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Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences English Language and Literature Department English Language and Literature Programme THE SUPERNATURAL AND PUNISHMENT IN COLERIDGE’S SELECTED WORKS Ruken UZUN Master’s Thesis Ankara, 2021 THE SUPERNATURAL AND PUNISHMENT IN COLERIDGE’S SELECTED WORKS Ruken UZUN Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences English Language and Literature Department English Language and Literature Programme Master’s Thesis Ankara, 2021 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor Assist. Prof. Dr. Pınar Taşdelen for her encouragement, insight, guidance, and most importantly for her belief in me. Without the patience and advices of my supervisor, this thesis would have never been completed. I am thankful to the distinguished members of the jury, Prof. Dr. Burçin Erol, Prof. Dr. Huriye Reis, Prof. Dr. Hande Seber, and Prof. Dr. Özlem Uzundemir for their precious comments, critical feedbacks, and support to improve this study. I am also grateful to Assist. Prof. Dr. Alev Karaduman and Assist. Prof. Dr. İmren Yelmiş for their suggestions and comments, along with their kindness. I would like to thank The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) for providing me financial support with the graduate scholarship programme during my master studies. I want to express my deepest gratitude to my family. I am thankful to my parents Tülin Uzun and Kemal Uzun, whose endless faith in me gave me strength to complete this thesis. I also want to thank my sister and my role model Kıvılcım Uzun, as she is the reason why I love reading and writing. Also, I am very lucky to have the furry members of my family Kadir and Biber, who taught me to love unconditionally. Last but not least, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to my second family, my precious friends. I want to thank Seçim Büyükçatalbaş for her incredible support, her patience throughout this process, and for all the fun we had. I am glad because we keep growing up together. I owe special thanks to my dear Dilan Pamuk for her ceaseless support and invaluable friendship. She was there whenever I needed her, and I am grateful since I know that she will always be. I am also deeply grateful to my Sage, Furkan Karaman for his encouragement, patience and love. With his presence, I am happier and much stronger than I have ever been. It has been a long journey and I am more than grateful to everyone who never ceased to support me. I recognise your contribution to my life and to my study. I am forever indebted to you. v ABSTRACT UZUN, Ruken. The Supernatural and Punishment in Coleridge’s Selected Works, Master’s Thesis, Ankara, 2021. The supernatural, apart from being an element widening the range of imagination in literature from past to present, is an agent in the daily lives, folk and religious beliefs of people for explaining the unknown. As one of the prominent poets of the Romantic era, Samuel Taylor Coleridge is known for his frequent use of the supernatural in his works in various ways such as an unusual landscape, a character, an event, or a power. In his works he interprets the supernatural both as benevolent and malignant, depending on the one who controls it. In this context, in the first chapter of this thesis, Coleridge’s “The Wanderings of Cain” (written in 1798, published in 1828), The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (written and published in 1798), and “Kubla Khan” (written in 1800, published in 1816) are studied in terms of their treatment of the divine supernatural possessed by a divinity or the spiritual forces, used as a means of punishment for the sins committed against nature, a human being or the religious orders. In the second chapter, Osorio (written and published in 1797), “Christabel” (written in 1797-1800, published in 1816) and “The Three Graves” (written in 1797-1798, published in 1809) are studied focusing on the earthly supernatural as a means of punishment possessed and controlled by humans, and human-formed beings for evil purposes. In the mentioned works it is observed that the divine supernatural is presented as a power to preserve justice, and accordingly the works have a didactic purpose. On the other hand, when the supernatural is possessed by human beings with evil nature, it is made use of in order to punish and harm the innocent human beings. Consequently, this thesis puts forward that in the mentioned works, Coleridge presents the supernatural as a means of punishment and also points out that the natural order