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Stream of Consciousness

a short presentation on the stream of consciousness

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ani vassil
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83 views

Stream of Consciousness

a short presentation on the stream of consciousness

Uploaded by

ani vassil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Stream of

Consciousne
ss
Definition

 Stream of consciousness is a style or


technique of writing that tries to
capture the natural flow of a
character's extended thought process,
often by incorporating sensory
impressions, incomplete ideas,
unusual syntax, and rough grammar.
Some additional key details about
stream of consciousness:
 Stream of consciousness writing is associated with the
early 20th-century Modernist movement.
 The term “stream of consciousness” originated in
psychology before literary critics began using it to
describe a narrative style that depicts how people think.
 Stream of consciousness is used primarily in fiction and
poetry, but the term has also been used to describe
plays and films that attempt to visually represent a
character's thoughts.
Understanding Stream of
Consciousness
 Stream of consciousness writing allows readers to
“listen in” on a character's thoughts. The technique
often involves the use of language in unconventional
ways in an attempt to replicate the
complicated pathways that thoughts take as they
unfold and move through the mind. In short, it's the
use of language to mimic the "streaming" nature of
"conscious" thought (thus "stream of consciousness").
Stream of consciousness can be written in the first
person as well as the third person.
What Makes Stream of
Consciousness Different?

 Traditional prose writing is highly linear—


one thing or idea follows after another in a
more or less logical sequence, as in a line.
Stream of consciousness is often non-
linear in a few key ways that define the
style: it makes use of unusual syntax and
grammar, associative leaps, repetition, and
plot structure.
Syntax and grammar:

 Stream of consciousness writing does not


usually follow ordinary rules of grammar
and syntax (or word order). This is
because thoughts are often not
fully formed, or they change course in
the middle and become "run-on
sentences," or they are interrupted by
another thought.
Association:

 Stream of consciousness also makes use


of associative thought. In this style of
writing, writers transition between ideas
using loose connections that are often based
on a character's personal experiences and
memories. The idea is that this technique
helps writers convey the experience of
human thought more accurately
Repetition:

 Writers might use repetition to


indicate that the character keeps
coming back to, or is fixating on, a
certain thought or sensory impression.
Repeated words and phrases can act
as a sign posts, pointing readers
towards significant themes and motifs.
Plot structure:

 Many writers who employ stream of


consciousness also experiment with
structure, incorporating elements
like multiple unreliable narrators or
a nonlinear plot structure (i.e., one
that moves forward and backward in
time).
 Both interior monologue and stream of
consciousness involve the presentation of a
character's thoughts to the reader. However, there
are differences between the two.
Stream of  In interior monologue, unlike in stream of
Consciousn consciousness, the character's thoughts are
often presented using traditional grammar and
syntax, and usually have a clear logical progression
ess vs. from one sentence to the next and one idea to the
next. Interior monologue relates a character's
Interior thoughts as coherent, fully formed sentences, as if
the character is talking to him or herself.
Monologue  Stream of consciousness, in contrast, seeks to
portray the actual experience of thinking, in all its
chaos and distraction. Stream of consciousness is
not just an attempt to relay a character's thoughts,
but to make the reader experience those thoughts
in the same way that the character is thinking
them

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