The visionary element in the writings of John Cowper Powys and William Golding.

This thesis is a parallel exploration of the writings of John Cowper
Powys and William Golding, as comparable examples of the visionary
temperament in English literature. An analysis of the nature of 'visionary
literature' is made - focusing on such matters as the use of mythic
models, an attachment to the locally numinous, a sympathy with the
primitive and the grotesque, a violent quasi-Manichean depiction of human
nature and interaction, manifesting a religious or ritualist sensibility,
redeemed or transformed by moments of vision - to provide a context in
which to examine the work of Powys and Golding.
The non-fiction of the two writers demonstrates many shared interests
and preoccupations, and has been analysed on the following lines: its use
of autobiographical and familial evidence; its detailed anatomy of man as
a species I its visionary attachment to a specific sense of place; its
exploration of a stratified and hierarchic social perspective; its
theories of art, novel-writing and creativity; its overall 'world-view';
its evocation of visionary moments and their Significance.
The rest of this thesis examines the ways in which these similar
opinions and philosophies are transmuted into fiction. In the case of
Powys, I review the early fiction I focusing particularly on After My
Fashion, as tentative steps towards the achieved fictional evocation of
Powys' mature world-view which is manifested in the Wessex novels. I
illustrate the ways in which, despite certain technical shortcomings, the
Wessex novels most successfully affirm Powys' visionary beliefs.
I then turn to Golding's later fiction. I have attempted to justify
my claim that Darkness Visible triumphantly embodies the complexities of
Golding's recent statements of belief in a convincing fictional form.
Finally, the other late fiction is assessed, putting subtle and often
comic shadings onto Golding's visionary outlook.