Fashioning the gothic : interpreting the proto-gothic mode in Thomas Lodge's a margarite of America
department or school: Creative and Critical Studies, Faculty of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Pierce, Adelene (Gwen) Anthea
issued: 2019-08-14T15:52:40Z
issued: 2019
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: This thesis contributes to the rising field of Renaissance-Gothic studies, in which scholars have been examining a selection of the early modern period’s literature and theatre from the perspective of Gothic studies. These scholars make links between conventions recognized as characteristic within the Gothic genre, and certain narrative devices, tropes, settings, and character types present in many Renaissance texts. While most of the existing studies focus on drama, a small amount of research exists on other literary genres. My research is significant within this field of study because it will further explore the connections between early modern revenge tragedy and Gothic literature by branching out from drama to prose fiction. This thesis focusses on the proto-Gothic characteristics of Thomas Lodge’s 1596 romance, A Margarite of America; I argue that Lodge’s text ought to be included as part of a Gothic trajectory in literature because it exhibits many characteristics that have been identified in early modern texts that align with the development of the Gothic mode. For example, the duplicitous and tyrannical antagonist, the naive and vulnerable maiden-protagonist, the narrative’s thinly veiled critique of its author’s contemporary culture, an emphasis on theatrical or self-conscious personae, and other thematic and generic elements share affinities with eighteenth-century Gothic literature and with those early modern texts that have already been established as proto-Gothic. Lodge’s perversion of the romance genre, his villain’s relentless wickedness and his heroine’s tragic, unquestioning trust (to name three key points of my analysis), position A Margarite as Lodge’s ambivalent response to his cultural moment and align the text with Gothic motifs, themes, and subtexts. I compare Lodge’s text to Matthew Lewis’s Gothic novel, The Monk (1796) through in-depth analyses of characters, themes, and motifs, which contribute to identifying the proto-Gothic mode in Lodge’…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/71281
note: FASHIONING THE GOTHIC: INTERPRETING THE PROTO-GOTHIC MODE IN THOMAS LODGE'S A MARGARITE OF AMERICA by Adelene (Gwen) Anthea Pierce B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2013 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in The College of Graduate Studies (English) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) August 2019 © Adelene (Gwen) Anthea Pierce, 2019 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommended to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Fashioning the Gothic: Interpreting the Proto-Gothic Mode in Thomas Lodge's A Margarite of America Submitted by Adelene (Gwen) Anthea Pierce in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Examining Committee: Margaret Reeves, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisor Marie Loughlin, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member Jodey Castricano, Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Supervisory Committee Member James Hull, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences University Examiner iii ABSTRACT This thesis contributes to the rising field of Renaissance-Gothic studies, in which scholars have been examining a selection of the early modern period’s literature and theatre from the perspective of Gothic studies. These scholars make links between conventions recognized as characteristic within the Gothic genre, and certain narrative devices, tropes, settings, and character types present in many Renaissance texts. While most of the existing studies focus on drama, a small amount of research exists on other literary genres. My research is significant within this field of study because it will further explore the connections between early modern revenge tragedy and Gothic literature by branching out from drama to prose fiction. This thesis focusses on the proto-Gothic characteristics of Thomas Lodge’s 1596 romance, A Margarite of America; I argue that Lodge’…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2019-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0380424
language: eng
degree discipline: English
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/71281