Home early

I had to come home early today because Madison is a little ill. Well, she has the shits, that's all. I can understand how no one else would want to deal with it. She was sleeping when I got home so I got to eat some sardines as there is no one else in the house to complain about the smell. Mmmmm, sardines and pilot bread crackers.

Funny thing is that I might have come home earlier but the office looked at my schedule. They looked at the roster for fourth period and said, "We can't put anybody else into the class with THOSE kids." I kid you not.

So now I get a few extra hours with Madison and my thesis paper.

This thesis is gonna kill me. The research that I have to read is almost overwhelming. I first have to compare and summarize all the research that's out there and then do my study. I have only five pages already and I haven't really started. I basically have to summarize 200 years of Tennyson research first.

Here is my thesis proposal that my advisor signed off on:

Matt Butcher
National University, San Diego, CA
Prospectus for Thesis Project
4/06/06


TOPIC
This thesis will deconstruct the concepts of the mourning and acceptance of death as defined in the book On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross throughout Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. In this body of poetry published in 1850 and written after the death of Tennyson’s friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, that Tennyson experienced the stages of the acceptance of death as later recognized and published in the 1969 book by Kubler-Ross. This psychological recognition in a work published more than 100 years before the psychological study showcases how this theme of literature transcends the centuries.

THESIS STATEMENT
The death of Tennyson’s close friend in 1833 was a serious blow to the poet. In a series of 131 poems plus epilogue that took seventeen years to write, Tennyson explores how this death has affected him. The poetry is definitely set up in stages, from the complete denial of such a thing to his eventual acceptance. It is this work that gives us the phrase, “’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.” It is the understanding that this explication of Tennyson’s poetry along Kubler-Ross’ five stages of the acceptance of death not only validates the theories of Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, but also gives a broader and more universal appeal to Tennyson’s work.

METHOD
Complete explanation of Kubler-Ross’ stages of the acceptance of death will be made. Tennyson’s work “In Memoriam” will be divided into the distinct five sections as delineated by Kubler-Ross’ theory. These sections will then be examined and shown distinctly how they match up to the five stages of Kubler-Ross’ theory. Some emphasis will be made as to how this makes the poetical work even more universal in appeal.


Thesis Advisor:___________________________________________Date:___________
Program Director:__________________________________________Date:__________