DOCSLIB.ORG

Death Wish in Poems of Anne Sexton and Stevie Smith 2021

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Death Wish in Poems of Anne Sexton and Stevie Smith 2021 DEATH WISH IN POEMS OF ANNE SEXTON AND STEVIE SMITH 2021 MASTER’S THESIS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE Shaymaa Shareef Mohammed ALSALIHI Thesis Supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Nazila HEIDARZADEGAN DEATH WISH IN POEMS OF ANNE SEXTON AND STEVIE SMITH Shaymaa Shareef Mohammed ALSALIHI T.C. Karabuk University Institute of Graduate Programs Department of English Language and Literature Prepared as Master’s Thesis Thesis Supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Nazila HEIDARZADEGA KARABÜK April 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. 1 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE ....................................................................................... 3 DECLARATION .......................................................................................................... 4 FOREWORD ................................................................................................................ 5 DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. 6 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 7 ÖZ ................................................................................................................................... 8 ARCHIVE RECORD INFORMATION .................................................................... 9 ARŞİV KAYIT BİLGİLERİ (in Turkish) ................................................................ 10 SUBJECT OF THE RESEARCH ............................................................................. 11 PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE RESEARCH ...................................... 11 METHOD OF THE RESEARCH ............................................................................. 11 HYPOTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH / RESEARCH PROBLEM ....................... 11 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS / DIFFICULTIES ................................................... 12 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................... 19 FREUDIAN PSYCHOANALYSIS THEORY ......................................................... 19 1.1. Understanding Death and Death Wish ......................................................... 19 1.2. The Freudian Theory of Personality ............................................................. 20 1.2.1. Conscious, Unconscious, Subconscious ................................................. 21 1.2.2. Id, Ego, and Superego ............................................................................. 22 1.3. Theory of Drives .............................................................................................. 24 1.3.1. Life Instincts (Eros) ................................................................................. 24 1.3.2. Death Instincts (Thanatos) ..................................................................... 25 1.4. Death Wish and Self-Destruction .................................................................. 25 1.5. Reasons for Death wish ................................................................................... 26 1.5.1. Anxiety and Depression .......................................................................... 26 1.5.2. Trauma ..................................................................................................... 27 1.5.3. Bipolar Disorder ...................................................................................... 27 1 1.5.4. Psychosexual Development ..................................................................... 28 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................ 30 CONFESSIONAL POETRY AND ANNE SEXTON .............................................. 30 2.1. Overview of Confessional Poetry ................................................................... 30 2.2. Anne Sexton, a Confessional Poetess ............................................................. 32 2.3. An Analysis of Anne Sexton’s Poetry ............................................................ 33 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................... 65 MODERN ENGLISH POETRY AND STEVIE SMITH ........................................ 65 3.1. Modern English Poetry ................................................................................... 65 3.2. Stevie Smith ..................................................................................................... 66 3.3. An Analysis of Smith’s Poetry ....................................................................... 69 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 82 REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 87 2 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE I certify that in my opinion the thesis submitted by Shaymaa Shareef Mohammed ALSALIHI titled “THE DEATH WISH IN POEMS OF ANNE SEXTON AND STEVIE SMITH” is fully adequate in scope and in quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science Assist. Prof. Dr. Nazila HERIDERZADEGAN .......................... Thesis Advisor, Department of English Language and literature This thesis is accepted by the examining committee with a unanimous vote in the Department of English language and Literature as a Master of Science thesis. April 19, 2021 Examining Committee Members (Institutions) Signature Chairman : Assist.Prof.Dr. Nazila HEIDERZADEGAN (KBU) .......................... Member : Assoc.Prof.Dr. Harith Ismael TURKI (KBU) .......................... Member : Assist.Prof.Dr. Raşit ÇOLAK (UU) .......................... The degree of Master of Science by the thesis submitted is approved by the Administrative Board of the Institute of Graduate Programs, Karabuk University. Prof. Dr. Hasan SOLMAZ .......................... Director of the Institute of Graduate Program. 