Scribd
Upload
17 views

Stream of Consciousness

In literature, stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that depicts the flow of thoughts in a character's mind. It was coined by psychologist William James to describe the flow of thoughts in consciousness. As the psychological novel developed, some writers sought to capture a character's total flow of consciousness rather than just rational thoughts, incorporating snippets of incoherent thoughts and free association. Famous examples include James Joyce's Ulysses and Virginia Woolf's The Waves, which delve into the inner minds and thoughts of characters.

Uploaded by

Flo Ferrero
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
17 views

Stream of Consciousness

In literature, stream of consciousness is a narrative technique that depicts the flow of thoughts in a character's mind. It was coined by psychologist William James to describe the flow of thoughts in consciousness. As the psychological novel developed, some writers sought to capture a character's total flow of consciousness rather than just rational thoughts, incorporating snippets of incoherent thoughts and free association. Famous examples include James Joyce's Ulysses and Virginia Woolf's The Waves, which delve into the inner minds and thoughts of characters.

Uploaded by

Flo Ferrero
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Stream of Consciousness

In literature, stream of consciousness is a method of narration that describes happenings in the flow
of thoughts in the minds of the characters. The term was initially coined by psychologist William
James in his research, The Principles of Psychology. He writes, “… it is nothing joined; it flows. A
„river‟ or a „stream‟ is the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it
hereafter, let‟s call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or subjective life.”

Another appropriate term for this device is “interior monologue,” where the individual thought
processes of a character, associated to his or her actions, are portrayed in the form of a monologue
that addresses the character itself.

As the psychological novel developed in the 20th century, some writers attempted to capture the total
flow of their characters‟ consciousness, rather than limit themselves to rational thoughts. To
represent the full richness, speed, and subtlety of the mind at work, the writer incorporates snatches
of incoherent thought, ungrammatical constructions, and free association of ideas, images, and words
at the pre-speech level.The technique aspires to give readers the impression of being inside the minds
of the characters. Therefore, the internal view of the minds of the characters sheds light
on plot and motivation in the novel.

Probably the most famous examples are James Joyce‟s Ulysses (1922), a complex evocation of the
inner states of the characters Leopold and Molly Bloom, and Virginia Woolf‟s The Waves (1931), a
complex novel in which six characters recount their lives from childhood to old age.

Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like
the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish
wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again
yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms
around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his
heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes. (Ulysses)

'Now Miss Hudson,' said Rhoda, 'has shut the book. Now the terror is beginning. Now taking
her lump of chalk she draws figures, six, seven, eight, and then a cross and then a line on the
blackboard. What is the answer? The others look; they look with understanding. Louis writes;
Susan writes; Neville writes; Jinny writes; even Bernard has now begun to write. But I cannot
write. I see only figures. The others are handing in their answers, one by one. Now it is my
turn. But I have no answer. The others are allowed to go. They slam the door. Miss Hudson
goes. I am left alone to find an answer. The figures mean nothing now. Meaning has gone. The
clock ticks. The two hands are convoys marching through a desert. The black bars on the clock
face are green oases. The long hand has marched ahead to find water. The other painfully
stumbles among hot stones in the desert. It will die in the desert. The kitchen door slams. Wild
dogs bark far away. Look, the loop of the figure is beginning to fill with time; it holds the world
in it. I begin to draw a figure and the world is looped in it, and I myself am outside the loop;
which I now join--so--and seal up, and make entire. The world is entire, and I am outside of it,
crying, "Oh, save me from being blown for ever outside the loop of time!’ (The Waves)

You might also like