The Interrelation Between the Author, Characters and the Reader in Cloud Howe by L.G. Gibbon

Abstract

One of the key features of belles-lettres style – polyphony, makes a piece of writing not only worthy literature but rather a challenge for general readers and text interpreters, in particular. The interplay of the voices of various characters in the novel requires absolute concentration and deep insight in order to be able to get the message of the story. Is this a mere technique to capture the attention of the reader or does it pursue a more important purpose? The heteroglossia in the novel entails a confusion of “voices”, but at the same time helps make the story more complete. Cloud Howe by L.G. Gibbon is an example of a polyphonic novel which represents an intricate fusion of the voices of the author, the narrator and the characters. The linguistic analysis of the novel demonstrates the role of polyphony in the overall expressiveness of the work.

Keywords

• author
• reader
• multi-voicedness
• polyphony
• heteroglossia