3 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own work and all information included has been obtained and expounded in accordance with the academic rules and ethical policy specified by the institute. Besides, I declare that all the statements, results, materials, not original to this thesis have been cited and referenced literally. Without being bound by a particular time, I accept all moral and legal consequences of any detection contrary to the aforementioned statement. Name Surname: Shaymaa Shareef Mohammed ALSALIHI Signature: 4 FOREWORD First of all, I would like to thank the supreme power the Almighty God, obviously the one who has always guided me to work on the right path of life. I would like to express my deep feelings of gratitude to my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Nazila HEIDARZADEGAN for her kind guidance, wise comments, and support. Thank you for providing me the opportunity to prepare this thesis with you. I am extremely grateful to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Harith Turki for helping and encouraging me though out the year. I have no valuable words to express my thanks. Special thanks to Dr. Mahmood Kadir Ibrahim for his motivation and encouragement. Moreover, I would like to thank Assist. Prof. Raşit ÇOLAK for his contribution to the success of my studies. Finally, I bestow my deepest gratitude to my caring, loving, and supportive family. 5 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my lovely aunt, dear mother, and my grandmother “Safya” who raised me, loved me, and encouraged me. Although she is no longer in this world, her memories continue to regulate my life. I dedicate this thesis to dear Sensei, who taught me how to depend on myself. 6 ABSTRACT This study aims at analyzing Anne Sexton and Stevie Smith’s obsession with death as established in their poetry, concentrating mainly on Freud’s psychoanalysis of the death drive. Examining the writers’ personal life and psychological state of mind, revealing the main reason behind their desire to die, and describing the way they reflected this death wish in their poems are the major concerns of this study. The first chapter presents a brief introduction to the concept of death, explaining Freud’s theory of death drive and presenting the main reasons for wishing to die and how the unconscious mind develops this desire. The second chapter discusses the American confessional poetess Anne Sexton and how she confesses her death wish in her poems. Evidently, revealing her personal experience enables the reader to discover the inner reason behind this lust for death. The third chapter deals with the English Poet Stevie Smith who successfully admits her death wish in her poems. She reveals her struggles in life and views death as a god who can save her. In both chapters two and three, the poets’ selected poems were analyzed in the light of Freud’s psychoanalysis theory to display the reason for their death wish. In short, it could be asserted that death became Sexton and Smith’s greatest muse; they depict death as a welcome release and a gift for man which provides a peaceful end to life. The psychoanalysis acts as a mean of self- analysis, where both writers confess their desire to ‘return to an earlier state’, thus presenting death as a kinder and desired friend to be with. Finally, the study concludes that both poets desire death because they want peace and relief from their
Load more

Recommended publications
  • EMILY DICKINSON and the PROBLEM of GENRE By
    EMILY DICKINSON AND THE PROBLEM OF GENRE by ALEXANDRA ANNE SOCARIDES A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Literatures in English written under the direction of Professor Meredith McGill and approved by _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October, 2007 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Emily Dickinson and the Problem of Genre by ALEXANDRA ANNE SOCARIDES Dissertation Director: Professor Meredith McGill This dissertation seeks to bridge the gap between literary and cultural approaches that has long been a hallmark of Dickinson criticism. By returning to the materials that Dickinson used when constructing her fascicles, to the cultural practices that she adopted and rejected in the process, and to the specifics of her writing and binding process, this dissertation argues that her manuscripts raise, instead of resolve, questions about genre and nineteenth-century poetics. The opening chapter undertakes a material analysis of the fascicles. By focusing not just on how texts are read, but on how they are made, it demonstrates that the fascicles are markedly different from the commonplace books, autograph albums, and scrapbooks into which nineteenth-century women ordinarily copied verses, as well as from homemade hymnbooks, diaries, and collections of sermons. The second chapter explores Dickinson’s fascicles in relation to her letter- writing practices, analyzing where the two practices intersect and highlighting the ways in which Dickinson relied on the existence of both to rethink the formal structures and the rhetorical strategies of her poems.
    [Show full text]
  • A Suicide Letter Poem Welfare
    A Suicide Letter Poem Aflutter Darby dusk that kails frights docilely and raffles percussively. Sammie never iodizes any popularisers mullions sforzando, is Amadeus leafless and Mancunian enough? Barratrous Federico skivvies that apprehensiveness perplexes presumptively and demonetize recessively. Argumentative and a letter poem by tomorrow is not truly a nearby general public starts laughing off before i already vulnerable person Imply a plus my hill, and touch her stars. Celebrate major thing as they hoped their corrupt agents of pulling through the grips of others believe he was suicide. Straight will love and now i thought he did the best they have not. Bother trying to seek strength for each word: that many more common and ideas and. Incident that my associates program designed to have a suicide as it. Preparatory to the speaker is so here on your letters by any surgery and lots i one. Isolating and holding your letter to imagine how did i missed the next couple of physical being defeated by circumstances, but i through. Voters wanted was determined and live forward to tolerate the children? Whole life one time a letter to your fear and horrible thoughts that she wrote just as far. Beleive how her suicide letter poem by blade to have written. Deep end their right a suicide letter to my everything i have much. Holding your mind thoughts that mental condition is that any at all? Broader shoulders that risk or with a water, carrie in my whole poem to create a daughter. Community offering his mistake that is clear that you read.
