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Chapter 15. “Finn Mac Cool in his mind was wrestling with his people”: Polyphonic dialogues in Flann O’Brien’s comic writing

  • Flore Coulouma
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Spaces of Polyphony
This chapter is in the book Spaces of Polyphony

Abstract

Flann O’Brien’s novels and chronicles are characterised by their exuberant conversations. Whether they involve two or more explicit speakers, O’Brien’s dialogues reflect a keen linguistic sense of the multiplicity of voices within any given speech. Based on the analysis of two examples from O’Brien’s satirical novels, this study examines the workings of his consciously polyphonic dialogues, and their consequences on a literary level and from the point of view of Conversation Analysis. My analysis of polyphony in Flann O’Brien’s fictional dialogues enables us to understand his representation of dialogue, not as a fixed structure of linguistic interaction between speakers, but rather as a series of constant readjustments resulting from the interaction between assenting and dissenting voices.

Abstract

Flann O’Brien’s novels and chronicles are characterised by their exuberant conversations. Whether they involve two or more explicit speakers, O’Brien’s dialogues reflect a keen linguistic sense of the multiplicity of voices within any given speech. Based on the analysis of two examples from O’Brien’s satirical novels, this study examines the workings of his consciously polyphonic dialogues, and their consequences on a literary level and from the point of view of Conversation Analysis. My analysis of polyphony in Flann O’Brien’s fictional dialogues enables us to understand his representation of dialogue, not as a fixed structure of linguistic interaction between speakers, but rather as a series of constant readjustments resulting from the interaction between assenting and dissenting voices.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part 1. Strategies in daily conversations
  5. Chapter 1. Strategy and creativity in dialogue 11
  6. Chapter 2. Conversational irony: Evaluating complaints 25
  7. Chapter 3. Speaking through other voices 43
  8. Part 2. Plural identities and viewpoints in acquisition and language learning
  9. Chapter 4. The self as other: Self words and pronominal reversals in language acquisition 57
  10. Chapter 5. The function of formulations in polyphonic dialogues 73
  11. Chapter 6. Observing the paradox: Interrogative-negative questions as cues for a monophonic promotion of polyphony in educational practices 87
  12. Chapter 7. Co-construction of identity in the Spanish heritage language classroom 101
  13. Part 3. The play of voices in mass media and politics
  14. Chapter 8. Polyphonic strategies used in polemical dialogue 117
  15. Chapter 9. Metacommunication and intertextuality in British and Russian parliamentary answers 129
  16. Chapter 10. The role of prosody in a Czech talk-show 143
  17. Chapter 11. Intertextuality as a means of positioning in a talk-show 161
  18. Part 4. Social and cultural polyphony and intertextuality
  19. Chapter 12. Rumour in the present Romanian press: Aspects of knowledge sources and their linguistic markers 175
  20. Chapter 13. Peritextual dialogue in the dynamics of poetry translatability 189
  21. Chapter 14. Voices through time in Meso-American textiles 205
  22. Part 5. Dialogism in literary discourse
  23. Chapter 15. “Finn Mac Cool in his mind was wrestling with his people”: Polyphonic dialogues in Flann O’Brien’s comic writing 225
  24. Chapter 16. Dialogization, ontology, metadiscourse 237
  25. Chapter 17. Ironic palimpsests in the Romanian poetry of the nineties 251
  26. Chapter 18. Polyphony in interior monologues 265
  27. General references 279
  28. Index 297
https://doi.org/10.1075/ds.15.21ch15

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Part 1. Strategies in daily conversations
  5. Chapter 1. Strategy and creativity in dialogue 11
  6. Chapter 2. Conversational irony: Evaluating complaints 25
  7. Chapter 3. Speaking through other voices 43
  8. Part 2. Plural identities and viewpoints in acquisition and language learning
  9. Chapter 4. The self as other: Self words and pronominal reversals in language acquisition 57
  10. Chapter 5. The function of formulations in polyphonic dialogues 73
  11. Chapter 6. Observing the paradox: Interrogative-negative questions as cues for a monophonic promotion of polyphony in educational practices 87
  12. Chapter 7. Co-construction of identity in the Spanish heritage language classroom 101
  13. Part 3. The play of voices in mass media and politics
  14. Chapter 8. Polyphonic strategies used in polemical dialogue 117
  15. Chapter 9. Metacommunication and intertextuality in British and Russian parliamentary answers 129
  16. Chapter 10. The role of prosody in a Czech talk-show 143
  17. Chapter 11. Intertextuality as a means of positioning in a talk-show 161
  18. Part 4. Social and cultural polyphony and intertextuality
  19. Chapter 12. Rumour in the present Romanian press: Aspects of knowledge sources and their linguistic markers 175
  20. Chapter 13. Peritextual dialogue in the dynamics of poetry translatability 189
  21. Chapter 14. Voices through time in Meso-American textiles 205
  22. Part 5. Dialogism in literary discourse
  23. Chapter 15. “Finn Mac Cool in his mind was wrestling with his people”: Polyphonic dialogues in Flann O’Brien’s comic writing 225
  24. Chapter 16. Dialogization, ontology, metadiscourse 237
  25. Chapter 17. Ironic palimpsests in the Romanian poetry of the nineties 251
  26. Chapter 18. Polyphony in interior monologues 265
  27. General references 279
  28. Index 297
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