Date of Award
5-2022
Degree Type
Creative Project
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
English
Committee Chair(s)
Benjamin Gunsberg (commitee chair)
Committee
Benjamin Gunsberg
Committee
Christine Cooper Rompato
Committee
Michael Sowder
Abstract
This thesis forms the foundation for a poetry chapbook infused with Norse mythology and pain. It builds itself on two distinct strands. In the first, I reclaim the story of Hel, goddess of death, and attempt to humanize a figure historically branded as monstrous. Her life forms a narrative line through the collection that attempts to capture the whimsy and horror in myth. Intertwined with the goddess are poems centered around a contemporary speaker who suffers from chronic migraine, an autoimmune disease, unexplained tachycardia, and OCD. The poems in this personal strand vary heavily in both form and content but work to target the emotional core of chronic illness and pain. As Hel is known to be half corpse, it is shared suffering that bridges both women across time. Through this chapbook, I hope to be able to represent the pain inherent in life, but also the life we claim despite it.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Madeline, "The End of the Known World" (2022). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023. 1639.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1639
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