Stream of Consciousness

Analyzing the narrative technique that presents a character's thoughts and feelings in a continuous flow, often without punctuation or linear structure.

Who coined the term "stream of consciousness"?

"The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in First Lines of Physiology."

What does stream of consciousness attempt to depict?

"... attempts 'to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind' of a narrator."

In what book did Alexander Bain first use the term in 1855?

"The Senses and the Intellect, when he wrote, 'The concurrence of Sensations in one common stream of consciousness–on the same cerebral highway–enables those of different senses to be associated as readily as the sensations of the same sense'."

Who is commonly credited with the term?

"But it is commonly credited to William James who used it in 1890 in his The Principles of Psychology."

Who was the first novelist to apply the term stream of consciousness in a literary context?

"In 1918, the novelist May Sinclair first applied the term stream of consciousness, in a literary context, when discussing Dorothy Richardson's novels."

What was the first complete stream-of-consciousness novel published in English?

"Pointed Roofs (1915), the first work in Richardson's series of 13 semi-autobiographical novels titled Pilgrimage, is the first complete stream-of-consciousness novel published in English."

Who were some of the authors using 'the new method' concurrently?

"Proust, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and D.R. ... were all using 'the new method', though very differently, simultaneously."

When did Richardson comment on the usage of the new method?

"In 1934, Richardson comments that 'Proust, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and D.R. ... were all using 'the new method', though very differently, simultaneously'."

How many semi-autobiographical novels are in Dorothy Richardson's Pilgrimage series?

"Richardson's series of 13 semi-autobiographical novels titled Pilgrimage."

What are some examples of authors who used the stream of consciousness technique before its popularization?

"There were, however, many earlier precursors and the technique is still used by contemporary writers."

When did Daniel Oliver coin the term?

"Daniel Oliver... coined the term in 1840."

What did Oliver observe about the stream of consciousness?

"... instead of being wholly fortuitous and uncertain, is determined by certain fixed laws of thought, which are collectively termed the association of ideas."

What did Alexander Bain say about multiple sensations in the stream of consciousness?

"The concurrence of Sensations in one common stream of consciousness–on the same cerebral highway–enables those of different senses to be associated as readily as the sensations of the same sense."

In what book did William James use the term in 1890?

"William James used it in 1890 in his The Principles of Psychology."

Who was the first novelist to use the term in a literary context?

"May Sinclair (1863–1946) first applied the term stream of consciousness, in a literary context, when discussing Dorothy Richardson's novels."

Which novel by Dorothy Richardson was the first complete stream-of-consciousness novel published in English?

"Pointed Roofs (1915)... is the first complete stream-of-consciousness novel published in English."

Who were some authors mentioned in Richardson's comment?

"Proust, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and D.R."

When did May Sinclair discuss the usage of 'the new method'?

"In 1918, May Sinclair discussed 'the new method'."

What is the term used to collectively describe the fixed laws of thought?

"... which are collectively termed the association of ideas."

How many semi-autobiographical novels did Dorothy Richardson publish?

"Richardson's series of 13 semi-autobiographical novels."