WILLIAM FAULKNER Essay, Research Paper

American writer, William Cuthbert Faulkner, poet, and novelist has a style all his own. Varying talent from poetry to novels, critics can tell his style is different from the average writer. William?s style is easily identified by his repetition of words to his run on sentences. William is a clever twentieth century writer with his own writing style, a writer of poetry and novels; he is definitely one of the best authors of the century.

William was born in 1897 and died in 1962. William was born in New Albany, Mississippi. William was the oldest of four children in his family. In 1915 he dropped out of high school and received a job working as a clerk for his grandfather?s bank. When World War One began in 1914, William joined the Royal Canadian Air Force after he was rejected from the army, but he never went to battle. After the war ended William attended the University of Mississippi as a veteran, but soon quit to pursue his writing career. Before his writing career took off William worked low paying jobs to get by. The following year he moved to New Orleans to pursue writing as a journalist. After his job as a journalist his writing career began to take off as a profession. Then in 1929 he went back to Oxford, Mississippi to marry Estelle Oldham. William decided to end his education in high school, and never completed college, but he ended up on top being an author. (Encarta 1) William lived a difficult life full of ups and downs, but ended as a famous author with many books.

William Faulkner wrote various types of literature. Varying from poetry to novels, he experienced many different types of literature. William wrote six-teen novels, six short stories, two books of poetry, and 3 plays during his lifetime. Many of William?s stories involved the southern United States. This was one of Williams more favorable topics to write about. The first book William released was titled The Marble Faun (1924), a book of poetry. William?s first novel was titled Soldiers Pay (1926). Many of Williams?s later novels were about mythical Yoknapatawpha County; the first of these novels was Sartoris (1929). William patented the character Colonel Sartoris after his great-grandfather. A few years later William released The Sound and the Fury (1929). The Sound and the Fury (1929) was his first novel to introduce four narratives. The rest of his writings received favorable reviews; the only other novel that sold well was Sanctuary (1931). The genre of Sanctuary (1931) was different than his other novels; this story was a thriller. Sanctuary (1931) is an eerie novel with an intensive story plot that differs from his other pieces. The success from Sanctuary (1931) brought him to Hollywood to begin writing screenplays for movies and plays for various producers. William Faulkner wrote continuously until his death in 1962. (?Faulkner? 2)

(Encarta 2) (Encarta 3)

The following three critics all enjoyed reading Faulkner?s books, and identified his special and unique talents that William uses in his novels. Faulkner?s style is

something special that no other author can copy. He has specific techniques that he uses to be different from all other authors:

Repetition of words, for instance, has often seemed an obvious fault. At times, however, Faulkner?s repetitions may be a not unjustifiable byproduct of his thematic composition. (Warren Beck 1)

What is most individual in his style is its persistent lyrical embroidery and coloring, in extended passages, of the narrative theme. (Warren Beck 2)

William Faulkner has succeeded as an author and writer. In 1949 he was internationally recognized when he received the Nobel Prize in Literature: (Millgate 1)

It is necessary to emphasize that Faulkner in his best work is not concerned with ideas in any abstract sense. His preoccupations are not intellectual but moral; what he offers is not philosophy but wisdom. At the same time his public statements are in no way divorced from his literary achievement. (Michael Millgate 1)

Of The Sound and the Fury (1929) itself it has to be said not only that it is a book of outstanding individuality which no one but Faulkner could have written, but also that Faulkner himself could not have written if he had not been a Southerner, indeed a Mississippian, born at a particular moment in time.? (Michael Millgate 3)

William Faulkner?s use of numerous different characters adds to the strange style that William has received over the years. In one novel he identifies 600 inhabitants living in Yoknapatawpha. Not all people enjoyed the novels William Faulkner wrote: (Freisen & Peek 1)

The case against Faulkner was made out by Wyndham Lewis in his book, Men Without Art (1934). In a chapter subtitled ?The Moralist with the Corn Cob,? Lewis attacked Faulkner for his presentation of ?demented? characters and fiercely criticized his style, accusing him of injecting poetic effects to liven up listless passages of his prose, and arguing of his repeated use of such words as ?myriad? and ?sourceless? that such repetition was not deliberate but merely revealed ?the character of this slipshod and redundant artistic machine?. (Michael Millgate 1)

William Faulkner?s style is different than the average writer. William incorporates different techniques like repetition, multiple narratives, and excessive amount of characters in novels. William is an author of many talents. As for the negative criticism: William is not your regular author, and difference is style separates one person from the rest in the group. (Beck 1) (Beck 2) (Freisen & Peek 1)

William Faulkner is a genuine author with many special writing techniques to make his stories interesting. William Faulkner takes writing to another level, by making it fun for both the writer and the reader. William wrote how he felt like writing, he didn?t care about all the rules that applied. William Faulkner is a great author that will always stand out as a successful writer of poetry, short stories, plays, and novels.

Beck, Warren. William Faulkner?s Style. American Preface Spring, 1941

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?Faulkner, William.?

Encarta Encyclopedia. CD- ROM. Microsoft, 1993-1998.

Friessen, Faye and Peek, Charles. What?s in a Name? Etymology and As I Lay Dying. Center for

Faulkner. Online. Southeast Missouri State. Internet, 5/25/99

Available Http: www2.semo.edu/cfs/friesen.html

Millgate, Michael. The Achievement of William Faulkner. The Achievement of William Faulkner

Constable. Online. The Gale Group. Internet, 5/25/99

Available Http: Galenet.com

William Faulkner. William Faulkner. Online. The Gale Group. Internet, 5/25/99