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Light in August

Critically regarded today as one of Faulkner's greatest novels, Light in August has been the source of much interpretation since it was written in 1932. Original reviews were mixed, but time has yielded many insights into the novel's richness of style, theme and characterization. An overview of critical interpretations, in light of some reviews from 1932, will demonstrate the favorable effect of time on Light in August. In addition, a more specific critique of Faulkner's style and technique as they apply to Light in August will demonstrate that the many stylistic and technical idiosyncrasies which posed a problem for some early critics were, in fact, part of the ongoing experiment in modern literature as advanced by such giants as T. S. Eliot and James Joyce. Finally, a brief biography will underscore the fact that, by the time of his death in 1962, Faulkner had lived to see his work awarded many honors, including the Nobel Prize in 1949.

When reviews of Light in August began to appear, Faulkner was busy writing screenplays. His Hollywood ventures helped to keep his mind off some of the early criticism. As Frederick R. Karl recounts in his comprehensive biography, "the big reviewers were, predictably, disturbed by what they read" (490). Dorothy Van Doren of The Nation called the book undisciplined and attacked Faulkner's understatement (490). Henry Seidel Canby, in The Saturday Review of Literature, judged it as "turgid, obscure, and sloppy, demonstrating an alarming descent toward morbidity" (490). Yet another reviewer complained that the book lacked form: "it hops about on its toes, but the point is that it is on its toes all the time." The reviewer did acknowledge that Light in August "demonstrates considerable activity which will increase Faulkner's popularity with both the knowing reader and the general public" (490). Faulkner's seeming indifference during his Hollywood stay was no doubt a defense to ward off possib...

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Light in August. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 03:08, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702658.html