Faulkner’s Coffin
This article examines William Faulkner’s use of the coffin form in his depression-era family epic, As I Lay Dying. I ask whether we can envision what Faulkner is doing with the aesthetic shape of the coffin—a form which he even typographically reproduces within the text itself—as a kind of strange r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Franklin University Switzerland
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Intervalla : Platform for Intellectual Exchange |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.fus.edu/intervalla-files/vol4/6-AB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811317239357374464 |
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| author | Alyson Brickey |
| author_facet | Alyson Brickey |
| author_sort | Alyson Brickey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article examines William Faulkner’s use of the coffin form in his depression-era family epic, As I Lay Dying. I ask whether we can envision what Faulkner is doing with the aesthetic shape of the coffin—a form which he even typographically reproduces within the text itself—as a kind of strange realism. In order to make this argument, I recruit Frederic Jameson’s recent discussion in The Antinomies of Realism, where he argues that the realist text is not a straightforward mimetic project, but rather involves a dialectical push-and-pull between a specific force and its exact opposite. Faulkner’s lists perform a kind of metaphysical carpentry that asks us to consider the coffin not just as a textual trope or a symbol, but as a form that is itself constitutive of the way this story makes meaning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:03:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f48a082eb9954d65a68d7b29d250acfc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-3413 2296-3413 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:03:21Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | Franklin University Switzerland |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Intervalla : Platform for Intellectual Exchange |
| spelling | doaj.art-f48a082eb9954d65a68d7b29d250acfc2022-12-22T02:47:43ZengFranklin University SwitzerlandIntervalla : Platform for Intellectual Exchange2296-34132296-34132016-12-014143165Faulkner’s CoffinAlyson Brickey0University of TorontoThis article examines William Faulkner’s use of the coffin form in his depression-era family epic, As I Lay Dying. I ask whether we can envision what Faulkner is doing with the aesthetic shape of the coffin—a form which he even typographically reproduces within the text itself—as a kind of strange realism. In order to make this argument, I recruit Frederic Jameson’s recent discussion in The Antinomies of Realism, where he argues that the realist text is not a straightforward mimetic project, but rather involves a dialectical push-and-pull between a specific force and its exact opposite. Faulkner’s lists perform a kind of metaphysical carpentry that asks us to consider the coffin not just as a textual trope or a symbol, but as a form that is itself constitutive of the way this story makes meaning.https://www.fus.edu/intervalla-files/vol4/6-AB.pdfrealismfaulknerjamesonmodernismthe great depressionnarrativeliterary objects |
| spellingShingle | Alyson Brickey Faulkner’s Coffin Intervalla : Platform for Intellectual Exchange realism faulkner jameson modernism the great depression narrative literary objects |
| title | Faulkner’s Coffin |
| title_full | Faulkner’s Coffin |
| title_fullStr | Faulkner’s Coffin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Faulkner’s Coffin |
| title_short | Faulkner’s Coffin |
| title_sort | faulkner s coffin |
| topic | realism faulkner jameson modernism the great depression narrative literary objects |
| url | https://www.fus.edu/intervalla-files/vol4/6-AB.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alysonbrickey faulknerscoffin |