William Faulkner (Sept. 1897 – July 1962)

1. William Faulkner (Sept. 1897 – July 1962)

2. Important Facts • Failed and skipped school • Married college sweetheart who already had children • Grew up in Lafayette County ofOxford, Mississippi • Raised primarily by Mother, Grandmother, and caretaker • Struggles financially during the 1930’s • Dies of a heart attack at the age of 64 • Participated in Stream of Consciousness Movement (1920’s) • Impacted by the Civil War (1861-1865) • Nobel Prize Winner (1949) • Contributed to Modernist Literature (1900’s) Personal Events Historical Events

3. As I Lay Dying • 1) Married Estelle Oldham who already had children and cheated while they dated. “He had a word, too. Love, he called it. But I had been used to words for a long time…Let Anse use it, if he wants to…it didn't matter.” – Addie Bundren (Page 172) • 2) He was one of the pioneers of the Stream of consciousness movement. • 3) He grew up in Lafayette County (Oxford, Mississippi) which is very important to him.

4. The Sound and the Fury • Faulkner was raised by his mother, grandmother, and female caretaker. “I've seed de first en de last...I seed de beginnin, en now I sees de endin” – Dilsey (Page 280 – 282) • Faulkner Repeated Elementary, Skipped in middle school, failed in high school, and flunked college. • He felt the pride and culture of the Old South was gone after the Civil War.

5. Themes/Literary Techniques • The effects of time – Time was important to Faulkner because it eventually healed all his wounds. • Stream of consciousness – He was part of the movement which has shaped many of his works. • Human frailty – He suffered many of these; Financial struggles, Alcoholism, affairs, and failed writings.

6. Poems • The Race’s Splendor – Emphasizes death and the final moments leading up to it. • Night Piece – Uses stream of consciousness to illustrate the setting. “Within the cottage, slowly wheeling (line 3)”. “Fills the valley with lonely sound (Line 11)”. • Grey the Day – Uses symbolism to illustrate the cycle of depression. “Save Winter…When this bleak bitter sleep (Line 4)”. “April and May and June, and all the dearth of heart to green it for (Line 9)”. “The hushed plaint of wind...Hush! He’s home again (Line 13)”. • Over the World’s Rim – Explains the cycle of depression. • After Fifty Years – Expresses How time eventually heals all wounds.

7. Works Cited • Cuddon, J.A.  A Dictionary of Literary Terms. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1984. Print. •  M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999. Print • Padgett, John B. William Faulkner. MWP: William Faulkner. William Faulkner on the Web, 11 Nov. 2008. 8 Dec. 2012. http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/faulkner_william/ • Padgett, John B. A Faulkner Glossary. William Faulkner on the Web, 9 Oct. 2000. 8 Dec. 2012 • Parini, Jay. One Matchless Time: A Life of William Faulkner. New York: Harper Collins, 2004. Print • Sensibar, Judith L. Faulkner and Love: The Women Who Shaped His Art, A Biography. Yale University Press, 2010. Print. • Coughlan, Robert. The Private World of William Faulkner. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers, 1953. Print. •  Watson, James G. William Faulkner: Self-Presentation and Performance. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002. Print. • Faulkner, William As I Lay Dying. 1930. Print. • Faulkner, William The Sound and the Fury. Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, 1929. Print. • Faulkner, William The Race’s Splendor. 1933. Print. • Faulkner, William Night Piece. 1933. Print. • Faulkner, William Grey the Day. 1933. Print • Faulkner, William Over the World’s Rim. 1933. Print. • Faulkner, William After Fifty Years. 1955. Print