UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Poetics, philosophy and structure in the poetry of Norge

Harskin, Robin Peter Simon; (1996) Poetics, philosophy and structure in the poetry of Norge. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

[thumbnail of Poetics,_philosophy_and_struct.pdf] Text
Poetics,_philosophy_and_struct.pdf

Download (17MB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the imagery of Norge's poetry in order to identify and analyse the writer's philosophy of art and of being. After an initial discussion of previous critical work on Norge and its failure to identify any underlying structure to the poetry, there is an analysis of Norge's poetics and how it becomes manifest through his imagery of the everyday. The poet's task, according to Norge, is to reveal to the reader the divinity which is on earth and in all things and which enables man to achieve a spiritual though not physical transcendence. There is then an exploration of how the four elements in Norge are crucial to the process of continual artistic creation. While each element represents a distinct aspect of that process (water symbolising solidity and being, earth the cyclical nature of creation, air or wind the state of becoming, and fire the effect that such becoming exerts on being), artistic creation is possible only when all four elements are present. The next chapters consider how Norge, as well as producing his own philosophical constructs, takes as his source existing concepts and lends them new resonance and meaning in a poetic context. First, there is a discussion of how he explores two different paradigms of time; the Aristotelian, linear time of discrete units, and the pre-Socratic time of an indivisible whole which encompasses past, present and future. Then Norge's imagery of loss is analysed from the perspective of Freudian psychology, whose ideas are seen to pervade his treatment of this theme. Finally, Norge's notions of communion and humanity are shown to be grounded in the celebration of the Eucharist and to engage with its imagery. The thesis concludes that Norge uses philosophy and structure in order to endow himself with the authority and authenticity both to inscribe himself in the literary tradition and to assert his sense of belonging to the human race.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: Poetics, philosophy and structure in the poetry of Norge
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Thesis digitised by ProQuest.
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10108821
Downloads since deposit
145Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item