Stream of Consciousness in Literature

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz
Study Flashcards
Spaced Repetition
Chat to Lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

Which author is associated with the work 'Mrs Dalloway'?

  • David Dowling
  • James Joyce
  • Virginia Woolf (correct)
  • Samuel Beckett

The work titled 'Les Chemins de la Liberté' was written by Jean-Paul Sartre.

True (A)

What literary style is characterized by a focus on the inner thoughts of characters, often found in modernist fiction?

Stream of consciousness

________ is a literary technique that attempts to capture the flow of thoughts and feelings in a character's mind.

<p>Stream of consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following individuals with their relevant works or contributions:

<p>David Dowling = 'Mrs Dalloway': Mapping Streams of Consciousness Roberto Bolaño = 'Amulet' James Joyce = 'Ulysses' Samuel Beckett = 'Waiting for Godot'</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following authors is NOT associated with the development of the stream of consciousness technique?

<p>Leo Tolstoy (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The term 'stream of consciousness' was first applied in a literary context in 1918.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who first used the term 'stream of consciousness' in a psychological context?

<p>William James</p> Signup and view all the answers

Stream of consciousness is usually represented in the form of an __________ monologue.

<p>interior</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following authors with their notable works associated with stream of consciousness:

<p>Marcel Proust = In Search of Lost Time James Joyce = Ulysses Virginia Woolf = Mrs. Dalloway Dorothy Richardson = Pilgrimage</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of stream of consciousness narratives?

<p>Disjointed thoughts and feelings (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Alexander Bain is credited with the first use of the term 'stream of consciousness' in 1890.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who is noted for applying Modernist stream of consciousness technique in 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'?

<p>Leo Tolstoy (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hunger by Knut Hamsun is considered a pioneering modernist novel.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which narrative technique does Poe's story primarily utilize?

<p>First person narrative</p> Signup and view all the answers

Édouard Dujardin's novel, Les Lauriers sont coupés, is an important precursor to the stream of consciousness technique due to its use of ________.

<p>free association</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following authors with their notable works regarding stream of consciousness:

<p>James Joyce = Ulysses Virginia Woolf = Mrs Dalloway Knut Hamsun = Hunger Henry James = Portrait of a Lady</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which author is suggested to have influenced Virginia Woolf?

<p>Henry James (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The stream of consciousness technique was fully developed in the nineteenth century.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is one characteristic of Ambrose Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'?

<p>Abandonment of strict linear time</p> Signup and view all the answers

Arthur Schnitzler's short story '________' is considered to have made full use of the stream of consciousness technique.

<p>Leutnant Gustl</p> Signup and view all the answers

When was Ulysses finally published?

<p>1922 (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

James Joyce completed the writing of Ulysses in 1922.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of Randall Stevenson's work mentioned in the content?

<p>A Reader's Guide to the Twentieth-Century Novel in Britain (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

James Wood wrote 'Addicted to Unpredictability' in June 2000.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What narrative technique is prominently used in James Joyce's Ulysses?

<p>stream of consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

Joyce's final work, __________, was published in 1939 and pushed the limits of literary technique.

<p>Finnegans Wake</p> Signup and view all the answers

Who is associated with the literary technique known as 'stream of consciousness'?

<p>Virginia Woolf</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following authors is known for using interior monologue in their works?

<p>All of the above (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The __________ of Literary Terms provides definitions of key literary concepts.

<p>Oxford Dictionary</p> Signup and view all the answers

Finnegans Wake is structured around a traditional plot and character development.

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following authors to their respective works or contributions:

<p>James Wood = Ramblings Dorothy Richardson = Selected Letters Knut Hamsun = Modernism Virginia Woolf = A Writer's Diary</p> Signup and view all the answers

What year did the London Review of Books publish 'Ramblings' by James Wood?

<p>2000 (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Name one work by Virginia Woolf that uses techniques of stream of consciousness.

<p>Mrs Dalloway</p> Signup and view all the answers

Malcolm Lowry's novel __________ resembles Ulysses in its exploration of a protagonist's life in a single day.

<p>Under the Volcano</p> Signup and view all the answers

Hamsunsenteret is related to the study of Knut Hamsun's modernism.

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Match the following authors with their notable works that incorporate stream of consciousness:

<p>James Joyce = Ulysses Virginia Woolf = Mrs Dalloway William Faulkner = The Sound and the Fury T.S. Eliot = The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which university published A Reader's Guide to the Twentieth-Century Novel in Britain?

<p>University of Kentucky Press</p> Signup and view all the answers

Harlan Judith and __________ wrote 'English Literature From 1785'.

<p>Kathleen McCoy</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which literary technique does Virginia Woolf blur in her narration?

<p>Direct and indirect speech (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what format is the work by James Wood titled 'Addicted to Unpredictability'?

<p>An article (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Stream of Consciousness

A literary technique that aims to portray the uninterrupted flow of thoughts and feelings passing through a character's mind.

Interior Monologue

It portrays a character's inner thoughts and feelings through an uninterrupted flow of words, often without punctuation.

Disjointed or Irregular Punctuation

It's a literary technique that attempts to mirror the jumbled and often illogical way our minds work.

Modernist Writers

Writers like James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Dorothy Richardson perfected this approach, making it popular in modern literature.

