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Item "Hushed to a whisper" : of veiled device and strained connection in Francis Coppola's The conversation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2004) Mawer, Shawn CharlesThis thesis is an analysis of The Conversation, a film directed by Francis Coppola and released by Paramount Pictures in 1974. The central theme underpinning this study is that a pattern of "unnatural connections" is evident both in and within the text itself and in the sphere of critical judgements contributing to issues of potential audience responses. The notion of "unnatural connection" is discussed in relation to the following terms, each crucial to a complete understanding of the text: authorial intentionality, in particular the relationship to creative collaboration, questions of mode and genre, tragedy and technology, issues of detection, and dilemmas of the existential. The thesis concludes with a speculative commentary on notions of disorientation, disciplinary apparatus, inversion, and spectator positioning.Item This valley of perpetual dream : a close commentary on Shelley's The triumph of life : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University(Massey University, 1989) Simonsen, Pauline MargaretThe Triumph of Life" is a cryptic final work for Shelley to leave to posterity. It is both unlike and yet like his previous work. It is unlike in that it addresses itself to the non-ideal, to a cruel and devastating present existence.¹ Perhaps only The Cenci approaches the same degree of disillusionment. It is like in that it displays that "tough-minded" Shelleyan scepticism that C. E. Pulos has elucidated so well.² C. E. Pulos, The Deep Truth: A Study of Shelley's Scepticism (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1954). The Shelley who wrote the final line of "Mont Blanc", who included the famous last speech of Demogorgon in Prometheus Unbound, is in this poem given full rein. The debate still rages as to whether he allows any idealism into "The Triumph of Life" at all. This closely structured poem, full of gripping images that remain with one long after the poem has been read, is Shelley at his best. In it, the poet who wrote the "Ode to the West Wind" brings his deep concern with the nature of life to fruition. The issues that emerge from an analysis of the text reflect this concern with the fundamentals of existence. For this reason, I believe it to be - despite its fragmentary nature - a great document on modern life. [From Foreword]Item The spiritual development of some knightly characters in the Roman courtois : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in French at Massey University(Massey University, 1972) Sims, Patricia MaryIn 1963 when I was studying Vergil's Aeneid, I became gradually aware that the Trojan leader, so often accused of being a negative plaything of the gods, was a great man and a great religious hero. For being able to see this point of view, I am greatly indebted to an enlightening article by F.A.Sullivan, S.J., who demonstrates how Aeneas, in his quest for a new Troy undergoes a spiritual Journey not unlike that experienced by people who truly seek union with God by the sanctity of their lives. Last year, when I was reading Yvain for the first time, it again became apparent that the hero, in his quest for reconciliation with his wife, could also show some features of a similar tripartite development. Further reading indicated that signs of a deep religious experience could also be found in other heroes, particularly in some of the romances of Chretien de Troyes, who have been studied here from the aspect of their spiritual progression. Among all those who have in any way helped me to prepare this work, I should like to thank the Sisters of the Congregation to which I belong,the Sisters of Mercy,Wellington,who have given me much encouragement; the staff of the French section of the Modem Languages Department, Massey University, and especially Dr.Glynnis Cropp who has given so readily of her time and scholarly advice; the Library Staff, particularly the Interloan Section of Massey University; and finally, Mrs.Esme Lynch for her capable typing. March 1972. [From Preface]Item Signifying nothing : plenitude and vacancy in T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and The Waste Land : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University(Massey University, 1995) Christie, Edward JThis thesis focuses on nothingness (vacancy) in T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and The Waste Land. Nothingness is both a theme and a technique of Eliot's poetry. As a theme nothingness may be elucidated by both existential and mystical models since both theories have nothingness as a central theoretical concept. As a technique nothingness invites the reader's response by suggesting the possibility of final meaning, simultaneously demanding and undermining interpretation. Existing in a mutually exclusive and mutually defining relationship with nothingness is the "plenitude" of signification. An underlying aim of Eliot's poems becomes to capture in language the paradoxical combination of vacancy and plenitude which will allow a subject to transcend the relativity of signification and, in the case of Four Quartets, know God and Self directly, or in the case of The Waste Land, to finalise meaning.Item Sarah Kirsch und das versteckte Zitat in Christa Wolfs Sommerstück : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in German at Massey University(Massey University, 1996) Roelants, Nicholas Allen PeterChrista Wolf's novel Sommerstück, written between the mid-seventies and 1989 (the year of the collapse of the socialist East German state), when it was published, stands as proof of the author's sense of disillusionment, partly as a result of the authoritarianism of the leadership of the GDR since the time of the forced emigration of poet and songwriter, Wolf Biermann, in 1976. Yet more than that Wolf portrays in her novel the 'outbreak' or unleashing of a universally destructive, demonic power or spirit. This theme is also reflected in Sarah Kirsch's lyric poetry from that time, especially in the 'Vogel-Gedichten' ('bird-poems'), which Christa Wolf, by way of quote, reference and allusion, brings into Sommerstück. For this reason the analysis - firstly as independent works - of the poems which appear in Wolf's novel focuses primarily on the three 'Vogel-Gedichte'. The second chapter deals Christa Wolf's Sommerstück. The third chapter concerns the location and function of the poems of Sarah Kirsch within the context of the novel. It is concluded that the lyric poetry of Sarah Kirsch, in conjunction with the characterisation of Bella in the novel, who shows similarities to the poet, provides a background of rich association for Wolf's own thematic treatment, which in turn renders an often inaccurate and unflattering portrayal of Sarah Kirsch, but more particularly - as determined within the scope of this thesis - a distortion of her art.Item Roger Hall : prisoner of Mother England : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University(Massey University, 2003) Knowles, IanFor nearly thirty years Roger Hall has been a dominant figure in New Zealand theatre. His plays have been enthusiastically received and the new audience he has attracted into the theatre in large numbers has made a major contribution to the survival of both amateur and professional theatre in this country. However critical opinion has been divided and has not always reflected popular acclaim. Theatre critics, largely, have been more generous than professional critics who, while appreciating the qualities of his first five plays, appear to have found less of significant interest in his later work. In this thesis I consider Hall's plays written for theatre performance and suggest some reasons for the neglect of the professional critics.