Dark-Light Imagery in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure

<p>Although critics have turned increasingly to "poetic" techniques in Hardy's prose, the imagery in Jude the Obscure continues to invite close attention. Norman Holland sees Jude as more allegorical than realistic. In his view. Hardy uses symbols and images to deny the relevance of Christianity to the modern world and to criticize the Christian ideal of self sacrifice. McDowell gives his discussion a less allegorical focus and endeavors to relate various images to the actual lives of Jude Fawley and Sue Bridehead in society. Alastair Smart, on the other hand, explores the influence that art and artists had on Hardy's pictorial imagery. Whereas these and other critics have discussed symbolism and imagery in Hardy's novels, there appears to be no detailed analysis of the dark-light imagery in Jude the Obscure. It is the aim of this study, then, to explore this imagery in relation to the total structure by 1) describing briefly the nature of that structure, 2) establishing and classifying the dark-light images involved and 3) demonstrating their structural functions. For the purposes of this investi­gation, imagery may be understood as including figurative language.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Humanities

Year

1969

Author dc:creator

• Spellman, Clair Stephen

• Humanities
• Arts and Humanities

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/113

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.dominican.edu:humanities-print-theses-1112