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Imagery and Fundamental Themes in Four Novels by William Faulkner

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Imagery and Fundamental Themes in Four Novels by William Faulkner Relation between sound imagery and fundamental themes in four novels by William Faulkner Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Leacox, Robert Printy, 1939- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 06/10/2021 09:23:47 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/319005 RELATION BETWEEN SOUND 'IMAGERY AND FUNDAMENTAL THEMES IN FOUR NOVELS BY WILLIAM FAULKNER Dy Robert Leacox A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 6 $ STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has "been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library0 Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made* Requests for permission for extended quota­ tion from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar­ ship,, In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author„ APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR ' This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: ¥/- X 4> , / ^ y Arthur M„ Kay " jy Date Assistant Professor of English ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of the sound images and their relation to fundamental themes in four novels "by William Faulkner0 The four novels will "be considered in the order in which they were written: The Sound and the Fury, 1929; As I Lay Dying, 1930; Light in August, 1932; Absalom, Absalom!, 1936o Sound images are used "by Faulkner to emphasize themes and can "be considered technical devices which add depth and quality to his writing0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page INTRODUCTION o = » = = o <, = = <, o o « o <, = <, = = 1 Io_ Sound Images and Theme in The Sound and t he ^*1^232 ^ 000 o o o 000 o o 000 000 12 II0 Sound Images and Theme in As I Lay Dying „ » 38 III, Sound Images and Theme in Light in August , 56 IT, Sound Images and Theme in Absalom, AbSalOm loOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOp 79 CONCLUSION 00000000000000000000 96 LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED 000000,000000 104 INTRODUCTION I . The use of imagery and image patterns has always heen an important consideration in the study of poetry» It is through imagery that poets create different levels of meaning in order to give their ideas more depth and perspec­ tive » In this respect it is interesting that William S’aulkner first began by writing poetry and always seemed to feel he was an unrealized poet; he said "I am a failed poet" and thought most novelists were in this same categoryo^ Some of the poetry he published in his early years was good but most of it showed obvious influences which lessened its originality0 The effects of his early experiments with poetry can be seen in his prose style; many critics have observed his use of poetic techniques in his workso The two poetic devices he most often uses are inverted syntax and imagery» Nor example in this line from The Sound and the Fury he uses inverted syntax to give a poetic quality: "A gull on ^Jean Stein9 "An Interview With William Faulkner9" in Three Decades of Criticism0 ed0 Frederick Hoffman and Olga Vickeryo East Lansing: Michigan State College Press, I960, p0 68= 1 p an invisible wire attached through space dragged»" This type of syntax can he found in many lines throughout all of Faulkner's works; in most cases it is used for emphasis hut often seems to he written only for the sake of poetry» Faulkner also creates many different images; some of them are related in a pattern hut they are frequently aloneo Essentially these images are poetic in quality and must he studied with poetry in mind: "Patterns of imagery and symbol are as effective in modern fiction as they have always been in poetry * « . In his works there are images of light and dark; images of time, sound, smell, nature and tasteo All the different types of images are important hut because of the limited nature of this paper only sound images will he studied» This is not to imply that sound images are more important than the other images hut they are an important part of Faulkner0 s writing and add to the depth of his style» II There have been many studies of sound images and their relation to thematic problems 0 One of the best examples can be found in Gar©line Spurgeon’s hook on the - — Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (Mew York, 1929) p= 123o ^Wayne G0JBooth, The Rhetoric of Fiction (Chicago, 1961), pG 272= imagery ©f Shakespeare o In ©ne section of this "beck she points ©mt Shakespearee s use ©f sound imagery and shows its connection with certain themes s $he general impression ©ne gets ©n looking at Shakespeare's sound images „ o » is that he associates the purest emotion and most spiritual condition known to man with music arid with harmony, the most perfect earthly setting he can conceive is the hushed still­ ness of a summer day o <, o^- There is also a passage in Wellek and Warren's Theory of literature that connects sound and meaning in Milton's poetry: When Milton's gray-fly is ®winding her sultry horn,' the epithet calls up the hot summer evening linked "by association with the sound of the gray-flyd? The two examples above are concerned with poets and poetry but the study of sound images has also been applied to many novelists» In a study of Joyce's Ulysses the signi­ ficance of sound is noted: There Joyce gives us a verbal reflection of the world of sounds, of the music of nature, of the clang of horses' hooves, and the roar of the waves of the ocean e-0 h Uarolime Spurgeon, Shakesoeares's Imagery and What It Tells Us (Mew York, 1935)9 P° 74. ^Eerne Wellek and Austin Warren, Theory of literature (Mew York, 1956), p„ 1840 Wo Sternfield, "Poetry and Music— Joyce's Ulysses," in Sound and Poetry: English Institute Essays<, edo Morthrop Frye0 iMew York, 1957) s P° 42« J ■ 4 In an imtredmetion t© Madame Bovary, Caroline Gordon comments ©n Flaubert’s use of sound: He begins with sound „ 0 0 Emma and Rudolph stroll in the wood; 0 c 0 a cote* sur la pelouse* entre les sapins * une lumiere brune circulait dans 1 * atmosphere tiedeo La terre, r©ussatre G#mme"%e la poudre~Te tabae* amortissait le bruit des pas; et du bout d e "leur fers* en marehant* les chveux pmussaient devant eu% des pommes de pins tombees = * o the sounds of October are In the words * But Flaubert never relied on one sensuous detail o = o he reinforces what his characters see by showing you what they hear, taste, touch, and smello7 This passage concerns Flaubert but it could very well be applied to the writings of Faulknero The above examples of similar studies have been given in order to establish a tradition for the critical method that is basic to this paper* They are also used t© emphasize the importance attached to images in the study of literature* The study of sound images is particularly important in Faulkner ".s works because he uses them to a great extent and seems to connect them with certain themes * This ability to describe the sights and sounds of nature has helped make Faulkner a major writer; Alfred Kazin believes, 11 the intense sense of the earth and the regis­ tering of country sights and sounds is the secret of 8 Southern writing*11 ^Caroline Gordon, "An Introduction to Madame Bovary *11 in Harper's Modern Glassies edition of Madame Bovary (Hew York, 195©)9 p« xi= ®Alfred Kazin, "The Stillness of Light in August,” in Three Decades of Criticism* p* 249* The study ©f s©un& imagery in this paper will eemeentrate ©n four ©f laulkaer's novels in the order in which they were written; The Sound and the Fury, 1929; As I lay Dyingg 195©; light in August0 1952; AbsalomQ AbsalomI, 1955= These four novels seem t© be Faulkner's best works® They each have a quality ©f depth and univer­ sality which takes them beyond their literary scope and makes them applicable t© the conditions of all men. Each has a certain intensity9 a view implying more than words and requiring speculation and thought for understanding«, The style of structure of these novels is complex; but Faulkner saw a world full ©f complexities and his language had to be more expansive to accomodate this view0 Many critics would include other books but there is a general agreement that these four are his best works» Hyatt Waggoner feels that Absalom, Absalom] closes Faulkner's Q period of most raapid and successful productivity» y Other critics can be cited who would agree with the choice of these books but an addition of this kind seems to be super­ fluous » III Sound imagery in Faulkner's novels is used to suggest9 illuminate and reinforce certain fundamental ^Hyatt Ho Waggoner9 From Jefferson to the World (Lexington; University of Kentucky, 1959)? P° 168» themes „ In emphasising themes the semmd images help elmeidate aspeets ©f characters, sustain emotions, and provide atmosphere or meed, This type of image is more than onomatopoeia; it gives a metaphorical aspect to the actual sound, A definition of an image used in this way is provided "by Wellek and Warrens o o o The word ’image" means a mental reproduction, a memory of past sensational or perceptual experience, not necessarily visual The sound image is a means of making the described sound more emphatic and vivid, A sound image is more than a reference to sound— the sound is reinforced because of its comparison with some other sound or quality of sound.
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