LE3 .A278 2011

2011

Wyile, Andrea Schwenke

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

English

English & Theatre Studies

This thesis explores the recent global popularity of verse novels in children‟s literature through an examination of the use of metaphor in two Canadian children‟s verse novels: Pamela Porter‟s The Crazy Man and Kevin Major‟s Ann and Seamus, with illustrations by David Blackwood. The first chapter defines both metaphor and the verse novel, and examines aspects of Canadian identity that have been established in children‟s literature. The second chapter discusses the novels as works of historical fiction and how events, both local and national, affect both the characters‟ and the readers‟ personal and cultural identity. The third chapter explores the child‟s journey in establishing a sense of home, an aspect of the child‟s identity, through metaphors developed from the physical landscape distinctive to the Prairie and Atlantic regions of the respective novels. Having defined these conceptual metaphors and explored their associated metaphorical linguistic expressions, this thesis concludes that the Canadian children‟s verse novel, because of its connections to everyday language, is an excellent genre through which to establish a sense of self and national identity not only for its characters, but also for verse novel readers. The children‟s verse novel allows for a personal exploration of the self through first-hand perspectives of characters, but also through important cultural ideals. The verse novel can highlight that culture and one‟s identity are inherently connected.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:796