Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Writing

Department

Creative Writing

First Advisor

Beth Mead

Second Advisor

Glenn Irwin

Third Advisor

Mark George

Abstract

This collection of poems and short stories is an attempt to answer what Matthew Arnold calls "the eternal note of sadness." The thesis contains poems, two short stories, and one personal narrative. While each of these can be read with different interpretive slants, I choose here to show how each work in this collection is a response to the eternal note of sadness. The poems and personal narrative in the first part of this collection are concerned with the writer's quest, and l will go into depth discussing each of these poems and the narrative because I think they directly relate back to my understanding of the poet's duty. This section is followed by a collection of poems in the section, "Nature's Melody." Also in this section is the short story, "Leaving," which uses imagery from nature (i.e. falling leaves) to further cement the idea of separation. This story also looks at the sadness inherent in a broken mother/daughter relationship. Furthering the relationship theme is the next section, "Playing in the Band." These poems look at the brokenness of several different relationships in an effort to ask how much we really know one another. The last section of poems and one short story are labeled "Caught." These poems are concerned with catching and holding the note of sadness long enough to realize it in these particular instances. The short story is "Neff Road Pier." This short story examines a teen caught between relationships and loneliness.

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