Originally published in 1984. William Faulkner is the most studied American author of our time. This volume presents a collection of some of the best critical essays on William Faulkner’s ninth novel Absalom, Absalom!. Numerous approaches are represented; among them are theme studies, close readings, psychological studies, source studies, structural studies, and analyses of style and narrative technique.

Absalom, Absalom! has long been seen as one of William Faulkner's supreme creations, as well as one of the leading American novels of the twentieth century. In this collection Fred Hobson has brought together eight of the most stimulating essays on Absalom, essays written over a thirty-year span which approach the novel both formally and historically. Here are critical responses by Cleanth Brooks, John Irwin, Thadious Davis, and Eric Sundquist, as well as four essays published in the last decade. The casebook concludes with Faulkner's own remarks on the novel, delivered in a discussion with students at the University of Virginia. What emerges from all the selections is a rich and suggestive treatment of a work which Faulkner himself called "the best novel yet written by an American" and a less biased critic has called "the greatest American novel of the century... joining Moby-Dick and Huckleberry Finn at the pinnacle of American fiction."

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 2,5, University of Stuttgart, course: William Faulkner, language: English, abstract: In his novel “Absalom, Absalom!” William Faulkner recounts the story of Thomas Sutpen, a pioneer who tries to establish his family dynasty in the Southern aristocratic plantation society in Mississippi. Thomas Sutpen rigorously pursues his design at all costs, not considering the possible consequences. This moral flaw in his character causes the downfall of his dynasty and the destruction of the whole family. At the end of the novel Sutpen’s Hundred, the decaying mansion Sutpen built to accomplish his design, is burned down, together with the last descendants of the family. This tragic development of the story provokes the idea of poetic justice, where virtue is rewarded and vice is punished. But can such a sharp categorization really be applied on this complex novel? In the following paper I will show whether the term poetic justice can be applied on “Absalom, Absalom!”. I will take a look at the elements which might support this assumption by considering the characters’ development and function in the novel in order to show if they support the idea of punishment or reward. However, first of all I will take a closer look at the term poetic justice in general. I will give a definition, view its origins and examine its use in historical and recent context before applying it on Faulkner’s novel “Absalom, Absalom!”.

Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from the earliest poetry through Go Down, Moses, Singal traces Faulkner's attempt to liberate himself from the powerful and repressive Victorian culture in which he was raised by embracing the Modernist culture of the artistic avant-garde. Most important, it shows how Faulkner accommodated the conflicting demands of these two cultures by creating a set of dual identities - one, that of a Modernist author writing on the most daring and subversive issues of his day, and the other, that of a southern country gentleman loyal to the conservative mores of his community. It is in the clash between these two selves, Singal argues, that one finds the key to making sense of Faulkner.

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject American Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: William Faulkner’s novel "Absalom, Absalom!" was first published in 1936 and deals with the problems of the family Sutpen before, during and after the American Civil War. Thus, slavery plays an important role in this novel because the Sutpens own a huge plantation in Virginia and hence have slaves to do the work. The attitude towards slavery within the novel is very bad. The people do not like slaves or coloured people in general and this becomes obvious through several narrators. The Civil War and especially slavery is an important theme in American history. The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and around 1.1 million people lost their lives in it. The war took place because of the prohibition of slavery in the north of America although it was still allowed in the south where slaves were used for the work on plantations or in the household. Therefore, the prohibition of slavery was a huge contentious issue. Abraham Lincoln was the president of the Union army and thus from the North and Jefferson Davis was the president from the Confederate army from the South. South Carolina was the first state that announced its separation from the United States of America and six other southern states joined them. The bloodiest battle was in Gattysburg in July 1863 where around 51 000 soldiers were killed. This battle was at the same time the turning point in the Civil War because the Union won. After the war it was decided that everyone has a right to vote not depending on colour, religion or any other circumstances what was then the reason why the Ku-Klux-Klan was formed on Christmas Eve 1865.

A collection of critical essays on Faulkner's novel "Absalom, Absalom!" arranged in chronological order of publication.

A Study Guide for William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

In William Faulkner, Richard Godden traces how the novelist's late fiction echoes the economic and racial traumas of the South's delayed modernization in the mid-twentieth century. As the New Deal rapidly accelerated the long-term shift from tenant farming to modern agriculture, many African Americans were driven from the land and forced to migrate north. At the same time, white landowners exchanged dependency on black labor for dependency on northern capital. Combining powerful close readings of The Hamlet, Go Down, Moses, and A Fable with an examination of southern economic history from the 1930s to the 1950s, Godden shows how the novels' literary complexities--from their narrative structures down to their smallest verbal emphases--reflect and refract the period's economic complexities. By demonstrating the interrelation of literary forms and economic systems, the book describes, in effect, the poetics of an economy. Original in the way it brings together close reading and historical context, William Faulkner offers innovative interpretations of late Faulkner and makes a unique contribution to the understanding of the relation between literature and history.

Considered one of the great American authors of the 20th century, William Faulkner (1897-1962) produced such enduring novels as The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and As I Lay Dying, as well as many short stories. His works continue to be a source of interest to scholars and students of literature, and the immense amount of criticism about the Nobel-prize winner continues to grow. Following his book Faulkner in the Eighties (Scarecrow, 1991) and two previous volumes published in 1972 and 1983, John E. Bassett provides a comprehensive, annotated listing of commentary in English on William Faulkner since the late 1980s. This volume dedicates its sections to book-length studies of Faulkner, commentaries on individual novels and short works, criticism covering multiple works, biographical and bibliographical sources, and other materials such as book reviews, doctoral dissertations, and brief commentaries. This bibliography provides an organized and accessible list of all significant recent commentary on Faulkner, and the annotations direct readers to those materials of most interest to them. The information contained in this volume is beneficial for scholars and students of this author but also general readers of fiction who have a special interest in Faulkner.

The first comprehensive collection of contemporary published reactions to the writing of William Faulkner from 1926 to 1962, these articles document the response of reviewers to specific works, and chronicle the development of Faulkner's reputation among the nation's book reviewers. It has often been assumed that a poor reception in the popular review publications contributed to Faulkner's lack of commercial success. The material presented here tends to refute that assumption, clarifying the development of Faulkner's literary career and providing a fuller understanding of the part played by book reviewing in the sales, promotion, and success of American literature.