PhD Theses and Dissertations

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A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF T.S.ELIOT'S THE WASTE LAND
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2002) Aurangzeb; Supervisor Dr Mujeeb Rahman
The poem, The Waste Land has been chosen as the sole object of analysis for the present work for a number of reasons; the foremost being its obscurity. Immediately after its publication, a number of literary critics alleged that it was mere a fusion of five disproportionate poems, lacking coherence and thematic unity — a broken bundle of images. The multiplicity of myths makes it a cultural ramble rather than a well-organised poem. I, however, contend that a great piece of literature by a poet of Eliot’s stature, and with such an ambitious claim for the poem, cannot be mere a conglomeration of references and allusions without any coherent pattern or unity. The poet himself claims that The Waste Land is an epic in miniature, not dealing with a generation, but with modern humanity. The poem undoubtedly abounds in literary, mythological, anthropological and religious allusions, demonstrating the poet’s erudition. Despite its being one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century, no concerted effort has been made so far to highlight the coherence of the poem. I maintain that every great piece of literature qualifies the test of time and that The Waste Land seems no exception to this rule. Therefore, through this work, an effort has been made to spotlight the coherent pattern of the poem both aesthetically and linguistically. Being intellectually challenging and packed with a great deal of cross-cultural allusions and references, the poem cannot be holistically appreciated through a simple, syntactic analysis. Therefore, a broad-based eclectic approach has been adopted to cater to the needs of the multi-dimensional nature of the poem at various levels. First, the individual parts of the poem are analysed and their coherence established with their respective titles. Then all the five parts are evaluated in the light of the main title of the poem, and the trans-sectional unity established through lexical items having the highest frequency occurrence. Finally, a broad-based coherence is established through a tripartite relationship of the aesthetic, lexical I (sectional) and lexical II (inter-sectional) levels. Our findings reveal that the poem’s cohesive pattern may appear allusive at syntactic level, but it has a coherent pattern both at the micro and macro levels. And like a gigantic symphony, each small piece, seemingly a discord contributes to the broader harmony of the poem.
Romanticism in Hardy's Novels: The Agony of Sensibilities
(Department of English, University of Peshawar, 2002) Abdus Salam (Khalis); Supervised by Dr. Mujeed Rahman
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is a rare literary figuE: a novelist and a poet of very outstanding calibre, having a unique epic drama and some critical articles and reviews to his credit as well. "lhough his Career as a novelist (1871-1895) is much shorter than that as a poet, he is generally celebrated as a great novelist. His keen understanding of the eternal human sentiments and — a universal sensitivities has rendered his works — novels, in particular human heritage. That is why he is one of the very few English novelists who are equally read, reviewed •and appreciated abroad as at home. The vast range Of his — occasional adversity — of readers and critics has naturally led to diversity opinions and interpretations regarding his art. Certain concepts, notions and terms, however, are so recurrently applied to his works that they have almost become his marks of identification. These term* include Fatalism, Determinism, Pessimism, Agnosticism and 'Meliorism' etc. Most of them have typical philosophical orientation, reflective of the Victorian tendency of analyzing all modes Of human perception and expression, including those of art and aesthetics, from intellectual angle, deriving therein philosophical and scientific convictions, like the ones denoted by these terms. This thesis deviates from all such studies, as it attempts to disentangle Hardy's fictional art from the typical Victorian fetters by assigning to it more universal perspectives and connotations. The basic contention is that Hardy's literary and aesthetic concerns are the product of sensibilities, feelings and impressions, and that intellectual convictions can never cover them appropriately. Thus we have attempted to 100k at his art from a more relevant, convenient and interesting angle, that Of 'Romanticism', reinterpreting his themes, ideals, characters and plots according to the deeper dimensions of this purely aesthetic term. It does not mean that so far no attempt has been made to study Hardy's works from this perspective. As stated in the Literature Review, some critics and biographers have used the term in reference to Hardy. But they have taken the outer dimensions of romanticism, like appreciation of Nature and rural culture, mostly in a strictly early nineteenth Century perspective, hence proving Hardy to be more akin to Wordsworth and Coleridge than to Shelley, Byron and Keats. As reflected by the subtitle of the thesis — 'The Agony Of Sensibilities' — this discussion focuses on the deeper human dimensions of romanticism in Hardy's novels, redefining the term 'Romanticism' itself in a deeper and more universal sense. It leads one to conclude that Hardy's was a romantic heart in a Victorian frame, and if we liberate him from the intellectual compulsions of the age in which he lived, a more interesting and more convincing interpretation of his art can be derived, exonerating him from many of the stereotypical notions projecting his image as a pessimist.