    [Show full text]
  • AN EXAMINATION of EMILY DICKINSON THESIS Presented To
    310071 EMILY AND THE CHILD: AN EXAMINATION OF THE CHILD IMAGE IN THE WORK OF EMILY DICKINSON THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Nancy Eubanks McClaran, B. A. Denton, Texas May, 1974 ABSTRACT mcClaran, Nancy Eubanks, Emily and the Child.: An Examination of the Child Image in the Work of Emily Dickinson. Master of Arts (English), May, 1974, 155 pp., 6 chapters, bibliography 115 titles. The primary sources for this study are Dickinson's poems and letters. The purpose is to examine child imagery in Dickinson's work, and the investigation is based on the chronological age of children in the images. Dickinson's small child exists in mystical communion with nature and deity. Inevitably the child is wrenched from this divine state by one of three estranging forces: adult society, death, or love. After the estrangement the state of childhood may be regained only after death, at which time the soul enters immortality as a small child. The study moreover contends that one aspect of Dickinson's seclusion was an endeavor to remain a child. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . 1 II. INFANCY - .-- -. * . 21 III. EARLY CHILDHOOD: EARTH'S CONFIDING TIME * " 0 27 IV. THE PROCESSOF ESTRANGEMET . ... 64 V. THE ESTRANGED CHILD ...--...... " 0 0 123 VI. CHILDHOOD IN MORTALITY . 134 BIBLIOGRAPHY 0 0-- 0 -- 40.. .. .. " 0 0 156 iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The poetry of Emily Dickinson has great significance in a study of imagery. Although that significance seemed apparent to critics almost from the moment the first volume of her poems was posthumously published in 1890, very little has been written on Dickinson's imagery.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemporary Poems of Death Awareness
    D R E A M S W A N D E R O N D r e a m s W a n d e r O n Contemporary Poems of Death Awareness Edited by Robert Epstein MODERN ENGLISH TANKA PRESS P.O. Box 43717, Baltimore, Maryland 21236 USA www.themetpress.com [email protected] Dreams Wander On: Contemporary Poems of Death Awareness Copyright 2011 by Robert Epstein All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in a newspaper, magazine, radio, or television review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Editor. Front cover art, “Red Mountains,” copyright 2010 by Ron Moss. www.ronmoss.com Used by permission. Printed in the United States of America 2011 Dreams Wander On: Contemporary Poems of Death Awareness edited by Robert Epstein Published by Modern English Tanka Press Baltimore, Maryland USA ISBN 978-1-935398-24-0 LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO: LOUISE AND MARTIN AND THEIR FAMILIES C O N T E N T S Preface .................................................................................... 9 Acknowledgments .................................................................. 13 Introduction ........................................................................... 15 DEATH AWARENESS POEMS ................................. 35 Suggested Reading ................................................................. 129 About the Editor .................................................................. 131 No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good. —Plato If you stay in the center and embrace death with your whole heart you will endure forever. —Lao Tzu All that live must die, passing through nature to eternity. —William Shakespeare Death is not our shadow, it is our guide.
    [Show full text]
  • We Met at the End of the Party’
    APPENDIX: ‘Be my Valentine this Monday’ and ‘We met at the end of the party’ These poems came to light in 2002, as a result of a complicated sequence of events. Following Monica Jones’s death on 15 February 2001, the staff of the Brynmor Jones Library, Hull, cleared 105 Newland Avenue of Larkin’s remaining books and manuscripts. The Philip Larkin Society then purchased the remaining non-literary items: furniture, pictures and ornaments. These were removed in late 2001 and early 2002, and are now on long-term loan to the Hull Museums Service and the East Riding Museum Service. Both searches missed a small dark red ‘©ollins Ideal 468’ hard-backed manu- script notebook which had slipped behind the drawers of a bedside cabinet. This cabinet was removed by the house-clearer with the final debris, and subse- quently fell into the hands of a local man, Chris Jackson, who contacted the Larkin Society. I confirmed the authenticity of the book in a brief meeting with Mr Jackson in the Goose and Granite public house in Hull on 17.vii.2002. The notebook seems initially to have been intended for ‘Required Writing’, which Larkin wished to keep separate from the drafts in his workbooks proper. The first eleven sides are occupied by pencil drafts of ‘Bridge for the Living’, dated between 30 May 1975 and 27 July 1975. These are followed by notes on Thomas Hardy and other topics. Seven months later, however, Larkin used the book again, this time for more personal writing. The central pages were left blank but on the final five sides he wrote pencil drafts, dated between 7 February 1976 and 21 February 1976, of ‘Morning at last: there in the snow’, ‘Be my Valentine this Monday’ and ‘We met at the end of the party’.
