21st Annual Student Research Conference
(In)Fidelity in Ernest Dowson's "Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae"
Franklin K. R. Cline
Dr. Cole Woodcox, Faculty Mentor
A New Critical analysis of Ernest Dowson's poem "Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae," concentrating upon a series of minor tensions within the poem (light versus dark, past versus present, and tangible versus intangible) and the way in which those tensions along with the poem's rigid structural form contrast starkly with the speaker's wavering, tentative, and ultimately false message of fidelity. This major tension of form versus meaning comprises the heart of the text.
Keywords: new criticism, ernest dowson, fin de siècle, literary criticism
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 17-4
Location: OP 2121
Time: 10:30