It is the purpose of this thesis to examine and compare three Restoration and eighteenth century adaptations of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure: William Davenant's The Law Against Lovers, acted in 1662; Charles Gildon's Measure for Measure: or, Beauty the Best Advocate, acted in 1700; and John Philip Kemble's Shakspeare's Measure for Measure, acted in 1794. The plays are discussed with regard to their divergence from Shakespeare's play. In addition, they are examined from the standpoint of their ability to reflect the theatrical practices, audience preferences, and social conditions of the time in which they were performed.

The Magus, by John Fowles, can be read as a modern re-telling of the traditional hero quest. The thesis attempts to explore all of the ways the novel compares to hero myths.

The novel concerns the massacre of a small village in Viet Nam and its effects upon those involved, attempting to show that selfishness in men overrides any other concern, even during war.

Some of the most interesting facets of Edgar Allan Poe's fiction are his imaginative speculations concerning the metaphysical experiences of the soul, the individual psychic "identity." His interest focuses primarily on three related aspects of the soul's experiences (1) metempsychosis (or reincarnation and transmigration); (2) suspension between "death" and the after-life or states of unconsciousness and consciousness, sleep and waking; and (3) the terrors, real or imagined, of premature burial.

This study deals, with Edith Wharton's literary attitude toward woman's limited place in society and her opportunities for happiness in acceptance of or rebellion against conventional standards. Wharton's works, specifically her novels, contain recurrent character types functioning in recurrent situations. Similarity in the themes of Wharton's various works illustrates her basic idea: woman, lacking independence and identity, needs the security of tradition's order.