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Course | Reading The Sound and the Fury with William Faulkner biographer Carl Rollyson (virtual)[in-progress]

Date / Time

  • April 27, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • May 11, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • May 25, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • June 15, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
  • June 29, 2022
    6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Location

Registration

  • Tuition for this course is $250. 10% off for Rosenbach members for the Delancey Society. Not a member? Learn more.
  • This course is limited to participants who are 17 years of age or older.
  • Before the first meeting, The Rosenbach will send the Zoom link for course meetings. 
  • If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email [email protected].
  • Registration opens for Delancey Society members on March 2, for members on March 9, and for the general public on March 16.

Register

 

Course Description

Reading The Sound and the Fury in the context of Faulkner’s time and place is a concrete way of understanding a novel that has often been deemed difficult and experimental. An introductory session will be devoted to Faulkner’s family background and its place within Southern history, with specific attention to the events and people that inspired the creation of his first great novel. A brief summary of the novel’s four sections will also help to orient the reading experience of the novel.  The next four sessions will be devoted to the four sections of the novel titled, April Seventh 1928, June 2, 1910, April 6, 1928, April 8, 1928.  

Each session will begin with a basic discussion of what happens in the section and then of how the section is arranged so as to fit into the totality of the whole work.  It is recommended that you read the entire novel after the first session, not worrying too much about what you do not understand, and then re-reading each section in preparation for each class session.  Certain Faulkner biographies will be helpful in situating your reading of the novel, but none are required for the course. 

Reading The Sound and The Fury Syllabus

About the Instructor

Carl Rollyson, Professor Emeritus at Baruch College, The City University of New York, is the author of the two volume The Life of William Faulkner for University of Virginia Press.  He has also published numerous biographies of literary figures such as Sylvia Plath, Susan Sontag, Lillian Hellman, Amy Lowell, Rebecca West, and Norman Mailer. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, and the Washington Post. 

About Rosenbach Courses

Revisit beloved classics or experience new ones with Rosenbach courses. Book lovers delve into fiction, history, and poetry with the guidance of a literary expert and the company of other readers. See all upcoming courses.

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