W. Somerset Maugham: theory and practice
Abstract
Few contemporary authors have been so honestly articulate about their work and as variously treated by criticism as Somerset Maugham. This thesis proposes to concentrate upon his significant novels and attempt to bring into sharper focus the relationship between his personal and critical writing and these works; examining connections between his theory of fiction and its practice. Chapter One, "Somerset Maugham and the Novel: The Traditional Base," considers Maugham's theory of fiction and places him generally in the wider context of twentieth century English literature through the establishment of how he differs from the experimental thrust of the "moderns" in his adherence to traditional norms in writing and in life. In Chapter Two, "Liza of Lambeth: The Essential Somerset Maugham," we attempt to ascertain the qualities already apparent in his first novel which would form his later "stock-in-trade"--to find, in fact, the essential man. The most intensely personal expression of Maugham's outlook on life is contained in Of Human Bondage. Chapter Three sets out to examine the cathartic effects of this novel upon the author, the freeing of his spirit from oppressive memories of the past into a fully evolved philosophy of life which permitted him to face the world with equanimity and a new "cosmopolitanism" that helped produce his major successes as a stylist of fiction. Chapter Four , "The Moon and Sixpence: From Bondage to the "I ,'" establishes the relationship of the Maugham "I " to the purgative outcome of Of Human Bondage, and proceeds to demonstrate how the first person singular (as Maugham used it) controls his narrative delivery in the examination of a favorite thematic omnibus--the artist, his art, his society, and his genius. Maugham's finest stylistic achievement is Cakes and lli,, where narration through the "I" allows him to display his best talents as a novelist. Chapter Five endeavors to show why this book is indeed the magnum opus in a ll of his twenty novels. Finally, Chapter Six, "The Razor's Edge: Maugham in Decline ," discusses the aging novelist's last serious attempt to wrestle with the enigma of existence, a subject far too great for his ebbing powers as a narrative craftsman to record in what could be called a completely successful manner. As well, some aspects of Maugham's ultimate view of life a reexamined . In all, it is my opinion that as a novelist, Somerset Maugham has been paradoxically either over-praised or undervalued. The wider task of this thesis, then, is to demonstrate his weaknesses and strengths as a writer of prose fiction, through which relationship his true place in the history of English literature can be suggested.
Description
Bibliography: p. 206-211.
Keywords
Citation
Markin, A. (1974). W. Somerset Maugham: theory and practice (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24476