which is subverted by the evil and the sinful people can be remedied if only the supernatural power is controlled by a divinity; otherwise, it functions to create chaos. Keywords Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the supernatural, punishment, divine power, evil, sin vi ÖZET UZUN, Ruken. Coleridge’ın Seçili Eserlerinde Doğaüstü Unsurlar ve Ceza¸ Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Ankara, 2021. Doğaüstü, geçmişten bugüne edebiyatta hayal gücünün sınırlarını genişleten bir öge olmasının yanı sıra, insanların günlük hayatlarında, folklorik ve dini inançlarında bilinmeyeni açıklamak için bir vasıta olmuştur. Romantik dönemin önde gelen şairlerinden biri olan Samuel Taylor Coleridge, eserlerinde doğaüstünü olağandışı bir manzara, bir karakter, bir olay veya bir güç gibi birçok farklı şekilde kullanmasıyla tanınır. Şair eserlerinde doğaüstünü, onu yönlendiren kişiye bağlı olarak, hem iyi hem de kötü olarak yorumlar. Bu bağlamda, bu tezin ilk bölümünde Coleridge’ın “The Wanderings of Cain” (Kabil’in Gezintisi) (yazım 1798, basım 1828), Yaşlı Gemici (yazım ve basım 1798), “Kubla Khan” (Kubilay Han) (yazım 1800, basım 1816) eserlerindeki tanrı veya ruhani güçler tarafından sahip olunan tanrısal doğaüstünün, doğaya, bir insana veya tanrısal emirlere karşı işlenen günahların cezalandırılması olarak gönderilmesi işlenir. İkinci bölümde, Osorio (yazım ve basım 1797), “Christabel” (yazım 1797-1800, basım 1816) ve “The Three Graves” (Üç Mezar) (yazım 1797-8, basım 1809) eserleri insanlar ve insan şeklindeki varlıklar tarafından sahip olunan ve kontrol edilen dünyevi doğaüstünün, kötü niyetle cezalandırma yöntemi olarak kullanmasına odaklanılarak incelenir. Bahsi geçen eserlerde tanrısal doğaüstü, adaleti koruyan bir güç olarak sunulur ve dolayısıyla didaktik amaç taşır. Öte yandan, doğaüstüne kötü tabiatlı insanlar tarafından hükmedildiğinde, masum insanları cezalandırma ve onlara zarar verme amacıyla kullanılır. Sonuç olarak bu tez, adı geçen eserlerde Coleridge’ın doğaüstünü bir cezalandırma aracı olarak sunduğunu ve aynı zamanda kötüler ve günahkarlar tarafından altüst edilmiş doğanın dengesinin, doğaüstünün tanrısal bir gücün hakimiyetinde olması durumunda tekrar düzene kavuşacak, aksi takdirde karmaşaya neden olacak bir etken gibi sunduğunu öne sürmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler Samuel Taylor Coleridge, doğaüstü, cezalandırma, tanrısal güç, kötülük, günah vii TABLE OF CONTENTS KABUL VE ONAY .......................................................................................................... i YAYIMLAMA VE FİKRİ MÜLKİYET HAKLARI BEYANI.................................. ii ETİK BEYAN ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... v ÖZET ............................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. vii INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I: THE SUPERNATURAL AS DIVINE PUNISHMENT .................... 26 1.1. “THE WANDERINGS OF CAIN” ..................................................................... 27 1.2. THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER ........................................................ 37 1.3. “KUBLA KHAN” ................................................................................................. 52 CHAPTER II: THE SUPERNATURAL AS EARTHLY PUNISHMENT ............. 64 2.1. OSORIO ................................................................................................................... 65 2.2. “CHRISTABEL” .................................................................................................. 77 2.3. “THE THREE GRAVES” .................................................................................... 90 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 102 WORKS CITED .......................................................................................................... 107 APPENDIX I: ORIGINALITY REPORTS ............................................................. 115 APPENDIX II: ETHICS BOARD WAIVER FORMS FOR THESIS ................... 117 1 INTRODUCTION The aim of this thesis is to study Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s (1772-1834) use of the supernatural within the context of punishment in his selected works Osorio (written and published in 1797), “Christabel” (written in 1797-1800, published in 1816), “The Wanderings of Cain” (written in 1798, published in 1828), The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (written and published in 1798)1, “Kubla Khan” (written in 1800, published
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