Papers by Lavaughn Towell
Interactions, Mar 22, 2007
scientificjournals.org
This paper explores the notion of homosocial space in the Victorian Era as it pertains to canonic... more This paper explores the notion of homosocial space in the Victorian Era as it pertains to canonicity issues in literature. Homosocial space simply means that space which men set aside, such as in men's-only clubs or situations such as the relationship of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. ...
Interactions, Mar 22, 2007
John Keats employs different effusions to demonstrate the process of bringing previously inanimat... more John Keats employs different effusions to demonstrate the process of bringing previously inanimate objects to life or changing the shape of an animate object. Keats relies on the processes of the human body and nature to produce seemingly unnatural or supernatural changes in some of the characters in his poetry. With this moisture, characters are able to transform others or influence their surroundings to suit their wants or desires. The waterfall Keats saw on his Scottish Tour, because it was in constant motion, typified the "form existing only through motion" that Bates speaks about in his biography of Keats. For life to exist, some sort of motion must occur or continue to occur in order to sustain that life and, possibly, the life of those surrounding it. This paper examines Keats' poetry and examples of the poet introducing some sort of liquid to generate motion. Through this process of bodily effusion plus motion, Keats satisfies his own poetical definition of what constitutes life.
This paper explores the notion of homosocial space in the Victorian Era as it pertains to canonic... more This paper explores the notion of homosocial space in the Victorian Era as it pertains to canonicity issues in literature. Homosocial space simply means that space which men set aside, such as in men.s-only clubs or situations such as the relationship of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in which women play a limited role, if at all. Yet, this notion of men-only spaces created problems for the works vying to become canonical literature.not because of the exclusion of women, but for the ambivalence felt toward this separation of the sexes. Underlying this ambivalence is a fear of homosexuality; yet, these spaces also violate Matthew Arnold.s and Thomas Carlyle.s views toward industry. Often, the men in these novels fail to act, whether heroically or artistically. Matthew Arnold's works "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time" and "The Study of Poetry" usefully navigate the trail toward canonicity, at least for the Victorian Era. Using Arnold's notion and the prevailing social attitudes toward masculinity and enterprise, this paper examines the problems of canonicity for Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray, E.M. Forster's Maurice, and John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps.
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Papers by Lavaughn Towell