Publication Date
7-1975
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
James A. Pearse, Hoyt Bowen, Lee Mitchell
Degree Program
Department of Communication
Degree Type
Master of Arts
Abstract
The object of this study is to examine the diction of “Scenes of Passion and Despair” by Joyce Carol Oates in an attempt to discover performative attitudes for the interpreter. The discussion centers on the theme of illusion and reality as it manifests itself in the story. Because this theme superimposes itself on diction, it becomes necessary to examine words in detail, searching for the manner in which words are used to create a certain degree of reality for each character of the story. The discovery of these realities reassures the interpreter that his is a faithful rendering of one possible interpretation of the story. A great deal of attention centers on the respective realities of the characters and the narrator in order to facilitate the interpreter in his criticism; one method in which this is accomplished is through an examination of the different realities revealed through diction. These realities pertain either to the narrator or the character of the woman. The final chapter demonstrates the manner in which the preceding study of diction becomes realized and defined in physical performance, thus showing how interpretation acts as one method of literary criticism.
Disciplines
Communication | Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory | English Language and Literature | Speech and Rhetorical Studies | Theatre and Performance Studies
Recommended Citation
Creed, Bruce, "Performance Attitudes Toward Read or Imagined Events in “Scenes of Passion and Despair” by Joyce Carol Oates" (1975). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 1657.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1657
Included in
Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons
Comments
Originally Department of Speech & Theatre