between nonhuman and human animals. However, there is also a crucial discontinuity and it is this discontinuity that brings us closer to theories of animal rationality. In short, the discontinuity between humans and other animals consists in the fact that only the former have rational or intellectual souls. Consequently, humans are not simply animals but a very peculiar kind of animals, namely, ‘rational animals’ (animalia rationalia).1 They are, so to speak, ‘animals plus x’ with ‘x’ being the faculties of intellect and reason. Nonhuman animals are, in turn, ‘animals without x’. This lack of intellect and reason is why they were often called ‘ irrational animals’ (animalia irrationalia) or ‘brute animals’ (animalia bruta), as mentioned before. The possession of a rational soul thus establishes what modern scholars usually call an anthropological difference because it sets humans apart from all other animals. Medieval philosophers stressed this point. In his commentary on De ani- malibus, Peter of Spain, for instance, states that ‘humans excel any other ani- mal by the nobility of intellect and reason’ (homo enim excellit quodlibet animal nobilitate intellectus et rationis).2 In his Sentences commentary, Peter of John Olivi defines human beings as ‘intellectual animals or animals having intellect’ (bestiae intellectuales seu intellectum habentes).3 On the one hand, this shows that the animal nature of human beings was not denied.
    [Show full text]
  • Plotinus and Augustine
    The Influence of Plotinus on the Writings of St. Augustine Josiah Meyer History of Ancient & Medieval Philosophy, PH 502 March 8, 2017 1 Introduction If Plato and Aristotle are the most important thinkers of the ancient world, St. Augustine could be a close runner up in brilliance and importance. Far less known, however, is the vital role of Plotinus. Serving as a link between Augustine and Plato, Plotinus was to have a lasting influence on Augustine, and through him on the Christian Church, especially in the West. This paper will bring illumination to the often overlooked intellectual contribution of Plotinus to the thoughts of Augustine. To that end, it will provide an overview of Plotinus’ thought, paying special attention to his use and modification of Plato and Aristotle. It will then turn its attention to Augustine’s appropriation of Plotinus, and the lasting mark he made on the shape of Augustinian theology. Section One: Plotinus Bibliography Plotinus was a native of Lycopolis (or Lycon) in Egypt.1 At the age of 28 he became interested in philosophy and moved to Alexandria to study. After expressing dissatisfaction in several teachers, he finally found Ammonius Saccas (175 AD - 240 AD), declaring, τοῦτον ἐζήτουν, “This is the man I was looking for!” and became his pupil for eleven years.2 This Ammonius Saccas is identified (probably wrongly) by Eusebius as a lapsed Christian. Eusebius 1 Frederick Copleston notes that Eunapis identifies his birthplace as Lycon, while Suidas identifies it as Lycopolis, leaving the exact location a mystery. Frederick Copleston, S.J., A History of Philosophy, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Platonic Theology: Books 1-4 V.1 Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    PLATONIC THEOLOGY: BOOKS 1-4 V.1 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Marsilio Ficino,Michael J.B. Allen,John Warden,James Hankins,William Bowen | 448 pages | 08 May 2001 | HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS | 9780674003453 | English | Cambridge, Mass, United States Platonic Theology: Books 1-4 v.1 PDF Book His Platonic evangelizing was eminently successful and widely influential, and his Platonic Theology , translated into English in this edition, is one of the keys to understanding the art, thought, culture, and spirituality of the Renaissance. This is six-volume edition and translation of Ficino's eighteen- book Platonic Theology. Platonic Theology: v. Platonic Theology Letters Platonic Commentaries. The "notes to the translation" are other possible translations, needed explanations of the text, sources of quotations or allusions. Ficino devoted his life to reviving the philosophy of Plato and gathered around him a group of distinguished disciples and devotees sometimes referred to as the "Florentine Academy. What God is not. The descent of the soul into the body. He had sought to show that revelation was necessary because, although philosophy could demonstrate the existence of God and man's immortality, knowledge of God's essence and man's true destiny was beyond its comprehension and belonged to the realm of supernatural theology. Allen and Hankins have begun a work of scholarship of the highest calibre, whose continuation is eagerly awaited. Book XIII demonstrates the soul's immortality by four signs : phantasy, reason and prophecy, arts, and miracles. Laurentianus Pluteus As previously shown by Marcel Marsile Ficin. This was dangerous ground, obviously shading into magic, and protesting that he was vindicating Free Will against astrological determinism was not much of a cover.
    [Show full text]
  • 199 Henry of Ghent Summa of Ordinary Questions: Articles Six To
    Philosophy in Review XXXIII (2013), no. 3 Henry of Ghent Summa of Ordinary Questions: Articles Six to Ten on Theology, translated and with an introduction by Roland J. Teske, SJ. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press 2011. 226 pages $25.00 (paper ISBN 978–087462255–3) This translation of selected articles from Henry of Ghent’s Summa of Ordinary Questions is part of the Medieval Philosophy Texts in Translation series from Marquette University. The translator, Roland Teske, is the current series editor, and he is to be commended for including this volume in the series as it makes available in English an invaluable text for those with a professional interest in medieval philosophy and theology. Henry of Ghent is a little known figure outside the (growing) circle of professional philosophers with an interest in Scholasticism. But he was pivotal in the last thirty years of the 13th century, playing a major role in one of the key events of the period, viz., the Condemnations of 1270 and 1277. Anyone interested in understanding Henry’s thought, particularly his views on the relationship between theology and philosophy, will thank Teske for making this text available at such an affordable price, and for his accurate rendering of Henry’s Latin. The translated articles contain Henry’s considered views on meta-theology. The leading issue of the day concerned the place of theology within the sciences. Prior to the 13th century, theology enjoyed pride of place in the curriculum, with all the other disciplines being seen as preparatory to work in theology. This position came under threat in the 13th century as all the works of Aristotle were gradually rediscovered and assimilated by scholars working in the universities.
