Stream of unconsciousness

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In literary criticism, stream of unconsciousness is a narrative mode that portrays an individual's point of view by transcribing the author's unconscious dialogue or somniloquy during sleep, in connection to their actions within a dream. [1]

Contents

Stream of unconsciousness is characterized by disjointed leaps in ideation and story line, bizarre new word creation, loss of self-censorship, one sided conversations and punctuation that can make the prose both disturbing and difficult to follow. Despite the name, the stream of unconsciousness occurs more in the form of waves than an actual continuous running stream of dialogue. The stream of unconsciousness is one of several forms of dramatic monologue, where the speaker is addressing an audience or a third person. Such monologues are commonly used in poetry and drama, but with the stream of unconsciousness, the audience or third persons are 'unknowingly' imaginary. It is primarily a fictional device and often takes the form of a tragedy. [2] The term was introduced to the field of literary studies from that of the independent music industry, where it was defined by author and artist Bryan Lewis Saunders in 2005. [3] For nearly a century the term has been both a misnomer and a malapropism for the stream of consciousness.

History

The audio recordings of Dion McGregor (1922–1994) can be perceived as one of the precursors of the 'stream of unconsciousness' (narrative mode), although his monologues and somniloquy were never transcribed and presented as such. "Dreams" (1995) by contemporary American artist Jim Shaw is a collection of illustrations and extremely detailed dream descriptions. [4] "Experiment with Dreams" by Leif Elggren and Thomas Liljenberg (Stockholm Feb. 1996) may also be attributed to the formation of this method. [5]

Notable works

Examples of notable works employing the stream of unconsciousness narrative mode are:

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<i>Music to Listen To...</i> 2019 recording by Bring Me the Horizon

Music to Listen to~Dance to~Blaze to~Pray to~Feed to~Sleep to~Talk to~Grind to~Trip to~Breathe to~Help to~Hurt to~Scroll to~Roll to~Love to~Hate to~Learn Too~Plot to~Play to~Be to~Feel to~Breed to~Sweat to~Dream to~Hide to~Live to~Die to~Go To is a commercial release by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. It was released on 27 December 2019 without prior announcement. The release was produced by the band's vocalist Oliver Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish, and features collaborations with several artists including American singer Halsey and British band Yonaka.

References

  1. "Episode 5: Recent Sleep Works." Glossolalia. , Resonance 104.4 FM, London. 17 May 2010. Radio.
  2. "Razen: The Science of Sleep". , USA. 04 Aug. 2011 Web.
  3. "Stream of Unconconscious on Stand-Up Tragedy" , France. 13 June 2011 Web.
  4. "Dreams"., Los Angeles. 2008 Web.
  5. "Experiment with Dreams". , Stockholm. Feb. 1996 Web.