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A critical edition of Derek Walcott's Omeros
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Barnard, Donald Edwin (2012) A critical edition of Derek Walcott's Omeros. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2565909~S1
Abstract
The thesis is a Critical Edition of Derek Walcott’s Omeros, consisting of a Critical
Introduction and Annotations. The Critical Introduction analyses:
- Narrative
- Settings
- Metaphor and Paronomasia
- Symbolism
- Historiography
- Intertexts
- Dualism
- Autobiography
- Dialects
- Prosody.
The Annotations comment on more than 1000 references that may be obscure and on
specifics of narrative, language and prosody.
This study presents new conclusions about some aspects of Omeros:
- It challenges the prevailing view that the work is written substantially in a
variation of terza rima and shows that regular quatrains predominate.
- It demonstrates ways in which the metrics follow the sense of the narrative and
takes a more balanced position on the use of Caribbean as opposed to classical
metrics than that put forward previously.
- It identifies a paragraphic structure to the verse.
- It proposes a new prosodic structure for the significant Chapter XXX/iii.
- It extends Walcott’s recognised use of numerology into word counting the
names of characters.
- It develops the idea of Walcott’s dualism and his use of pairing and
contradiction as a dialectical method.
- It defines his wide use of paronomasia and shows that many of the puns have a
metaphorical aspect beyond mere word-play.
- It analyses some of Walcott’s symbolism.
- It identifies intertextual links to his earlier works and to some thirty other
writers, and suggests homage to Hemingway and possibly Heaney.
- It provides the first complete analysis of Walcott’s rhyme types in Omeros.
In its analysis of Omeros and in the Annotations it has included commentary from
across the critical literature, to provide some sense of other views on Walcott’s
writing, and has included as many as possible of Walcott’s own comments on Omeros
and on the writer’s task, as a background to understanding the poem.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PR English literature | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Walcott, Derek. Omeros -- Criticism and interpretation, Caribbean poetry -- History and criticism, Epic poetry, English -- History and criticism | ||||
Official Date: | February 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Hulse, Michael, 1955- ; Gilmore, John, 1956- | ||||
Extent: | v, 133, [34], i, 270 leaves | ||||
Language: | eng |
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