    [Show full text]
  • Four Death Poems, Written in Blood by Con Chapman
    Four Death Poems, Written in Blood by Con Chapman The ultimate expression of a samurai's devotion to his master was his willingness to commit ritual suicide (seppuku). Seppuku was performed when the samurai brought disgrace to his master through failure; in sympathy for his lord's death; to avoid the disgrace of capture following defeat in battle; or if the samurai was found to have had illicit relations with another man's wife. Seppuku was performed by slicing the abdomen open with a dagger (tanto), and moving the blade from right to left, a method known as hara kiri. It came to be performed in a ritualistic manner in front of spectators, if not on a battlefield following defeat. The samurai was bathed, dressed ceremonially in white robes, and fed his favorite meal. When he had finished, his tanto was placed on a plate in front of him. The warrior would prepare for death by writing a death poem, or zetsumei-shi. Sometimes the samurai would begin the ritual and then write his poem in his own blood. Available online at «http://fictionaut.com/stories/con-chapman/four-death-poems- written-in-blood» Copyright © 2013 Con Chapman. All rights reserved. It is autumn now, wind chills the bones. So like the turn of the seasons, my time has come. We are like the wind, felt in the present, forgotten once we are gone. …………………………. I have known the wife of Minamato Dokan; now I feel the shame of a base philanderer. I have brought disgrace to the honor of my master's house.
    [Show full text]
  • Near Death Experiences and Death-Related Visions in Children: Implications for the Clinician
    Near Death Experiences and Death-Related Visions in Children: Implications for the Clinician Melvin L. Morse, MD Introduction poral lobe or by hallucinogenic drugs. It is possible Near death experiences (NDEs) have been reported that hallucinogenic neurotransmitters play a role in throughout human history in a wide variety of cul- the NDE. Wish fulfillment, death denial, dissociative tures. In the past 20 years an explosion of accounts psychologic trauma, and other psychologic defense of such experiences occurring to those surviving mechanisms have been advanced to explain the ex- coma, cardiac arrest, and noninjurious near fatal periences. Regardless of cause, the experiences are brushes with death has been reported. Such events apparently transformative, resulting in decreased occur to a broad cross section of society, including death anxiety, heightened spiritual perceptions and children, and are variously estimated to occur in be- awareness, increased subjectively perceived psychic tween 10% and 90% of near death situations. A num- abilities, and decreased symptoms of depression and ber of similar elements are common to NDEs, includ- anxiety. Adults who had NDEs as children describe ing out-of-body experiences (OBEs), hearing buzzing themselves as living mentally and physically healthy or rushing sounds, entering into a void or a tunnel, lives, even donating more money to charity than con- seeing or entering into a bright spiritual light, en- trol populations. countering a border or limit, and the subjective per- Many commentators agree that NDEs provide in- ception of making a conscious choice or being forced valuable insight into the processes of dying. Their im- to return to the body.
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis on Figures of Speech Found in Emily Dickinson's Because I Could
    PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI ANALYSIS ON FIGURES OF SPEECH FOUND IN EMILY DICKINSON’S BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By Octavia Ines Windyaswari Student Number: 121214106 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2018 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI ANALYSIS ON FIGURES OF SPEECH FOUND IN EMILY DICKINSON’S BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By Octavia Ines Windyaswari Student Number: 121214106 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2018 i PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI ABSTRACT Windyaswari, Octavia Ines. (2018). Analysis on Figures of Speech in Emily Dickinson’s Because I Could Not Stop for Death. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University. Expressing ideas can be done directly through communication orally and in written. One of the ways to convey ideas in written form is poem. In poems, the language expresses different meanings than the ordinary meaning. Figure of speech, which is part of figurative language, is the language that avoids speaking directly or plainly about the subject under examination.
