Date of Award
7-1975
Degree Type
Master's Essay - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Abstract
This paper stands as a refutation of my earlier consideration of Richard Chase. The initial premise on which the success or failure of this endeavor rests is that Chase has been seemingly misplaced -- or, at least, incompletely classified as a myth critic. Scanning through assorted volumes of critical study, Chase's name usually surfaces only in respect to his distinctive theory of myth (that which was voiced in his historical study, Quest for Myth, and related articles). And true, his critical study of Herman Melville brought to light an array of mythic patterns in the American artist's works. But to freeze Chase into that category could be partially erroneous since his interest in myth resembles a mere extension of larger concerns -- something which must be encountered enroute to an encompassing grasp of matters. As Chase himself states in an appendage to The American Novel and its Tradition: "I am not myself a myth critic, although I have been interested in myth, as in one way or another every student of literature must be, and although my first book, Quest for Myth, was a historical study of the subject."
Recommended Citation
Zlogar, Richard, "Richard Chase Reconsidered" (1975). Master's Essays (1922 - ). 2547.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/essays/2547
Comments
An Essay Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin