Polyphonic Novels

[ptyx]

The polyphonic novel is defined by Bakhtin as the one in which the character's voice is never ultimately submerged by that of the narrator. Bakhtin describes Dostoevsky's novels as “A plurality of independent and unmerged voices and consciousnesses, a genuine polyphony of fully valid voices

Comments

[sander123]

I have a problem with different concepts now! As we read Bakhtin I remember that as far as I understood it, the more polyphonic a novel is, the more it is a true novel (according tho Bakhtin). With this different voices he means things like Skaz, letters in the novel, different perspectives, faked newsletter-articles in the novel etc.

So HP and SS was not a very true novel, because there weren't many different strings, DH was a very polyphonical novel.

But reading internet-essay they had your definition! could it be that he changed his concepts a bit? Because this one sounds more like Genette!

Strange. I have to read this Dostoevsky-book as soon as I have read all the other important books on my many lists :)

I like poliphonical novels in both senses very much :) It can be a bit awkward when they throw you out of the narrative very often to create cliff-hangers.

[ptyx]

I don't know! I read this definition in "Limites do Sentido" ("The Limits of Meaning"), a book by Eduardo Guimarães, a Brazilian professor. I've never read any book by Bakhtin, only short extracts.

[sander123]

I read translations (there is one book everyone here marvels about "the aesthetic of the word" but I'm not sure how the English translation is called.)

The problem with Bakhtin: he writes very chaotically , you can read everything between the lines. Kristeva claimed that she created her intertextuality-concept with the foundation on Bakthin - but when you look on this parts he is never very clearly what intertextuality is for him...

It's very confusing and many people out there have never read him, but are using his name like the reference to a saint - one of my profs did that! :)

So what are you trying to do in your writing exactly? Because I'm very curious when writers reflect about their techniques!

[ptyx]

Kristeva claimed that she created her intertextuality-concept with the foundation on Bakthin - but when you look on this parts he is never very clearly what intertextuality is for him...

LOL! Yeah, I think this may really be a problem, but an inevitable one. The Russian is very different from the Latin and Germanic ones, and Bakhtin's ideas are probably difficult to understand, so...

So what are you trying to do in your writing exactly?

Oh, I'm not trying to do anything consciously, you know? The prison story is already finished. It's just that I read this excerpt and related to what I was feeling while I was writing the story: that it was the multiplicity of voices that compounded it. I seldom try to do anything in my writing. Yet, as I research for my next story, I have plans of using an interferring narrator this time. I love interferring narrators, but they aren't easy to write when the story is not told in first person. This is the only clear plan I have for the story in terms of writing style.

[sander123]

"interfering narrators" sounds wicked!

I'm rather fond of novels with interesting different points of view - but I guess for a writer it's hard to not get lost and lose focus.

[ptyx]

I think it's hard just because I got used to write fanfiction in 3rd person limited PoV. Before I started writing fanfiction, I used to write in absolute PoV, with interfering narrator, but fandom is a bit biased against this style. So I changed my style to comform to the general preferences (and I don't regret it, because I learned many things by writing in a style that wasn't my favourite one). But now it's hard to come back... I'm trying to force myself by starting the story in a typical interfering narrator way, like: "I invite you to follow me along this road to a..."

[sander123]

now I understand better

[ptyx]

Oh, thanks for the recs. I'll read it tomorrow (or maybe by the end of next week, if I can't find time tomorrow), and then I'll let you know my opinion.

[ptyx]

Ahahahaha! What a hilarious, creative idea. I loved it. I don't want to use a contemporary narrator, though. And I don't think I'd like to have a narrator so interfering. But it's an inspiring reading, anyway. Thank you!