Resources about Discontinuity in Early American Literature
1. "Discontinuity." Oxford Enlish Dictionary. 17 June 2007.
The purpose of the website is to act as a guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It provides words, pronounciation, spellings and others from the English-speaking world all over. The aim of the website is to provide a record of how the English language is and has been used in writing and in speech. The page is credible because its committe is compiled of editors, authors, and researchers who are scholars and edcuated. The website is based on the first American reference work to offer a complete dictionary and thesaurus enteries.
The website provides the definition of discontinuity as "the quality or state of being discontinuous." Discontinuity is the seperation from the whole, "interrupted sequence," the inability to continue, "failure of continuity." Discontinuity is a theme that could be applied to the vision of the transcendentalism period where these visions seek the supernatural. The definition of discontinuity provided by the website suggest an idea of Jones Very and Walt Whitman's views, the seperation from the physical world in to the divine. For example, as Whitman portrays discontinuity in "Song of Myself" from his "Leaves of Grass" by his continuous dive into his actual and into his assumed self. An example in "Song of Myself" is his question, "What is a man anyhow," to which I assume he answers with "I know I am solid and sound," his actual self, then he continues to answer, "I know I am deathless," this would be his assumed and abstract self. -D.R
2. “American Literature Web Resources.” November 1999. 8 June 2007. < http://www.millikin.edu/aci/crow/basics/glossary.html >.
This college based website lists discontinuity as an element of modern literature, stating that it implies discontinuity, a sense of alienation, of loss, and of despair. It elevates the individual and his inner being over social man and prefers the unconscious to the self-conscious.” The website cites its sources for all of its definitions of literary terms. It really helped in getting me familiar with an element with which I was somewhat unfamiliar.
3. Drucker, Peter. “Discontinuity”. http://homepage.mac.com/bobembry/studio/biz/conceptual_resources/authors/peter_drucker/discontinuity.html
This website is a preface to a paperback edition. Drucker describe the social and cultural change occurring to define the term discontinuity. His book, The Age of Discontinuity, is a guideline to the changing society. As for the literary theme, this website helps me interpret the word as “major changes in the underlying social and cultural reality” (Drucker). A list of the content of the book are; Society of organizations (new pluralism, how can the individual survive, and new industries), World economy (making the poor productive) to name a few. The website is credible because the preface written here for the book is about discontinuity. The theme is “the continental drifts that form new continents, rather than the wars that form new national boundaries” (Drucker).
4.
Caldwell, Roger L. "Glossary - Definitions of Selected Futures Terms." Ag.Arizona.Edu. University of Arizona. 23 June 2007 <http://ag.arizona.edu/futures/home/glossary.html>.
The main purpose of this website is to offer definitions of different literary themes. The website defines discontinuity as a major shift in a trend that is so drastic that it cannot be accounted for by normal variation. An example might be the population shifts due to the baby boom. A larger scale example would be change from the industrial revolution to the information revolution. To check if an author or text fits into the literary term follow the definition. This resource is helpful in reading and interpreting authors, text, and themes because it gives the definition of discontinuity. The website is credible because the author is clearly indicated. The website is also from a reputable site, the University of Arizona.
5. “Discontinuity.” Merriam-Webster. 24 June 2007 < http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/discontinuity >.
This website provides definitions. Here, discontinuity is defined as a “lack of continuity or cohesion,” or a gap. This theme applies to Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.” In this poem, Dickinson creates discontinuity in the flow of her writing, switching from concrete to abstract language as the speaker approaches death.
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