Stream of consciousness writing

narrative device used in literature

Stream of consciousness is a term used in literary criticism for a literary technique that reports the thought processes of a person.

If it is done in context with the surrounding world it is called interior or internal monologue. That means it is unspoken, and in some cases could not be spoken. For example, in Mikhail Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog (1925) the first chapter is entirely based on the dog's unspoken thoughts on the world about him.[1]

Stream-of-consciousness writing is typical for the modernist movement. The term was coined by William James in 1890 in his Principles of Psychology. The use of the term in literature is attributed to May Sinclair.

Several famous works that employ stream of consciousness are:

References

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  1. Bulgakov, Mikhail [1925] 1968. Heart of a Dog. NY: Picador & London Pan Books.