William Faulkner, short note for UP PGT English

                                      William Cuthbert Faulkner

1. Full Name: His complete name was William Cuthbert Faulkner.
2. Surname Origin: His original family name was Falkner; the "u" was added by a mistake made by an early editor, which Faulkner decided to keep.
3. Birth Date: He was born on September 25, 1897.
4. Birthplace: He was born in New Albany, Mississippi, USA.
5. Parents: His father was Murry Cuthbert Faulkner and his mother was Maud Butler.
6. Early Writing: He began writing poetry at the age of 13.
7. Schooling: He was considered an "indifferent student" and dropped out of high school at age 15.
8. Military Service: During World War I, he joined the Canadian Royal Flying Corps because the US Air Force rejected him due to his height.
9. Education: After the war, he enrolled as a special student at the University of Mississippi.
10. Eccentric Reputation: At the university, he earned the nickname "Count No ‘Count" due to his eccentric dress and routine.
11. Postmaster Role: He served as the Postmaster at the University of Mississippi from 1921 to 1924 before resigning.
12. Marriage: He married Estelle Oldham in 1929.
13. Professional Roles: He is recognized as an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and screenwriter.
14. Literary Influence: He was heavily inspired and encouraged by novelist Sherwood Anderson to switch from poetry to writing novels.
15. First Book: His first published book was a collection of poetry titled The Marble Faun (1924).
16. First Novel: His debut novel was Soldiers' Pay, published in 1926.
17. Nobel Prize: Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949.
18. Pulitzer Prizes: He won the Pulitzer Prize twice: first for A Fable (1955) and posthumously for The Reivers (1963).
19. National Book Awards: He received the National Book Award twice, for Collected Stories (1951) and A Fable (1955).
20. Regional Setting: Most of his works are set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County in the Southern United States.
21. Literary Technique: He is famous for using the Stream of Consciousness technique.
22. Experimental Style: His writing is noted for multiple narrations, time shifts, and complex psychological depth.
23. American Modernism: Faulkner is considered a "True American Modernist" prose fiction writer.

24. The Sound and the Fury (1929): Considered his masterpiece, written using stream of consciousness.

25. Title Source: The title The Sound and the Fury is taken from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5).
26. Famous Quote: The title refers to the lines: "Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".
27. Novel Structure: The Sound and the Fury is divided into four parts and follows a chronological progression.
28. Key Character: Caddy Compson is the central character in The Sound and the Fury.
29. Faulkner’s Identity: The character Benjamin (Benjy) in The Sound and the Fury is said to reflect parts of Faulkner’s own identity and ideas.

30. Absalom, Absalom! (1936): A significant Gothic fiction novel dealing with the post-Civil War era.

31. Subtitle: The subtitle for Absalom, Absalom! is A Boy's Ambition.
32. Main Character: Thomas Sutpen is the protagonist of Absalom, Absalom!, whose rise and fall the story tracks.
33. Narrative Device: The story of Absalom, Absalom! is told in flashback by Quentin Compson to his roommate.

34. Sanctuary (1931): Known as a "pulp novel," it explores themes of evil and corruption.
35. These 13 (1931): This was his first collection of short stories.
36. Pylon (1935): This novel is notable because it is not set in Yoknapatawpha County.
37. The Unvanquished (1938): An important work that appeared in the late 1930s.

38. The Snopes Trilogy: Faulkner wrote a trilogy consisting of The Hamlet (1940), The Town (1957), and The Mansion (1959).
39. Snopes Trilogy Name: It is also referred to as the "Snopes Trilogy".
40. The Hamlet Distinction: Students should distinguish between Shakespeare's play Hamlet and Faulkner's novel The Hamlet.

41. The Reivers (1962): This was his last novel, published shortly before his death.

42. Last Pulitzer: He received the Pulitzer Prize for The Reivers in 1963, after his death.
43. JFK Invitation: He famously declined an invitation to dine with President John F. Kennedy, stating he was "too old to go that far to dine with strangers".
44. Social Themes: He was known as the "champion of the illiterate poor," depicting both whites and Negroes in his works.
45. Southern History: His works often blend the history and legends of South America (Southern US).
46. Writer-in-Residence: He served as a Writer-in-Residence at the University of Virginia in the late 1950s.
47. Personal Struggle: Faulkner struggled with alcoholism throughout his life.
48. Literary Rival: His chief literary rival was Ernest Hemingway.
49. Postal Honor: In 1987, the US Postal Service issued a 22-cent postage stamp in his honor.
50. Death: He died on July 6, 1962, following a fatal heart attack after a horse-riding injury, and was buried in Saint Peter’s Cemetery

 

SOME FACTS ABOUT WILLIAM FAULKNER

 

Faulkner was the eldest in the family.

His father was a drinker.

He was much influenced by James Joyce, William Shakespeare, Friedrich Wilhelm Neitzsche and T. S. Eliot.