    [Show full text]
  • Intellectual Elitism and the Need for Faith in Maimonides and Aquinas
    INTELLECTUAL ELITISM AND THE NEED FOR FAITH Intellectual elitism and the need for faith in Maimonides and Aquinas Elitismo intelectual y la necesidad de la fe según Maimónides y Tomás de Aquino FRANCISCO ROMERO CARRASQUILLO Departamento de Humanidades Universidad Panamericana 45010 Zapopan, Jalisco (México) [email protected] Abstract: In his Commentary on Boethius’ De Resumen: En su Comentario al De Trinitate de Trinitate 3.1, Aquinas cites Maimonides as Boecio 3.1, Tomás de Aquino cita a Maimóni- giving fi ve reasons for the need for faith. Yet des, de quien afi rma que presenta cinco ra- interpreters tend to see Aquinas as “stand- zones a favor de la necesidad de la fe. Los in- ing Maimonides on his head”. In this paper, térpretes suelen ver a Tomás de Aquino como the author places Maimonides’ text (on the si “hubiera puesto a Maimónides de cabeza”. five reasons for concealing metaphysics) En el presente artículo se retoma el texto de within the context of his rational mysticism Maimónides (acerca de las cinco razones por and compares it to Aquinas’ own Christian las que la metafísica debe reservarse a los mystical thought in an attempt to show that doctos y ocultarse a las masas), y se sitúa en el in his own mind Aquinas is not misquoting, contexto de su misticismo racional. Compa- reversing, or doing violence to Maimonides’ rándolo con el pensamiento místico cristiano text; rather, Aquinas is completing Maimon- de Tomás de Aquino, se muestra cómo éste ides’ natural, rational mysticism with what he no está citando erróneamente, ni invirtiendo understands to be the supernatural perfec- ni violentando el texto de Maimónides; más tion of the theological virtue of faith.
    [Show full text]
  • Bonaventure's Threefold Way to God
    BONAVENTURE’S THREE-FOLD WAY TO GOD R. E. Houser Though he became Minister General of the Franciscan Order in 1257, Bonaventure’s heart never left the University of Paris, and during his generalate he delivered three sets of “collations” or university sermons at Paris. On 10 December 1270 Itienne Tempier, bishop of Paris, had condemned certain erroneous propositions. Bonaventure ruminated over these matters, and in the Spring of 1273 delivered his magisterial Collations on the Hexameron.1 Left 1 For Bonaventure’s dates see J.G. Bougerol, Introduction a l’étude de saint Bonaventure 2nd ed. (Paris: Vrin, 1988); J. Quinn, “Bonaventure” Dict. of the M.A. 2: 313-9. On the circumstances of the Collations, one friar noted: “But oh, no, no, no! Since the reverend Lord and Master who gave out this work has been elevated to a sublime position, and is leaving his way of life [as a friar], those attending his sermons have not received what was to follow [the missing last three collations]. This work was read and composed at Paris, in the year of our Lord 1273, from Easter to Pentecost, there being present Masters and Bachelors of Theology and other brothers, in the number of 160.” Bonaventure, Opera Omnia (ed. Quaracchi) 5: 450 n. 10; Coll. in Hex. ed. F. Delorme (Quaracchi: 1934) 275. 92 unfinished owing to his elevation to the cardinalate, in them he read the first chapter of Genesis spiritually, distinguishing seven levels of “vision” corresponding to the seven days of creation. The first level is “understanding naturally given” or philosophy, divided into logic, physics, and ethics.
    [Show full text]
  • “Why So Serious?” Comics, Film and Politics, Or the Comic Book Film As the Answer to the Question of Identity and Narrative in a Post-9/11 World
    ABSTRACT “WHY SO SERIOUS?” COMICS, FILM AND POLITICS, OR THE COMIC BOOK FILM AS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY AND NARRATIVE IN A POST-9/11 WORLD by Kyle Andrew Moody This thesis analyzes a trend in a subgenre of motion pictures that are designed to not only entertain, but also provide a message for the modern world after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The analysis provides a critical look at three different films as artifacts of post-9/11 culture, showing how the integration of certain elements made them allegorical works regarding the status of the United States in the aftermath of the attacks. Jean Baudrillard‟s postmodern theory of simulation and simulacra was utilized to provide a context for the films that tap into themes reflecting post-9/11 reality. The results were analyzed by critically examining the source material, with a cultural criticism emerging regarding the progression of this subgenre of motion pictures as meaningful work. “WHY SO SERIOUS?” COMICS, FILM AND POLITICS, OR THE COMIC BOOK FILM AS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY AND NARRATIVE IN A POST-9/11 WORLD A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Communications Mass Communications Area by Kyle Andrew Moody Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2009 Advisor ___________________ Dr. Bruce Drushel Reader ___________________ Dr. Ronald Scott Reader ___________________ Dr. David Sholle TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................... III CHAPTER ONE: COMIC BOOK MOVIES AND THE REAL WORLD ............................................. 1 PURPOSE OF STUDY ...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]