A Discussion Of Virgina Woolf's Poetic Novels

Virginia Woolf is a representative of the western modernism literature school in the first half of the 20th century. She was the pioneer in a new literature era. She was the elaborator of the "stream of consciousness"novel theory, the initiator of the aesthetics of a new novel. She put her whole life's art pursuit on the basis of breaking tradition and building new aesthetics. She set up a new milestone in the development of western modern literature and became a shining star in the literature field.First, Virginia Woolf put up the theory "Times' Change". Human life changed with times changing. Once the relationship among people change, belief, behavior, politics and literature also change with it. Hence, Virginia Woolf turned the center into the human's soul, where the history's change reflects on history. Then, Virginia Woolf put up the theory "Subjectivity is truth". Virginia Woolf thought people's secret heart should be valued in a novel, and she opposed materialist in British Literature Circles,such as Wells, Bennett and Galsworthy. Realistic writers take care the body but not the human soul .Subjectivity could save British novel's soul. Therefore, Virginia Woolf began a new attempt according to her own era's features, that is the novel of "Stream of consciousness". Last, she put up the theory of "the poetic novel". Virginia Woolf said her novel was different from the traditional novel. The Poem's skill, the poem's language and the poem's circumstances were used. The novel was written in the form of prose, but that was a prose with the features of poems.Not only did Virginia Woolf build her ideal "poetic novels" in theory, but also she applied it in her own creations. The early experimental stream of consciousness novels: Spot on the wall, Jacob's room are examples.These short novels'creation was the basis of her experimenting with her own "poetic novels". At the same time, she saw the hope of "poetic novels". Virginia Woolf wrote many long stream of consciousness novels such as Mrs Dalloway,To the Lighthouse and The Waves. These novels were her successful respresentatives of "poetic novels". Firstly, in Mrs Dalloway, we can see Viginia Woolf's poetic novels were not like the traditional novels which emphasized the portraying of characters. Those novels did not limit narrating the stories, showing the grief and happiness of the characters. Those novels had the features of poems. The relationship between man and nature, man and fortune was shown in those novels.Man's imagination and man's dreams were also shown. In those novels a form was used that is a strange mixture representing the modern heart. Secondly, in To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf used many symbols which made the novel poetic. Lastly, The Waves was the most successful "poetic novel" She lost objectivity in portraying characters. She made the characters abstractive forms and disembodied souls .She made the poetic monologue walk freely, grow freely, just like the continuing waves.By analyzing the three novels. We will gain deep knowledge of Virginia Woolf's poetic novels. In the end, a summary has been made on critical argument about Virginia Woolf's poetic novels. Firstly, facing the fact that traditional realistic novels emphasized objective truth, Virginia Woolf put up the theory that subjectivity is truth which arises argument. Virginia Woolf had won in the end. Virginia Woolf didn't write about typical characters, but turned watching and copying of the outside world into portraying human nature and feeling .Her Novels have the aesthetic intention of "turning to inside", i.e. stream of consciousness. This was the first step by which Virginia woolf exceeded the obstacle of tradition .Secondly, features of Virginia Woolf's poetic novels gave rise to the arguments of literature circles.Virginia woolf's novels have strong poetic features. Her novels are filled with free imagination, symbols, lyric, etc, which are found in poems. The way that Virginia Woolf put poetic skill into th...