Signup and view all the flashcards

William James, The Principles of Psychology

One of the first to use this term, William James described consciousness as a continuous flow, like a river or stream.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Interior Monologue vs. Stream of Consciousness

They can be distinguished as 'interior monologue' is the inner voice, and 'stream of consciousness' describes the method of writing.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Stream of Consciousness in Other Arts

This technique has been applied in other art forms, like poetry, film, and even songwriting.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Dramatic Monologue

A narrative style where the story is told from the perspective of an unnamed character who claims to be sane while describing a murder.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Non-Linear Time

A type of writing that abandons strict chronological order and focuses on the internal thoughts and experiences of the character.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Internal Consciousness

A fictional narrative that takes the reader inside the mind of the protagonist, allowing them to experience the protagonist's stream of consciousness.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Les Lauriers sont coupés

A novel by Édouard Dujardin that is considered a significant early example of stream of consciousness writing, characterized by its renunciation of chronology and free association.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun

A novel considered one of the groundbreaking modernist novels of the late nineteenth century, known for its distinct use of stream of consciousness techniques.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Mysteries (1892) by Knut Hamsun

A novel by Knut Hamsun that is seen as a pioneer work in stream of consciousness writing, featuring two chapters that notably employ this technique.

Signup and view all the flashcards

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

A short story by Ambrose Bierce published in 1890, known for employing non-linear time and internal consciousness to depict the subjective experience of the protagonist.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Leutnant Gustl

A novella by Arthur Schnitzler published in 1900, considered one of the first works to make full use of the stream of consciousness technique.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Free Indirect Discourse

A literary technique that presents a character's thoughts and feelings without direct narration or explanation.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Modernism

A literary movement that challenged traditional forms and conventions, focusing on subjective experience and psychological realism.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Subjective Narration

A narrative strategy that focuses on the inner world of a character, often through the use of stream of consciousness, free indirect discourse, and interior monologue.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Modernist Novel

A literary work that explores the complexities of human consciousness, often through non-linear narratives, fragmented perspectives, and psychological realism.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Free Indirect Discourse

A technique where the narrator's voice blends with the character's thoughts, resulting in a seamless transition between objective and subjective perspectives.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Existentialist Novel

A literary work that explores the unconventional experiences and complexities of human existence, often through the lens of individual consciousness and inner struggles.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Montage

A literary technique that presents a series of unconnected or loosely connected events or ideas, often in the form of a montage.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Modernist Fiction

A style of writing that reflects the disjointed nature of modern life, emphasizing inner experience and subjective realities.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Mrs. Dalloway

A novel by Virginia Woolf, often cited as a prime example of the stream of consciousness technique.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Dramatic Interior Monologue

This technique is often employed in the context of dramatic monologue, where characters express their thoughts and feelings directly to the audience.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Freedom and Commitment in Jean-Paul Sartre's "Les Chemins de la Liberté"

A 1975 Masters Thesis that explores the themes of freedom and commitment in Sartre's philosophical works.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Free indirect style

A narrative technique where the author describes a character's thoughts and feelings from a third-person perspective, mimicking their inner voice.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Authorial description

A literary device where the author takes on the perspective of a character and describes the world through their eyes and feelings, blurring the lines between objective and subjective.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Free dream associations

A literary technique where the author presents a character's thoughts and feelings in a fragmented and non-linear way, often mimicking the dream state.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Multi-level puns

The use of multiple levels of meaning in language, often involving puns, wordplay, and allusions, to create a rich and layered text.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Finnegans Wake

A fictional work that uses stream of consciousness, free dream associations, and complex language to explore the depths of human consciousness, often challenging traditional literary conventions.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Ulysses

A fictional work by James Joyce that utilizes stream of consciousness and other innovative literary techniques to depict a day in the life of a character named Leopold Bloom, exploring themes of memory, identity, and the human condition.

Signup and view all the flashcards

Study Notes

Stream of Consciousness

  • A narrative mode/method that aims to depict the thoughts and feelings of a narrator, typically in the form of an interior monologue.
  • Usually characterized by disjointed thoughts and irregular punctuation.
  • First used in 1855, but fully developed as a literary technique in the 20th century with writers like Proust, Joyce, Richardson, and Woolf.
  • Still used in prose, poetry, songwriting, and film.

Origin of the Term

  • Alexander Bain first used the term in 1855, referring to the "concurrence of Sensations in one common stream of consciousness."
  • William James popularized the term in his 1890 book The Principles of Psychology. He described consciousness as a continuous "stream of thought" rather than discrete units.
  • May Sinclair applied the term to Dorothy Richardson's work in 1918. Richardson, however, considered the term "lamentably ill-chosen."

Definition

  • Stream of consciousness is the subject matter, whereas interior monologue is the technique to present it.
  • Interior monologue presents a character's thoughts directly, without a narrator.
  • Stream of consciousness can include impressions, perceptions, and associations, potentially violating grammatical and logical norms.

Development Before 1900

  • Precursors to stream of consciousness can be seen in earlier works like Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy (1757), Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, and the works of George Eliot, and possibly Thomas Hobbes and Bishop Berkeley, and other associationist philosophers.
  • Themes of anxiety and long sentences which convey multiple qualifiers and expressions are aspects of the technique.

Early 20th Century

  • Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time is often presented as a prime example of early 20th-century stream of consciousness, although debate exists on whether the work is best described as stream of consciousness.
  • The technique became fully developed by modernist writers.
  • Notable early 20th-century examples include James Joyce's Ulysses, Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, and Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage.
  • Other important writers who used stream of consciousness include Robert Anton Wilson, and James Kelman.

21st Century

  • The technique continues to be seen in contemporary literature, explored through diverse authors and styles.
  • Song lyrics and film dialogue are now considered further examples.
  • Interior Monologue
  • Free Indirect Speech
  • Free Writing
  • Inner Space
  • Modernist Literature

Studying That Suits You

Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.

Quiz Team

Related Documents

More Like This

Use Quizgecko on...
Browser
Browser