Lyric poetry and the positioning of the lyric speaker

Lyric poetry is frequently viewed by critics as distinct from narrative poetry and prose. This distinction rests largely on the positioning of the lyric speaker vis-à-vis the poet author. Part of any definition of the lyric is the understanding that the lyric speaker is identical to the poet and therefore the poem is the unmediated direct expression of the poet’s thoughts and experiences. These assumptions which are endemic to literary and sometimes linguistic criticism have led to restricted critical studies and a preponderance of inappropriate biographical criticism. This thesis examines how the speakers in certain types of lyric poetry are positioned, and identifies where conceptions of lyric speakers may be causing the problem of the biographical fallacy. The central questions that structure this thesis are: • Why is the lyric speaker so often considered by critics to be identical to the poet and therefore an unmediated direct expression of the poet’s thoughts and experiences? • Can lyric poetry instead make use of the same complexity of perspectives, voices and mediation that narrative prose does? • What linguistic and narratological features in poetry deemed ‘personal’ to the poet might be creating the illusion of personalness, causing us to reduce this potential complexity to unmediated and monologic autobiography? I argue that the assumption that lyric poetry represents the monologic and unmediated voice of the poet is endemic in criticism and without a more precise examination of what lyric speakers do, poetic criticism will continue to fall back on biographical criticism despite the many theoretical attempts to leave it behind. By demonstrating that there is narrativity present in lyric poetry, I argue that narratological concepts can and should be applied to lyric poetry, and therefore I join a growing discussion about how theoretical approaches to poetry can be improved by using the tools that are used to analyse narrative. Overall, my thesis is an application of narrative theory to three distinct types of lyric poetry that best demonstrate the multiperspectivism of the lyric, but are at the same time central examples of the genre: lyric poetry which uses a turn or volta to encode multiple viewpoints, poetry which appears extremely personal and connected to its poet, and poetry based on experiences of real conflict. By using narrative theory (and where necessary drawing on literary linguistic models, such as text world theory, relevance theory and transitivity) , I analyse the point(s) of view expressed in poems considered quintessentially lyric and the positions and levels of mediation that the lyric speaker can adopt, thus demonstrating not only that lyric poetry can make use of the same complexity of perspectives, voices and mediation that narrative prose does, but that the poetic speaker operates in much the same way as that of a prose narrator. I argue that this should cause us to rethink how the speaker in lyric poetry is approached. In addition, I argue that by examining poetry in this way, we can move on from making assumptions about the biographical links between poetry and poets, and instead identify the linguistic features which cause us to assume that such a link is present

The neural processing of moral sensitivity to issues of justice and care.

The empirical and theoretical consideration of ethical decision making has focused on the process of moral judgment; however, a precondition to judgment is moral sensitivity, the ability to detect and evaluate moral issues [Rest, J. R. (1984). The major components of morality. In W. Kurtines & J. Gewirtz (Eds.), Morality, moral behaviour, and moral development (pp. 24–38). New York, NY: Wiley]. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and contextually standardized, real life moral issues, we demonstrate that sensitivity to moral issues is associated with activation of the polar medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, and posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). These activations suggest that moral sensitivity is related to access to knowledge unique to one\u27s self, supported by autobiographical memory retrieval and social perspective taking. We also assessed whether sensitivity to rule-based or “justice” moral issues versus social situational or “care” moral issues is associated with dissociable neural processing events. Sensitivity to justice issues was associated with greater activation of the left intraparietal sulcus, whereas sensitivity to care issues was associated with greater activation of the ventral posterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and thalamus. These results suggest a role for access to self histories and identities and social perspectives in sensitivity to moral issues, provide neural representations of the subcomponent process of moral sensitivity originally proposed by Rest, and support differing neural information processing for the interpretive recognition of justice and care moral issues

Foundations of character: methodological aspects of a study of character development in three- to six-year-old children with a focus on sharing behaviours

This article focuses on methodological issues arising in a study of character development, using illustrations of ‘sharing behaviours.’ Based primarily in six early years settings in southeast England the research records naturalistic observations of peer interactions for 55 children aged three to six years. Applying grounded theory to the processes of observing, analysing and interpreting evidence required a cautious and collectively reflective approach. The methodology sought to moderate the influence of the researchers' prior knowledge of ‘grand theories’ of moral development and assumptions about relevance to the observation records. The study's originality lay in the exploration of moral development without reference to any particular grand theory as an explanatory framework; and in the reluctance to be drawn to potentially simplistic rationalisations of the children's intentions on the basis of their observed behaviours. Exploring young children's subjective experiences, this research provides insights into the intricacy of this process, steering away from ‘neat’ findings and attempting to reflect the sophistication of the children's skilful and sometimes surprising negotiations of moral dilemmas. Implications for practice relate to the complexities involved in attempts to unravel the developing moral characters of young children and the practice through which this may be nurtured