A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare's Syzygy of Meaning
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2008) Muhammad Ismail Wali; Supervised by Nasir Jamal Khattak
This dissertation applies Jungian psychology to the study of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The dreamlike nature of the play provides a rich context for exploring its symbolic meaning and psychological dimensions. The events of the play take place in a strange, magical, and psychological world. The characters and their experiences can be understood through Carl Jung’s concept of individuation, which refers to the integration of opposing aspects of the personality and the development of a complete and balanced self. The structure of the play symbolically represents the continuous interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind and between the different aspects of the human psyche. The play also deals with two important stages of human life: adolescence and middle age. The experiences and development of the characters are examined from a Jungian psychological perspective. The young lovers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream express their emotions and behave in ways that often go beyond social and cultural restrictions. Their major psychological challenge is to confront the shadow, or the hidden aspects of the unconscious mind, and gradually move toward emotional and psychological maturity.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: A Journey towards Individuation
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2010) Sayyed Zahid Ali Shah Ph. D. Research Scholar; Supervisor Nasir Jamal Khattak, Ph.D (Amherst)
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”: A Journey towards Individuation The strategy of my dissertation project is to take the fictional character of the Ancient Mariner as a particular test case of psychic processes and move towards a general delineation of timeless human psyche. The tool of my analyses is Jungian analytical psychology the preference and choice of which can be argued on many counts. Jung’s emphasis on the extraordinary importance and potential of the human unconscious and with it its archetypal contents are remarkably fitting into the body structure and course of narrative of the Rime. Notwithstanding the equal plausibility and currency of Freudian psychology for literary analyses, Jung’s revolutionary reinterpretation of the unconscious has added a new dimension to human psychology. Contrary to Freud’s theory, which considers the unconscious as a repository of the infantile repressed contents, Jung believes that the unconscious is a sufficiently potential half of the Self that positively and constructively helps and regulates the conscious half. The archetypal contents of the unconscious, according to Jung, if rightly understood and assimilated in the conscious workings of the psyche, may reveal unspeakable human truths. Although symbolic pattern of the Rime has been extensively analyzed by critics and commentators in their respective historical perspectives and mind-sets, a general comprehension of it is only possible through experiences that are legible to an eternal human mind. The basic structure of the human mind (psyche) is invariably the same since time immemorial. Its eternal constituents remain intact no matter how many revolutions may occur in histories, cultures, religions, or civilizations.
The Synthesizing Wordsworth: A Jungian Reading
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2011) Mushtaq ur Rehman PhD Research Scholar; Supervisor Nasir Jamal Khattak, PhD (Amherst)
The Synthesizing Wordsworth: A Jungian Reading May, 2011 Ph.D. UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR Supervised by: Nasir Jamal Khattak, Ph. D (Amherst) The world that we live in today is given to realities, practicalities, and pragmatic experiences. The result is that we have grown too practical to accept the value of something poetical and imaginative. We usually discard such things as unverifiable. Using Jung as a tool, this study focuses on reading Wordsworth’s poetry to reassess our priorities for self-knowledge. Wordsworth’s poetry provides us with a rich ground for exploring symbolic messages especially coded in his treatment of Nature. Nature for Wordsworth is what a Jungian would call the unconscious. Wordsworth’s assertion to stay close to nature amounts to accessing the unconscious for individuation. His poetry shows that in their pursuit of adjusting themselves to the social environment and the world surrounding them, humans distance themselves from ‘Nature’, i.e., the unconscious. In the blind pursuit of the outer world, they become persona-possessed to the utter neglect of the inner one.
SEMANTICO-SYNTACTIC FEATURES OF OSCAR WILDE’S FAIRY TALES
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2012) Rubina Rahman; Supervisor Professor Mujib Rahman, PhD (Edinburgh)
Fairy tales have always had an irresistible fascination for children and adults alike. As a text type, they have a very old tradition that goes back to antiquity. Over the centuries, the fairy tale has developed its own structure and set of conventions that classify it as a separate genre. Its roots are in the oral narrative tradition. With an increase in literacy and the invention of the printing press, it developed its own distinct written version referred to as the literary fairy tale, which, over the years, have been collected or compiled by various writers, the most famous among them being the Brothers Grimm. A name within this genre that has not received his due literary recognition is that of Oscar Wilde, for his literary fairy tales have been overshadowed by his brilliant plays and his towering personality. In this study, we examined Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales and attempted to establish them as belonging to the fairy tale text type by investigating their structure and their semantic as well as their syntactic features. First, we applied Propp’s morphological model to study their syntactic structure. Second, we focused on the manner in which the Faerie Realm is created in the tales. For this purpose, we analysed the interplay of time and space in the discourse world of the tales from a cognitive stance; and explored the use of grammatical devices.
