| Summary: | Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2003 The story of Sir John Franklin, nineteenth-century British Arctic explorer, has been reinterpreted and reworked by poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists for more than a century and half. This thesis is an attempt to discover the character and significance of the literary legacy of Sir John Franklin by exploring authors' uses of four common tropes: food, sex, death, and quest. In analyzing these tropes, this thesis focuses primarily on five works of contemporary Canadian literature: Margaret Atwood's short story, "The Age of Lead"; Gwendolyn MacEwen's radio verse play, Terror and Erebus; Geoff Kavanagh's play, Ditch; Mordecai Richler's novel, Solomon Gursky Was Here; and Rudy Wiebe's novel, A Discovery of Strangers. In addition, other works of literature are considered. An appendix lists more than fifty creative works that incorporate Sir John Franklin. Chapter 1. Introduction: A Story Richly Fraught with the Materials of Poetic Interest -- Chapter 2. The Story and the Telling of the Story: History, Literature, and Criticism -- Chapter 3. Food: The Man Who Ate His Shoes and Other Culinary Curiosities -- Chapter 4. Sex: Bum, Furtive Gropings, and Leather Madonnas -- Chapter 5. Death: Frozen Men and Bodies Like Shattered Compasses -- Chapter 6. Quest: Passages, Pilgrimages, and the Pole of Great Price -- Chapter 7. Conclusion: If the Record Is Substantial Enough. . . -- Works Cited -- Appendix: Bibliography of Creative Works that Incorporate Sir John Franklin.
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