Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2003

Thesis Director

John Martone

Abstract

This study examines the various ways in which Malcolm Cowley develops and uses sense of place in his works Blue Juniata: Collected Poems and Exile's Return. Through examination of the literature, I identify four phases of place sense. Starting with childhood in the Identification phase, I illustrate the development of Cowley's place perspective through his poems and writings. As he moves through Adventure and Exile phases, I discuss their relation to the Identification phase and to each other. Likewise, I consider the role of the Nostalgia phase as a bridge from literary to experiential perception. Through close examination of his writing, I define the identifying features of each phase as well as their relationship to other phases.

Further, I examine Cowley's use of phases of place perception. One use is generational identification, allowing Cowley to differentiate his literary generation from those coming both before and after. Similar to this idea is the use of place perception to identify a certain time period. By linking place and ideology, Cowley metonymically references a certain set of experiences. The role of place perception as a metonymic identifier is drawn from the idea that place perception serves as a guide to background knowledge for the reader. An important aspect of its use as a guide is the establishment of common experience between Cowley and his audience. Finally, I explain the use of place perception as a mechanism for developing "story."

While I include Cowley's own ideas concerning generations and the cycle of Adventure and Exile, the main assertion of my investigation is that he presents four distinct phases of place perception. Also, this study presents various ways in which Cowley uses place perception as an organizing theme in his works. Further, while he describes many of his experiences as attempts to disassociate from place, place perception is, paradoxically, at all times central to his thinking. Cowley uses various aspects of place and place perception in such a way that his own ideas of identity are inextricably tied to it. Ultimately, his life, as presented through his literature, illustrates the passage from naive childhood to nostalgic reflection.

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