Date of Award

4-1-1976

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Dr. Jean Bressler

Abstract

In both style and theme, Adrienne Rich represents a provocative figure in contemporary poetry. Her ability to transcend mere transcription of her own experience sets are apart from most poets writing today. Penetrating insight, the ability to draw precise analogies and a creative sense of the language take her writing beyond polemics. In the tradition of Walt Whitman, Rich regards words as parts of reality, as well as symbols for it. Consequently, her language is like life, dynamic, vigorous, combining heterogenous elements. She is comfortable mixing classical references with contemporary. Her poetry incorporates scientific jargon, foreign phrases, and American slang. And because Rich respects words as small portions of life, she does not waste them in her own work.

Comments

A Thesis Presented to the Department of English and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright 1976 Marjorie Waterman.

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