Classic and new directions in Faulknerian scholarship: a critical overview

• Elena Miriam Dobre ^[1]
  1. [1] Universitat Jaume I

     Universitat Jaume I

     Castellón, España

     
• Localización: Fòrum de Recerca, ISSN-e 1139-5486, Nº. 26, 2021 (Ejemplar dedicado a: XXVI Jornades de Foment de la Investigació en Ciències Humanes i Socials), págs. 45-45
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto Completo Ejemplar
• Resumen

  • Hailed as one of the twentieth century's most emblematic North-American authors, William Faulkner’s (1897-1962) work continues to attract unmitigated critical attention well into the twenty-first century. Indeed Faulkner’s oeuvre has proven to be fruitful ground for critical engagement as attested by the vast array of book-length studies, essays, and academic articles devoted yearly to the scrutiny of his work. In this sense, since the second half of the last century, the output of Faulknerian literature has been subjected to analysis through the lens of the classical and emergent critical apparatuses alike, from New Critical interpretations, to the incorporation of feminist, poststructuralist, rhetorical, and ideological theory as well as cultural studies, as household critic Basset (2009) forcefully contends. Furthermore, special attention has been placed on now deep-seated avenues of inquiry such as gender, race, and the historical South, parsed in traditionally revered titles such as The Sound and the Fury (1929), Absalom, Absalom! (1936) Light in August (1932), As I Lay Dying (1930), and Sanctuary (1931) —and more recently, Go Down Moses (1942). With this in mind, this study aims to provide a critical overview of the most prominent voices in Faulknerian scholarship. After briefly alluding to the critical directions adopted by early criticism (1940's-1970's), the main focus of this work will be the exploration of the output of criticism throughout the 1980's to the present. Thus, I will seek to map the main thematic foci of interest and the prominent critical lenses deployed by household and emergent Faulkner critical voices alike. Finally, I will conclude by highlighting the latest, most promising trends at the forefront of Faulkner studies