Father–Daughter Bonds: A Comparison of Adolescent Daughters’ Relationships with Resident Biological Fathers and Stepfathers

Objective: To investigate whether the interpersonal dynamics of closeness are different in stepfather–stepdaughter versus father–daughter relationships during adolescence. Background: Establishing a general process model of the relational factors contributing to greater closeness between fathers and daughters is a preliminary step toward examining variations in such processes. Method: The data were from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ADD Health), a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Respondents were female adolescents who were living with either a biological father (n = 1,881) or stepfather (n = 273) and reported on the availability and involvement of their (step)fathers, as well as the communication and closeness in their relationship with him. Results: Involvement and communication were predictors of closeness in both types of relationships, however, communication was a stronger predictor of closeness between stepfathers and stepdaughters. For adolescent girls living with a stepfather, greater involvement with their stepfathers was associated with greater closeness to their non-resident biological fathers. The length of the relationship between stepfathers and stepdaughters was not associated with levels of closeness. Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that stepfather–stepdaughter relationships reflect similar interpersonal dynamics as father–daughter relationships but that establishing and maintaining these relationships through meaningful communication may be particularly important for stepfathers and stepdaughters. Implications: Practitioners working to help stepfamilies build stronger relationships may want to stress that investing in shared activities and maintaining meaningful communication can be particularly important for establishing and maintaining positive relationships between stepfathers and stepdaughters

Mode of Effective Connectivity within a Putative Neural Network Differentiates Moral Cognitions Related to Care and Justice Ethics

BACKGROUND: Moral sensitivity refers to the interpretive awareness of moral conflict and can be justice or care oriented. Justice ethics is associated primarily with human rights and the application of moral rules, whereas care ethics is related to human needs and a situational approach involving social emotions. Among the core brain regions involved in moral issue processing are: medial prefrontal cortex, anterior (ACC) and posterior (PCC) cingulate cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), insula and amygdala. This study sought to inform the long standing debate of whether care and justice moral ethics represent one or two different forms of cognition. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Model-free and model-based connectivity analysis were used to identify functional neural networks underlying care and justice ethics for a moral sensitivity task. In addition to modest differences in patterns of associated neural activity, distinct modes of functional and effective connectivity were observed for moral sensitivity for care and justice issues that were modulated by individual variation in moral ability. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results support a neurobiological differentiation between care and justice ethics and suggest that human moral behavior reflects the outcome of integrating opposing rule-based, self-other perspectives, and emotional responses

Die Vereinbarkeitsfrage für Männer: Welche Auswirkungen haben Elternzeiten und Teilzeitarbeit auf die Stundenlöhne von Vätern?

Studien zeigen, dass sich viele Väter in Deutschland wünschen, mehr Zeit mit ihren Kindern zu verbringen, dies aufgrund von langen Arbeitszeiten jedoch oft nicht umsetzen können. Elternzeit und Teilzeitarbeit könnten Optionen sein, die Vätern eine bessere Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf ermöglichen. Arbeitsmarkttheorien legen jedoch nahe, dass die Inanspruchnahme solcher Maßnahmen mit Lohneinbußen verbunden ist. Dementsprechend entscheiden sich derzeit viele Väter gegen diese Möglichkeiten zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf, da sie finanzielle Einbußen und Karrierenachteile befürchten. Um zu überprüfen, inwieweit diese Erwartungen empirisch fundiert sind, untersucht diese Arbeit daher den Einfluss von Elternzeit und Teilzeitarbeit auf die Stundenlöhne von Vätern. Fixed Effects-Analysen auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) 1991-2013 und Familien in Deutschland (FiD) 2010-2013 zeigen, dass Teilzeitarbeit mit Lohneinbußen verbunden ist. Eine Elternzeit wirkt sich hingegen nicht auf die Löhne von Vätern aus - unabhängig davon, ob Väter nur die beiden für sie reservierten Partnermonate oder eine längere Elternzeit in Anspruch nehmen. Die Ergebnisse deuten somit darauf hin, dass die gesetzliche Elternzeit Vätern einen Rahmen bietet, in dem sie sich stärker in ihren Familien engagieren können, ohne berufliche Nachteile zu erfahren.As previous research shows, many German fathers would like to spend more time with their children, but long working hours often restrict their opportunities to do so. Parental leave and part-time work could help fathers to reconcile work and family. Yet, labor market theories predict that using such family-friendly policies may lead to wage penalties. Hence, many fathers decide against using such policies because they fear that parental leave or part-time work will lead to financial penalties and career disadvantages. This article evaluates this concern by empirically examining the effect of parental leave and part-time work on fathers’ hourly wages. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1991-2013 and Families in Germany (FiD) 2010-2013, results from fixed-effects regression analyses show that part-time work is associated with wage penalties, but parental leave is not - irrespective of whether fathers only took the two months fathers’ quota or longer parental leaves. The results hence indicate that the German parental leave legislation enables fathers to spend more time with their children while protecting them from wage penalties at work