On marvellous things seen and heard

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Derived formally from Aristotle's Minor Work of the same title, my variation of "On Marvellous Things [Seen and] Heard" explores a range of literary appropriations of art and music, in terms of translation and metamorphosis. Part investigation, part inventory, and part invention (in the musical sense: a composition in simple counterpoint), this dissertation indirectly assays the narrating subject as she directly assays literatures that presume to speak, and not speak, of sounds and silences. Structured as a triptych (I. Critical Introductions, II. Creative Body, III. Critical Conclusions), three essays serve to frame the hybrid Galerie de Difformité at the collection's core. Adhering to natural processes of deformation and reformation, "On Marvellous Things Seen and Heard" draws upon a variety of disciplines and approaches, including museum studies, art history, disability studies, and music. In the vein of the "open work" (to borrow Umberto Eco's term), this critical and creative collection straddles literary genres to challenge their boundaries.