 

WORKS OF WILLIAM FAULKNER

NOVELS

 

Soldiers Pay (1926) first novel

Mosquitoes (1927)

Sartoris (1929)

The Sound and the Fury (1929)

As I Lay Dying (1930)

Sanctuary (1931)

Light in August (1932)

Pylon (1935)

Absalom, Absalom (1936)

The Unvanquished (1938)

If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms) (1939)

The Hamlet (1940)

Go Down, Moses (1942) (episodic novel)

Intruder in the Dust (1948)

Requiem for a Nun (1951)

A Fable (1954)

The Town (1957)

The Mansion (1959)

Reivers (1962) the most autobiographical (he began the novel in 1940)

Flags in the Dust (1973)

 

POETRY

 

Vision in Spring (1921)

The Marble Faun (1924)

A Green Bough (1933)

This Earth, a Poem (1932)

Mississippi Poems (1979)

Helen, a Courtship and Mississippi Poems (1981)

 Basic Profile

• Full Name: William Cuthbert Faulkner

• Birth: 25 September 1897, New Albany, Mississippi

• Death: 6 July 1962, Byhalia, Mississippi (heart attack); buried in Oxford, Mississippi

• Parents: Murry Cuthbert Faulkner & Maud Butler

• Original Surname: Falkner (an editor added “u”; he kept it)

• Marriage: Estelle Oldham (1929)

• Occupations: Novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter

• Literary School: Southern Literary Tradition; American Modernism

 Education, Early Life, and Career Notes

• Began writing poetry at age 13.

• Left high school at 15; later studied as a special student at the University of Mississippi.

• Nicknamed “Count No ’Count” for eccentric dress and habits.

• Postmaster at the university (1921–1924); resigned.

• Joined the Royal Flying Corps (Canada) during WWI after U.S. rejection (height).

• Encouraged by Sherwood Anderson to shift from poetry to fiction.

• Worked as a Hollywood screenwriter.

• Writer-in-Residence at the University of Virginia (late 1950s).

• Struggled with alcoholism throughout life.

• Often compared (and contrasted) with Ernest Hemingway.

 Yoknapatawpha County — His Fictional World

• Most works set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County.

• Represents the history, decay, racial tensions, and traditions of the American South.

• Recurring families: Compsons, Bundrens, Sutpens, Snopeses.

 Literary Style & Techniques

• Stream of Consciousness

• Interior Monologue

• Non-linear timelines

• Multiple narrators / perspectives

• Dense symbolism, long sentences, psychological depth

• Experiments with time, memory, and perception

• Themes: decay, guilt, identity, race, burden of the past, decline of Southern aristocracy

Influences: James Joyce, William Shakespeare, Friedrich Nietzsche, T. S. Eliot

 Major Awards

• Nobel Prize in Literature (1949) — stressed human endurance in the speech.

• Pulitzer Prize:

  • A Fable (1955)

  • The Reivers (1963, posthumous)

• National Book Award:

  • Collected Stories (1951)

  • A Fable (1955)

 Key Novels (with exam cues)

Novel	Year	Key Focus / Exam Point
Soldiers' Pay	1926	First novel
Mosquitoes	1927	Satirical, New Orleans setting
Sartoris	1929	Early Yoknapatawpha material
The Sound and the Fury	1929	Masterpiece; 4 sections; Compson decline; title from Macbeth
As I Lay Dying	1930	Bundren journey; 15 narrators
Sanctuary	1931	“Pulp” tone; evil and corruption
Light in August	1932	Racial identity
Pylon	1935	Not set in Yoknapatawpha
Absalom, Absalom!	1936	Thomas Sutpen; Quentin’s narration; Southern Gothic
The Unvanquished	1938	Civil War era episodes
If I Forget Thee Jerusalem (The Wild Palms)	1939	Dual narrative
The Hamlet	1940	Start of Snopes Trilogy
Go Down, Moses	1942	Episodic novel; race & lineage
Intruder in the Dust	1948	Justice and race
Requiem for a Nun	1951	Mix of play and prose
A Fable	1954	Pulitzer
The Town	1957	Snopes Trilogy
The Mansion	1959	Snopes Trilogy
The Reivers	1962	Last novel; posthumous Pulitzer

Snopes Trilogy: The Hamlet, The Town, The Mansion

 Important Work Details

The Sound and the Fury

• Title from Macbeth: “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

• Four parts; fragmented time; multiple narrators.

• Central figure: Caddy Compson (seen through others).

As I Lay Dying

• 15 narrators; interior monologues.

• Journey to bury Addie Bundren.

Absalom, Absalom!

• Rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen.

• Quentin Compson recounts in flashback.

Short Story

• A Rose for Emily — isolation, decay, Southern Gothic.

 Poetry

• The Marble Faun (first book)

• Vision in Spring (1921)

• A Green Bough (1933)

 Themes for Exams

• Burden of the past on the present

• Decline of Southern aristocracy

• Race, slavery, discrimination

• Guilt, identity, memory

• Clash of Old South vs New South

• Psychological realism + modernist form

 Nobel Speech Idea (1949)

• Emphasized human endurance, courage, and hope over fear.

 Quick Facts

• Eldest child; father a heavy drinker.

• Declined a dinner invite from John F. Kennedy.

• U.S. postage stamp issued in 1987 in his honor.

• Central figure in American modernist fiction; widely taught in syllabi.

 Why Faulkner Matters

• Built a mythic South through Yoknapatawpha.

• Pushed narrative form to modernist extremes.

• Blended realism with psychological and symbolic depth..