Plotinian presence and the work of W. B. Yeats and Yves Bonnefoy.
Item
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Title
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Plotinian presence and the work of W. B. Yeats and Yves Bonnefoy.
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Identifier
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AAI9618070
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identifier
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9618070
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Creator
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Hamel, Eric.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Burton Pike
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Comparative | Literature, English | Literature, Romance
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Abstract
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The main concern of this dissertation is with the problem of interpreting presence in relation to specific poems. How can poems convey a sense of presence, given that poetry is a medium of representation? Can a poem convey a sense of presence only by denying its very possibility?;In Chapter 1, I define presence as any indeterminacy in a poetic text. I further argue that these sorts of indeterminacies as it were address the reader, or actively call upon the reader to be resolved but refuse an ultimate determination. A particularly fruitful technique for creating such indeterminacies the manipulation or the oral and written modes of language.;Chapters 2 and 3 define what "Plotinian presence" is in relation to the work of Yeats and Bonnefoy. With respect to Yeats, I find it in his "fifth element" and with respect to Bonnefoy in his "tache." These are seen to be aural/vocal elements speaking of presence, plenitude, and intensity.;In Chapter 4, I posit two ways in which presence can make itself felt in the act of reading: (1) when the reader engages in self-conscious, self-reflexive relation to the text and (2) when the reader senses a plenitude that arises in relation to the text.;In Chapter 5, I posit a kind of indeterminacy which is inexhaustible. I found this to be similar to Plotinus One. It is a kind of "sounding of silence," a sound in which silence could also be heard. I identify this with Yeats' "fifth element" and Bonnefoy's "tache.".;Chapter 6 consists of examples of the second way in which presence can make itself felt, how certain examples present areas of indeterminacy that refuse absolute resolution but which also convey an unmistakable sense of intensity and plenitude. In the final chapter, I extend these considerations into three specific techniques of manipulating the oral/aural modes of language in order to suggest such a (Plotinian) presence.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
