Think of another work of literature (such as our current one), in which the title alludes to another work, such as the Bible or other work of literature. Then explain how the allusion suits the work as a whole.
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The title of William Faulkner’s story The Sound the Fury alludes to William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth:
ReplyDeleteLife’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. (Macbeth, Act V, Scene v)
Within the context of the play, Macbeth is currently speaking about his wife’s suicide. He feels as if her death is the catalyst for the chaotic and possibly disastrous direction his life is heading in. Faulkner also literally begins his story told by an idiot, Benjy, a mentally challenged child who is unable to speak or provide for himself. He also is unable to differentiate between the past and present, intertwining his memories with real life. This idea of time is one of Shakespeare’s central themes within his play as well. Macbeth realizes that his current life is a reflection of his past and that he is forever cursed with the idea that he will never be able be able to replicate the greatness of his history. The characters of The Sound and the Fury struggle with this same concept that Faulkner interprets from Shakespeare. If an individual is unable to take control of their life in the manner of which Quentin did, then they will either deteriorate as a person, similar to Benji, or become a cynic, like Jason. Either of these alternatives provides a life that is a meaningless sequence of indistinguishable memories.
-Alex N.
The most obvious allusion to another work in the title of a piece of literature that comes to mind is from Cormac McCarthy's allusion to the first line of W.B. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium":
ReplyDeleteTHAT is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unaging intellect.
This stanza talks of vitality, liveliness, and creation, but the necessity for all things to die. In the next stanza, Yeats disparages the elderly: "An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick"
This characterization of the old as insignificant and the emergence of vital youth is not exactly the same idea McCarthy approaches with his novel.
McCarthy takes "No country for old men" to reflect on the unstoppable nature of the coming generations, but rather than characterize the new in a positive light like Yeats does, the new and unexpected comes in the form of an unstoppable killer, Anton Chigurh.
While both works examine the cyclical nature of life, the tones of each work differ completely. Yeats embraces it, while Sheriff Bell is terrified of it.
Dan L. Ball
Post closed -- the previous one (about the title of TVBIA) will be open until Thursday afternoon.
ReplyDelete