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That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life
Bibliography: pages 135-141.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of English Language and Literature
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613204691025920 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Marks, Susan Jane |
| author2 | Glenn, Ian |
| author_browse | Glenn, Ian Marks, Susan Jane |
| author_facet | Glenn, Ian Marks, Susan Jane |
| author_sort | Marks, Susan Jane |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: pages 135-141. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22151 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:26.116Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/22151 That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life Marks, Susan Jane Glenn, Ian Autobiography Literary Studies Bibliography: pages 135-141. In this thesis, I approach autobiography in Another Life by exploring the linguistic means Derek Walcott uses to set up subjectivity in the text. In particular, I respond to Emile Benveniste's question: "what does I refer to" by examining the role of the first person pronoun in Another Life. In chapter one, I introduce the problem of "being in the text", attend to comments Walcott has made about the self, review criticism of the poem, raise issues which concern critics of autobiography, outline Benveniste's theory of subjectivity and Philippe Lejeune's observations on the use of the third person in autobiography. A thematic summary of the poem follows in the second chapter. The pronominal structure underlying Walcott's autobiography and the "biography" of a West Indian intelligence is traced in chapter three where I relate Walcott's dual perspective to Benveniste's definitions of discourse and historical narration. In the final chapter, close readings of selected textual extracts demonstrate the complexity of language phenomenalizing the pronoun I in different sequences of the poem. The readings support Benveniste's claim that the I "refers to the act of individual discourse in which it is pronounced" and the post-structuralist notion that the "self" is a linguistic construct. I conclude that Walcott's I assimilates both romantic and post-structuralist properties. 2016-10-16T09:48:36Z 2016-10-16T09:48:36Z 1989 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22151 eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Autobiography Literary Studies Marks, Susan Jane That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| title_full | That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| title_fullStr | That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| title_full_unstemmed | That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| title_short | That terrible vowel, that I : autobiography and Derek Walcott's Another life |
| title_sort | that terrible vowel that i autobiography and derek walcott s another life |
| topic | Autobiography Literary Studies |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22151 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markssusanjane thatterriblevowelthatiautobiographyandderekwalcottsanotherlife |