English Language and Literature ETDs

Publication Date

5-4-1977

Abstract

This study posits a single frame of reference, the artist's own creative practice, for Adams', Twain's, and James' autobiographies. These works show the consciousness of the artists' struggle with form for their mercurial ideas. The form these artists sought was not a simple selection of literary genres; it was the search for a vehicle to support their inquiry, a way of composition which was comfortable and so could free their speculation from purely formal concerns. These works are not intended as formal tours de force, yet in seeking their natural mode of expression each author produced unusual and experimental works.

Degree Name

English

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

English

First Committee Member (Chair)

George Warren Arms

Second Committee Member

Robert E. Fleming

Third Committee Member

Hamlin Lewis Hill Jr.

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

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