The Words Crowned: A Comparative Study Of The Poetics Of Dylan Thomas And Osip Mandelstam

The present MA thesis attempts a comparative study between an English poet Dylan Thomas and a Russian poet Osip Mandelstam in the light of some noteworthy linguistic phenomena that characterize both poets'creations. By bringing to light, probing deep into and establishing linkage between these phenomena the thesis aims to demonstrate some distinctive characteristics of modern poetry as well as afford the reader a spectacle of the glamour of world poetry in comparison.The thesis falls into six chapters.The introductory part outlines the motivation of the thesis by placing it in the perspective of comparative literature. By first adumbrating the splendid poetic traditions of both UK and Russia and then indicating the absence of serious comparative study between English and Russian poetry in the domestic academia, the author sensitizes the reader to the urgency as well as the originality of such a thesis. Meanwhile it is encouraging to learn that the author's intention actually coincides with that of Mandelstam himself in what he terms the"fraternal union"of world poets, part of the Russian poet's life-long endeavour to transcend national, linguistic and cultural boundaries to enlighten poetry with a global perspective. This is followed by a delineation of the two poets'life, literary career and major literary achievements, and a literature review of the criticism on both poets on a worldwide basis. The chapter ends with the author's claim to originality, based on his survey of worldwide Thomas-Mandelstam criticism, and an indication of the theories used in the thesis.Chapter Two,"The Word Obsession", serves as a prelude to the subsequent systematic, exhaustive comparisons between the two poets by initiating a discussion on both poets'inherent sensitivity to and sustained obsession with words. As both poets are acutely sensitive to words, they are in a position to tease out the ingeniously accidental meanings concealed in commonplace words; and as they are relentlessly obsessed with words, they turn their genius word-sensitivity to good account in their poetry creations, producing verse lines charged with meaning and leaving the reader with rich, lingering aftertaste.Chapter Three,"The Word Cult", deals with the materiality of words in both poets'works. This is the natural result of both poets'painstaking obsession with words, which finds expression in both poets foregrounding words as words in their poetry. The word is no longer an appendage to the thing it designates; it exists not merely as a means of getting meanings across, but as a tangible object capable of its own independent, meaningful existence. In both poets'works, words draw attention to themselves by flaunting their material being; they appeal strongly to the senses with striking material aspects they invoke: sound, shape, colour, imagery, verbal texture, etc.Chapter Four,"The Estranged and Estranging Word"is in essence an exploration of the various means taken by both poets to achieve lexical materiality. The word-thing unity, or the autonomy granted to words, is actualized by both poets estranging words to dramatic effect, by having the reader wrestle with words in a more strenuous, self-conscious way than usual. Thus oriented, this chapter naturally comes in the light of Russian Formalism, with particular reference to"defamiliarization", the central concept of this literary critical thinking. Thomas and Mandelstam are examined in their respective perspective of defamiliarized words. The thesis illustrates that Thomas's innovative distortions of language and Mandelstam's"creative cognition"are powerful means to achieve infinite originality of words, therefore bringing the reader into a heightened, more intimate possession of existence.Chapter Five,"The Blessed Meaningless Word", addresses itself to the ambiguity and polysemy inherent in both poets. With words'autonomy established and words beginning to exist in their ontological being, the denotative power of words weakens and words are therefore no longer fettered to any stable, identifiable meaning. The socially agreed signifier-signified bonds disintegrate; signifieds keep sliding under their signifiers, defying any attempt to pin down to a single, static meaning. This highly volatile referential system renders both poets amenable to deconstructive interpretation. Deconstruction is like a kaleidoscope through which Thomas and Mandelstam are rocked and viewed in all their glamour and sophistication.The concluding chapter not only subjects what is discussed in the previous chapters to objective and elevated retrospection, but also probes into the causative factors that underlie the unique linguistic phenomena found in the two poets, demonstrating that by virtue of crowning the words, both poets succeed in extricating themselves from the linguistic crisis that came up at the turn of the 20th century. At the close of the thesis the author affords a tantalizing glimpse of the charm of world poetry in comparison to stimulate more researches in this regard.The thesis proceeds in a progressive fashion from phenomenon to essence, with its various parts formulated in a mutually responsive, cause-and-effect relationship. Throughout the thesis the author's argumentation is illustrated with copious quotations from both poets as well as many other eminent critics. The lead-in poem or exposition to each chapter encapsulates the substance of the discussion and is crucial to an incisive understanding of the thesis.