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Stream of Consciousness
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Stream of Consciousness |
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fractal007 Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958 |
Greetings: I have recently been hearing the term "stream of consciousness" used a lot to describe some forms of "random" writing, as well as certain forms of musical lyrics[Beck Hanson, for example]. My question is: Just what exactly is "stream of consciousness". It was my understanding that just putting pen to paper and writing random thoughts is called "free association writing". Is stream of consciousness becoming a catch-all term now? Is stream of consciousness a relatively new thing, or is it simply a modern packaging of things such as poetry like Coleridge's Kubla Khan? Thankyou for your attention. |
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Craig Member
since 1999-06-10
Posts 444 |
The phrase may be older than you thought, it was first coined by William James in ‘Principles of Psychology’ (1890) to describe the flow of inner experience. Thanks for the chance to read and reply |
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Severn Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704 |
Free association is more than random thoughts. It's a therapy technique invented by the neo-freudians, based on Freuds psychodynamic theory. The person actually 'lets go' of their thoughts and talks freely or scribbles over paper - usually many pages. Then they either listen to their recorded words or read back after awhile to see what is going on in their subconcious and it is interpreted with help from the therapist. Stream of Conciousness relates directly to the writing of random thoughts for creative purposes.  K |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
I'd just add that 'free association' writing involves the real intent of the writer, an attempt to find the unconscious of a living individual. 'Stream of consciousness' is a technique that mimics this 'inner stream' in a fictional character (not necessarily the author's true thoughts) but is usually not as random as people think. Just random thoughts are what I would call ecstatic or automatic writing. Brad |
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fractal007 Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958 |
Thankyou for your replies. This is much clearer to me now. So, Brad, is it then called stream of consciousness every time the thoughts of a character are revealed, or is it in a special form of writing which emphasises those thoughts? |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
Not necessarily -- it has to give you the feeling of a stream. I wouldn't characterize Tom Clancy as a stream of consciousness writer. On the other hand, Thomas Pynchon . . . |
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mark woolard Member
since 2001-01-02
Posts 143 |
Being quite unprofessional in my poetic approach, I believe "stream of consciousness" is different than "constructed" poetry. stream of consciousness, as others have stated, is simply the "art" of words posing as actual feeling, with little or no revision (some slight structure tweeks may be necessary, though). This, as opposed to thinking of a topic, counting the meter, and arranging the rhyme to shape a concrete image is (to me) where the difference lies. |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
But shouldn't we be making a distinction between automatic writing and James Joyce? Between what we do and Toni Morrison? Stream of consciousness is a technique to create effects in literature; it doesn't matter if you revise or not. Brad |
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