Megan Danner

"Within a piece of literature, especially those that deal with complicated themes concerning the human soul, the themes are sometimes misinterpreted and sometimes altogether missed by the audience. The writers of these works of literature may then choose to use symbols or metaphors in order to communicate their meaning more efficiently. This type of writing is seen very clearly in the Middle English poem Pearl. The poet of Pearl takes advantage of symbols and metaphors time and time again within his work in order to connect the higher message of his poem to the spiritual lives of his audience. This particular writing style takes shape most commonly in the landscapes and the nature of the poem. Inside of these settings, the writer is able to develop the mood of the poem and, therefore, the thoughts and feelings of his narrator. Through such aspects of nature as rivers, gardens, stones, and light, the Pearl Poet draws several connections to the spiritual aspects of life. The supernatural and natural continue on hand-in-hand throughout the poem in order to create meaning for the reader. Creating connections is often easiest when the unknown is explained through the known. This is the case within the poem Pearl. The relationship between the natural (nature) and the supernatural (spiritual) within the three main landscapes of the poem Pearl tend to be connected throughout the entirety of the poem. Through these connections, the themes and messages of the poem are highly sophisticated and developed..."

"The Vikings were a feared race of invaders in the time of the Anglo-Saxons.  Pillaging, theft, and deceit were only a few of the wicked capabilities of the Danish, sea-going people.  Throughout the ages, Vikings performed many acts that earned them the animosity they received.  However, did these sea-travelers always deserve the title of ‘villian’ in every situation in which they were found?  In The Battle of Maldon, at least, perhaps they did not.  The Battle of Maldon is an Old English heroic poem that tells the story of an Anglo-Saxon defeat at the hands of the Vikings.  The poem may at first seem to target the Vikings as the main villain of the story, but upon further reflection, this is simply not true.  Although the Vikings are instigators of the battle at Maldon, my goal in this essay is to prove that the Vikings are not the major cause of the Anglo-Saxon defeat at Maldon..."

"The pain and suffering that humans are sometimes subject to is often too much to bear alone.  In order to survive, there must be a helping hand to hold onto when the time comes.  A substitution is sometimes required to make it through the suffering.  However, only a sacrifice made out of the love one has for another can be considered a pure sacrifice.  Both C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams understand this sacrificial love and portray scenes of great intensity in their novels Till We Have Faces and All Hallows' Eve, respectively.  Characters such as Orual, Psyche, and the Fox from Lewis's novel sacrifice themselves for others out of a familial type of love for one another.  The sacrifices made by the characters from Williams's novel, Lester and Betty, also suffer for one other, but these substitutions are fueled by a type of friendship that is only possible through full understanding of each individual.  Both of these novels convey a true understanding of sacrificial love.  The meaning and very essence of sacrificial love is the same in both Lewis's and Williams's writings..."

"The Norman Conquest was a time of turbulent upheaval of political power in English history.  Not only was did the ruling family change, but the culture that was brought with them changed the culture of England forever.  Some of the most significant and telling pieces of history left to the modern day are manuscripts.  Through these, there is evidence of a society of change, where social ideas and theology, among many other things, are morphing.  It is, therefore, imperative that scholars not waste these resources when trying to fit history into a cultural context.  As Olson states in Fair and Varied Forms, “Interpreting historical texts in terms of their larger cultural context is both necessary and problematic.”  With this in mind, I endeavor to discover and discuss major differences found in the Harley and Eadwine Psalters in relation to their parent-document, the Utrecht Psalter, in order to find evidence by which scholars may examine the cultural climate in which each manuscript was created.  Differences in these specific manuscripts may then lead to speculation about the choices made by the creators and inform scholars of the contemporary culture of Canterbury, and more widely England, in the turbulent time of the Norman Conquest..."

In modern American high schools, technology has changed the way we view education and the teaching of literature. In this thesis, I do not seek to argue completely in support or against technology in education. Rather, I wish to explore the consequences of a technologically rich classroom on the teaching of literature. New media such as Facebook, YouTube, and other social and creative outlets are explored and analyzed for effects on the teaching of literature, specifically in high school education. Also, I explore the shifting idea of the Digital Divide in the modern classroom and investigate the new and developing causes of this separation between man and machine. In today's classrooms, teachers must work in a state of constant change and adjustment when it comes to technology. However, in the face of all of this change, has the teaching of literature shifted for good or for ill?