    [Show full text]
  • The Perception of Love and Death of Emily Dickinson Seen on Her Selected Poems
    THE PERCEPTION OF LOVE AND DEATH OF EMILY DICKINSON SEEN ON HER SELECTED POEMS AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By SANDI ADI CAHYO Student Number: 014214133 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2009 i ii iii iv v When you lose, don't lose the lesson. -Author Unknown- vi Dedicated to My beloved parents My brother and My Mbeb vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to express my greatest grateful to Jesus Christ, for His blessing and love, finally I finish my thesis. I would like to dedicate this thesis for my beloved family. I thank to my parents wholeheartedly for their passion and love, for never stop pray and encouraging me. I would like also express my thanks to my brother Daniel for his encouraging punch and my mbeb for her love, support and cares. I would like to thank my thesis advisor who is also my academic advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd, M.Hum. who always gives me help and guidance during my undergraduate thesis writing. Without her help and kindness I might have lots of trouble in passing this undergraduate thesis. She is also who have given me many worthy upbringings for years during my study in this university. I also thank my co-advisor, Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum. for his carefulness in reading and checking my writing. My special gratitude goes to my beloved best friends Yophi and Heri ‘Coking’, class of 2001; Bertus, Wawan, Fariz, Yosep, Garry, Vembri, Sigit, John, Monda, Vonny, Ayu, Sinda, Dian ‘Kriting’, Erna and others I cannot mention one by one.
    [Show full text]
  • Emotions Surrounding Death in the Man’Yōshū
    Death’s Emotional Landscape: Emotions surrounding Death in the Man’yōshū Emily Marie Thomas Warrenton, VA Bachelor of Arts, Christopher Newport University, 2014 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of East Asian Studies University of Virginia May, 2017 What are the proper emotions to present as a mourner? How is one supposed to feel upon the death of a loved one? Is anger proper? Crying? Dismissal? Different cultures express different emotions while grieving. In modern America, people are usually supposed to be sad but also strong. In Chinese tradition, wailing was common because it was an expression of filial piety and grief. What were the proper emotions in early Japan? Despite questions of whether expressed emotions are “true” or authentic, there are always ways in which it is proper/socially acceptable to present emotions and ways in which it is not. One of the ways to present emotions socially in early Japan was through ritual poetry. In his work, Ritual Poetry and the Politics of Death, Gary Ebersole analyzes the ways in which poems in early Japan were used to legitimate and continue the political regime. Since the poems in the Man’yōshū are such ritual poems, they present emotions in the normative way, as determined and sanctioned by the ruling court. Therefore, I will analyze the emotions present in the poems concerning death and identify the normative and non-normative emotions expressed therein. These emotions are significant because they show how the mourners made sense of death, as well as how they created poetic spaces in which to publicly grieve.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Long Poems
    The Word That Causes Death’s Defeat ANNA AKHMATOVA The Word That Causes Death’s Defeat Poems of Memory g Translated, with an introductory biography, critical essays, and commentary, by Nancy K. Anderson Yale University Press New Haven & London Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of Philip Hamilton McMillan of the Class of 1894, Yale College. Copyright ∫ 2004 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by James J. Johnson and set in Nofret Roman type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna, 1889–1966. [Poems. English. Selections] The word that causes death’s defeat : poems of memory / Anna Akhmatova ; translated, with an introductory biography, critical essays, and commentary, by Nancy K. Anderson.—1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-300-10377-8 (alk. paper) 1. Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna, 1889–1966—Translations into English. 2. Akhmatova, Anna Andreevna, 1889–1966. I. Anderson, Nancy K., 1956– II. Title. PG3476.A217 2004 891.71%42—dc22 2004006295 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10987654321 Contents ggg Preface vii A Note on Style xiii PART I.
    [Show full text]
  • 12 Foster 1573 11/10/07 15:06 Page 339
    12 Foster 1573 11/10/07 15:06 Page 339 WARTON LECTURE ‘Now Shall I Make My Soul’: Approaching Death in Yeats’s Life and Work R. F. FOSTER Fellow of the Academy IT IS A DAUNTING VENTURE to give the Warton Lecture on English Poetry when one is actually an Irish historian. But the founder, Mrs Frida Mond, wanted Warton to be commemorated as the ‘first historian of English poetry’, which of course he was—as well as Professor of Poetry at Oxford (like his father), a notable commentator on Spenser and Milton, and a much-derided Poet Laureate. Further, he was at one point elected Camden Professor of History at Oxford. My more substantial rationale must be that I am Yeats’s biographer as well as a historian and I want to consider work and life, in a way that biographers dangerously do—while remembering throughout that Yeats’s creative writing is not autobiog- raphy, even if his autobiography is often creative writing. My subject is in fact death and work, death being a perhaps peculiarly Irish subject. Lady Morgan remarked in The Wild Irish Girl, published two hundred years ago, ‘With respect to the attendant ceremonies of death, I know of no country which the Irish at present resemble but the modern Greeks’.1 Her fictional narrator put this similarity down to their shared sense of the immediacy of another world. The resemblance has been noted by other commentaries on Irish funerary culture, one of which is actually called Read at the Academy 6 December 2006. 1 Sydney Owenson, Lady Morgan, The Wild Irish Girl: a national tale, ed.
    [Show full text]