Perhaps the most universally discussed problem in the interpretation of the character of Hamlet is the reason for his delay in carrying out the Ghost's commands and revenging the murder of his father. Certainly Shakespeare makes no mention of the reason for Hamlet's delay. The fact that critics have never been able to untangle this mystery proves that the solution is not presented in an obvious form in the play.

A study of the character of Iago from Shakespeare's Othello. Traces the trends of interpretations, schools of thought, and major influences in interpretations of Iago as manifested in a survey of the writings of Shakespearean critics of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. The emphasis of the study shall be on twentieth-century criticism, with possible established patterns of interpretation and their relation to or deviation from the patterns of the two previous centuries.

While his Transcendentalist contemporaries were expounding their optimistic philosophy of natural goodness, progress, and perfectibility, Hawthorne probed into the human heart, recording the darkest motives of his characters and writing bitter criticism of life. Around him men were declaring that scientific inventions, political organizations, and religious reforms were ushering in a new era; but Hawthorne viewed the new society as a probable continuation of old evils and a manufacturer of new ones. His fiction has been called "an elaborate study of the centrifugal, . . . a dramatization of all those social and psychological forces that lead to disunion, fragmentation, dispersion, incoherence. Critics generally comment on Hawthorne's obsession with guilt. His pessimistic analysis of the mind, his somber outlook on living, and his personal tendency to solitude are frequently credited to his Puritan ancestry; yet as Arvin points out, "He had no more Puritan blood than Emerson and hundreds of other New Englanders of his time: and who will say that they were obsessed with the spectral presence of guilty. One must go beyond Calvinist theology to comprehend the source of guilt that hovers over the pages of his fiction. His religious, moral, educational, and economic background was so typical …

The major purpose of this thesis is to present a discussion of the motif of the faithful wife as it appears in the domestic drama of the Elizabethan Age; in addition, an account of the literary history of the theme will be given, in order that the use made of the story in Elizabethan drama may be correctly evaluated.

This paper is an analysis of the relationship between journalism and formal literary usage in America. It is the purpose of this study to define and illustrate characteristics of modern journalese and to make a comparison of standards of correct usage advocated by recent textbooks in English composition and journalism. Particular attention will be given to diction, structure and length of sentences, capitalization, abbreviation, and punctuation. The conclusion will be a brief evaluation of modern journalism, a succinct resume of its impact on modern language and literature, and a simple prediction of future tendencies in journalistic and literary language. And to give a better perspective to the analysis of journalism and American English, the paper begins with a description of the American linguistic heritage.

Reflecting the real beau monde of Restoration London, the treatment of women in the comedy of manners was the best and most unusual characteristic of this dramatic type. With the first gay reaction against the past, the independent ladies demanded complete equality with men; intellectually, they gained that equality. To the gay belles, no less than to the beaux, wit was the passport to society. The truewit had everything; the witwould was social refuse, marked for that worst of all punishment--ridicule.

The different interpretations of the character of Sir John Falstaff have been so controversial that at no time since the presentation of the Henry IV plays have critics been able to agree as to his precise qualities. He has been called the greatest humorous character in all literature by even those critics who have spoken adversely of his other traits. George Bernard Shaw called him "a besotted and disgusting old wretch," an opinion added to those of others who have seen him as a coward, liar, cheat, thief, glutton, and rogue. There is no denying that he is one of the most captivating and controversial of all characters in English literature.

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate Mark Twain's awareness of and sensitive reaction to the cruelty which surrounded him throughout his lifetime, and to evaluate his literary use of cruelty for both comic and satiric effects.

Spelling is a tool by which one records his thoughts and ideas; therefore it is a vital part of life. To fulfill its task successfully, spelling must be accurate. Spelling is that tool by which the happenings of the past are revealed to the present and are preserved for the future. For any individual who attempts to transfer his thoughts and words by symbols onto paper, correct spelling is a prime essential. It follows, then, that to develop perfect habits of spelling in order that perfect transcriptions of thoughts might be made is the duty of the teacher. This duty has been attempted by teachers for many generations. But it is an established fact that the goal has not been reached, for there is a stupendous number of misspellings in the written work of students in high schools. Many methods have been advanced for correcting this incompetence in spelling; when these were tried, they have failed to secure the coveted goal. In some instances the cure has aggravated the disease. Successful abolishment of this handicap baffles the teaching profession. In a course in American pronunciation recently conducted at North Texas State College, the teacher presented the fact that there are …

Tracing semantic change in various translations of The Bible.

A critical study of naturalism and its influence in the works of Stephen Crane.

Together Dorothy and William translate. a simple tour into aesthetic loveliness To his sister the journey was the juxtaposition of impoverished society and pastoral elegance. To Wordsworth the tour was a reawakening of poetic Impulse. Through his intense feeling for natural beauty, Wordsworth became the poet of all mankind..

The purpose of this thesis is to survey Jane Austen biography and criticism published since 1940 in order to show the present state of Jane Austen study while providing a bibliographical guide to recent material.

This thesis examines the evidences of pessimism in the poetry of each poet, substantiated when possible by parallel prose writings and other critical and biographical material; and finally, it reaches tentative conclusions about the direction of the change in pessimistic outlook of three poets.

The purpose of this study is to determine as accurately as possible from an examination of contemporary records and from interpretations of scholars what the structure and conventions of the Globe Theater were in the hope that the projected reconstruction of the theater in Odessa may be as near the original as is possible and feasible.

This thesis had its inception in the mind of the writer when, disturbed by third grade children's lack of interest and low level of linguistic achievement, she endeavored to find both a more effective means of encouraging children to acquire the tools of language and a more effective method of teaching children the fundamentals of language arts. The writer determined, therefore, to investigate an integrated language arts program in the hope that it would prove to be a more effective method of teaching.

This thesis traces the revival of Senecan tragedy from 1570 to the end of the sixteenth century through some of the earlier translations, adaptations, and imitations, and to evaluate the significance of the final evolution of such works into the Elizabethan tragedy of revenge.

This thesis discusses Mark Twain as a political satirist in Nevada and during the Gilded Age. There are also chapters covering Politics and Slavery, Democracy and Monarchy, as well as Imperialism and War.

This thesis discusses trade names including their histories, formations, and semantic implications.

This thesis explores the use of music in the literary works of author Willa Cather.

The purpose of this thesis is to present essays and letters in which Mark Twain discussed the art of writing or assumed the role of a literary critic.

This thesis examines the myth and legend of Don Juan and the development of the dramatic character prior to 1800.

This thesis explores the development of the unheroic hero in the modern novel.

In spite of the large amount of criticism written about T. S. Eliot, no attempt has been made to point out the great debt that Eliot owes to Dante Alighieri, and the pervasive influence of The Divine Comedy on Eliot's poetical works. This thesis endeavors to illustrate the extent of that debt and influence.