The Qualities of Thomas Gray's Friendships

In writing upon "The Qualities of Thomas Gray's Friendships,” the writer chose a subject that would give her an opportunity to study a literary figure the had long admired. She wanted to assume a point of view differing from any the had encountered. She felt that her thesis could be substantiated, and that she would have a thorough knowledge of the poet of the Transitional period between the Neo-Classic and Romantic Ages. |The experience has been a very humbling one. The difficulty of arriving at more than an approximation of this comparatively minor character has made her realize how far from expert she is. One of the greatest difficulties of this particular study has been the editing of Gray's works. The edition by Mason is almost valueless because of the adulteration the poet suffered at hie hands. Since Mitford merely revised Mason, that edition is hardly more profitable. The only other available edition was that of Edmond Gosse. English authorities hailed his work as a great advance when it appeared at the beginning of the century. Later critics, however, have found him to be careless and inadequate in many respects. He has been replaced as the authentic editor and biographer of Gray. But the work of Duncan C. Tovey, who is now considered the better biographer, is not available locally; nor is the new and highly acclaimed edition of his works by Paget Toynbee end Leonard Whibley, which appeared in 1935. By necessity, then, all references in this dissertation are to Gosse’s edition unless otherwise noted. |The writer has not felt that comparisons of the texts were any part of this work.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

1939

Author dc:creator

• Pickard, June Dorothy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mullany, Leo A. S.J.

Statement dc:rights

• A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/91839

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/91839