Jane Austen’s Novels: A Narrative of Ethical, Social, and Sexual Power Politics
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2012) SAMINA ASHFAQ PhD Research Scholar; Supervisor Nasir Jamal Khattak, PhD (Amherst)
Jane Austen’s Novels: The Narrative of Ethical, Social, and Sexual Power Politics February 2012 MA, University of Peshawar PhD, University of Peshawar Directed by: Nasir Jamal Khattak, PhD (Amherst) Most of Jane Austen’s novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, make readers conscious of the realities of life in an entertaining way. We relate to the experiences of the characters and laugh with them in their moments of absurdities and weaknesses. Their follies and hypocrisies, their worries and sorrows, their limitations and compromises with society and others reflect us and our traits. We see these characters move around us even today. In struggle for survival and living a desirable life, some succumb to the pressures of the social, ethical, and sexual politics. Such people choose on the standards of what the society considers “appropriate,” “desirable,” and “practical.” While others deviate from the social norm. And while they apparently make life difficult for themselves, they end up having a better and productive life. Such is the irony of life. All live it; some with pain and misery in it; others with peace of mind and happiness in it. Pride and Prejudice shows how with the passage of time societies and their denizens undergo a change, but that there are some who are too rigid to keep pace with the changing times. This behaviour on part of these characters makes them the butt of the laughter of others. However, there are others, who through their intelligence and consciousness adjust themselves to the changing times. The problems that her characters confront are our problems and so we live in the novel with them. Like her characters we too are self-centered, proud, and conscious of our persona with such extremity that we forget the existence of others. Wrapped up in the pursuit of IX our desires we trespass the rights of others without any regard for them. In the struggle for “desirable” survival, the characters indulge themselves in social, ethical and sexual dilemmas which are part and parcel of human existence irrespective of time and place. Instead of looking at their partners as their extension, most of the Austen’s characters “otherize” their relatives, friends, and partners.
Traits of Modernism in Hardy's Female Protagonists Instinctual Versus Social Selves
(Department of English, University of Peshawar, 2012) Shazia Ghulam Mohammad; Supervised by Prof. Dr. Abdus Salam
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) — a versatile literary genius and one of the most celebrated English novelists— has subtly combined the traditional heritage of the Victorian era with modern literary trends, linking the two centuries divided by conflicting schools of thought. Though having created memorable scenes, settings and unique places, his prime focus is on inner human sensibilities. Among humans, it is the fair sex which gets more share of his attention. His sensitive mind dwells on women and the issues faced by them due to their anatomical marginalization. Unlike his Victorian contemporaries who treated the mental and emotional complexities of women in accordance with the typical and Victorian perception of their nature and character, Hardy has made a difference by deviating significantly. The most instrumental form of this deviation is his anticipation of the ways in which women would be perceived and portrayed in the coming century epitomized by the term “Modernism”.
Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea: A Quest for Identity
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2014) Humaira Aslam Ph.D. Research Scholar; Supervisor Nasir Jamal Khattak PhD (Amherst)
Ernest Hemingway's Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is an extraverted individual who is rarely ever home; he is usually out there in the sea. On the other hand, he lives a lonely life and is secluded from the people around him. He thinks of himself as a champion angler who, despite his old age, can catch big fish. He dreams of his past glory and hopes that once again he will be what he was in his youth. His desire to be the champion angler once again blinds him to his old age. Lonely and alone, Manolin, Santiago's apprentice-boy believes in him and in his dream. He is the only companion that he has both in the sea and on the land. Santiago thinks the world of himself in being the 'champion angler' which he was in his youth. The long dry spell of not being able to catch fish has made him sceptical and has earned him the title, 'salao,' from his peers. In addition to repeating his past feats, he wants to prove to his people that he is more than what they think of him. While his strict adherence to the old and traditional ways to catch fish shows his love and attachment with the sea and fishing, it also shows how he has failed to stay in touch with time. Thus his personality is lopsided, which prevents him from partaking in the mainstream life; hence being marginalized and ostracized. He will continue to face such problems until he compromises a sense of himself between what he thinks he is and what the world around him thinks of him: he has to re-connect with his unconscious as Jung would say.
STRUCTURAL CASE LICENSING IN PASHTO: A MINIMALIST PERSPECTIVE
(Departmentof English & Applied Linguistics, University of Peshawar, 2014) Talat Masood; Supervisor Professor Mujib Rahman, PhD (Edinburg)
Because of its ubiquitous and predominantly overt nature, grammarians have never been able to disregard the phenomenon of case. While the traditional grammar coined dozens of names for different forms of case, due to treating case simultaneously along syntactic, semantic and morphological lines, resulting in a confused tangle, the generative enterprise, especially the minimalist program, introduced a certain amount of clarity by separating these notions. However, Pashto grammarians remained oblivious of these phenomenal achievements in the area of case. All that we have are a few traditional accounts of case in Pashto. To fill this gap, this thesis takes the minimalist idea of agreement in terms of features between a functional head and a nominal (Schütze, 1997; Chomsky, 2001) as its starting point. For Pashto language, it is proposed that a) ϕ-features agreement between the functional category T and a nominal results in assigning nominative Case to that nominal, b) ϕ-features agreement between υ or Voice and a nominal results in assigning accusative Case to that nominal, c) ϕ-features agreement between the functional head Appl and a nominal results in assigning dative Case to that nominal, and d) agreement in terms of [N] feature between the functional head D and a possessor results in assigning genitive Case to that nominal. Predominantly, Pashto nominals show nominative-accusative pattern in the present and future tenses, and accusative-nominative (ergative-absolutive) pattern in the past tense. The verb agrees with the subject in the present and future tenses, and with the object in the past tense. This thesis proposes that this has to do with the close relation that exists between the past tense and the passive voice in Pashto, a well-established fact already reported for other Indo-Iranian languages.

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