Power of the Pen - Abigail Smith '24

Utica Community
Utica Stories
Power of the Pen - Abigail Smith '24

Abigail Smith, with long blond hair, wearing a flannel professional jacket, smiles and stands in front of a beige wall.

Class Paper turns into Peer-Reviewed Publication for Abigail Smith '24

When Abigail Smith '24 graduated from Utica University, the Whitesboro, New York native not only walked across the stage as an English graduate (with a business minor), but with the help of her English 245 class and Professor Jason Denman, exited Utica as a published author as well.

Growing up in the area her whole life, Utica University had always been on her radar, so when it came time to transfer from another school she was attending, her choice was easy to make.

“It was one of the best decisions I could have made,” she says. “After hearing anecdotes from friends and family about the nurturing community of Utica University, it was an easy choice. I honestly don’t think I would have gotten the same level of education or enjoyed my college experience as much had I not transferred.”

The paper, titled “‘The Vain Lustre of Imagined Crowns’: Light and Dark Imagery in Marriage a la Mode” all began as a class assignment, but with her passion driving it further, quickly evolving into something much more. Published in the August 2024 edition of The Explicator, a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal of literary criticism that has been around since 1942.

During an independent study in the Spring 2023 semester, she began working on a paper that analyzed Marriage a la Mode by John Dryden, a Restoration comedy with two plotlines where friends Rhodophil and Palamede fall in love with each other’s spouses and the usurper Polydamus continuously changes his proclamation of either of the lovers Leonidas and Palmyra as being his child and heir.

“Essentially, the play comments on the idealized image of the restored royal line following the civil war in England and the need for the order that comes with a predetermined line while also noting how complicated this idea is politically and socially,” Smith explains. “My paper specifically looks at the light and dark imagery presented in the play and how these images indicate either legitimacy or instability.”

As a baseline, she used the bibliography from a paper Professor Denman had written on the same play in order to be sure that the idea she presented was unique and to find any ideas that might be similar to cite or expand upon. Next, came a lot of research on the Restoration itself and the historical context of Dryden’s play.

“I had to push myself through the complicated verbage of the other texts I read at times, but Professor Denman was always there to meet with me every week to work out any complications or to talk things through. It was a long process, but in the end I learned so much and knowing how to do that kind of in-depth research helped me in and out of the classroom.”

As she dove deep into her research, she was surprised at the amount of scholarship that existed on this one single play and the wide range of ideas presented by other scholars.

“It gave me an even deeper appreciation for literature, how it can spark discussion and how much meaning can be packed into only a few words. Also, throughout my research I realized just how complex it is to interpret an author’s ideas. While a line may point to one thing for one scholar, the same line might suggest another to someone else. Then, in your own expression of your interpretation you have to acknowledge the other side’s point of view without compromising your own. It definitely gave me a new respect for those who dedicate their lives to this level of scholarship and research.”

Each week she met with Professor Denman, first establishing a research basis derived from other criticism and scholarship on the play, and later to go over rewrites.

“And there were many rewrites.”

Over the course of the semester, the paper doubled in length.

“The hardest part was definitely the structuring of the paper and making sure it flowed nicely without my own ideas coming into conflict with one another, as Dryden himself was quite conflicted over the Restoration of the monarchy and expressed it in his work. But it was always exciting to have those epiphanies of how I could rewrite and reorganize the paper to make it even better.

When she got the paper back for the independent study, she was incredibly surprised to find a note from Professor Denman, asking to discuss it further. He added that he had a journal in mind that he thought would be a good fit for her work.

“It was definitely a great way to end the semester!” she says. “After submitting the paper to the journal it took nearly a year of not so patiently waiting to hear back. But eventually I did and after a few edits suggested by the editor, the paper was set to be published!”

Perhaps still in disbelief, she says it hasn’t quite hit her yet that she is now a published author.

“It sounds so unreal. When I finally got the email saying that my piece was accepted, I was in shock. I had been waiting for, what seemed to me, like forever and the idea that the paper was going to be published didn’t hit me until I actually saw it in The Explicator. Since its publication I have felt nothing but gratitude for this opportunity to be given to me and for Professor Denman’s belief in me and my abilities.”

It was that support from Professor Denman that she says left the biggest impact on her life.

“He’s given me the opportunity to do something I never would have imagined possible while I was an undergrad. Not only has he allowed me to now describe myself as a published author, but his support and confidence in me has given me a new confidence in myself, my intelligence, my abilities, and my ideas.”

Her gratitude extends to the experiences she had at Utica and the skills she gained here along the way.

“Utica University has provided me with such a nurturing environment that has allowed me to explore the topics that interest me and to develop the skills needed in the professional sphere. More than that though, the kindness and support of the faculty has been what has stayed with me the most since graduating. Knowing that I have people in my corner has been the greatest gift that Utica University has given me as I continue on my life’s journey. Specifically with the publication of this paper, I have gained so much confidence in my own abilities and ideas. I now have a new perspective on myself, a new belief that my ideas, no matter how small, have a unique value in the world.”