The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying
Essays, Articles, Reviews

Explores the critical material generated by "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying". This guide follows the growth of interest in Faulkner's work across six decades. It discusses writings shaped by various critical theories, offering the reader a view of the place given to one of America's innovative and influential novelists.

Now recognized as two of Faulkner's greatest novels, "The Sound and the Fury" (1929) and "As I Lay Dying" (1930) were commercial failures in the decade following their publication. By the end of the Second World War, however, the reputation of both novels had grown and Faulkner's great fictional creation, Yoknapatawpha County, had become as much a part of America as any real area of the Mississippi landscape. This guide explores the wealth of critical material generated by these two exceptional works of modernist fiction. From the initially mixed critical responses to the novels in the early 1930s, the guide follows the enormous growth of interest in Faulkner's work across six decades. New writings shaped by a range of critical theories are discussed, offering the reader a clear view of the place now given to one of America's most innovative and influential novelists.

Introduction1. Trying to Say: Critical Responses to The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, 1929-492. Taming the Furies: Faulkner Criticism in the 1950s and 1960s3. Sounding the Depths: The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying in the 1970s4. Division, Death, and Desire: Race and Form in Faulkner in the 1980s5. Mothers, Signifyin(g) Monkeys, and Significant Eyes: The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying in the 1990sNotesSelect BibliographyIndex