Silence in Modern Literature and Philosophy [electronic resource] : Beckett, Barthes, Nancy, Stevens /
Gould, Thomas.author.
This book discusses the elusive centrality of silence in modern literature and philosophy, focusing on the writing and theory of Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, the prose of Samuel Beckett, and the poetry of Wallace Stevens. It suggests that silence is best understood according to two categories: apophasis and reticence. Apophasis is associated with theology, and relates to a silence of ineffability and transcendence; reticence is associated with phenomenology, and relates to a silence of listenership and speechlessness. In a series of diverse though interrelated readings, the study examines figures of broken silence and silent voice in the prose of Samuel Beckett, the notion of shared silence in Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, and ways in which the poetry of Wallace Stevens mounts lyrical negotiations with forms of unsayability and speechlessness.
1. Introduction -- 2. Apophasis and Reticence -- 3. Broken Silence: Samuel Beckett -- 4. Shared Silence – Jean Luc Nancy with Roland Barthes -- 5. Some Senses of Silence in Wallace Stevens -- 6. Coda: Eloquent Silence.
This book discusses the elusive centrality of silence in modern literature and philosophy, focusing on the writing and theory of Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, the prose of Samuel Beckett, and the poetry of Wallace Stevens. It suggests that silence is best understood according to two categories: apophasis and reticence. Apophasis is associated with theology, and relates to a silence of ineffability and transcendence; reticence is associated with phenomenology, and relates to a silence of listenership and speechlessness. In a series of diverse though interrelated readings, the study examines figures of broken silence and silent voice in the prose of Samuel Beckett, the notion of shared silence in Jean-Luc Nancy and Roland Barthes, and ways in which the poetry of Wallace Stevens mounts lyrical negotiations with forms of unsayability and speechlessness.
Literature, Modern-20th century.
Comparative literature.
European literature.
America-Literatures.
Aesthetics.
Twentieth-Century Literature.
Comparative Literature.
European Literature.
North American Literature.
Aesthetics.