An Integration Of Tradition And Modernism

As a controversial yet outstanding novelist,D.H.Lawrence stands at the intersection of tradition and modernism.His works,on the one hand,inherit the great tradition of English literature,and on the other hand make its breakthroughs.In his works,there are the criticism of social realities as well as the depiction of alienated individuals in modern context.He takes the working class as his subject matters.Meanwhile,he writes about the upstart middle-classes.What's more,the integration of tradition and modernism is distinctly reflected in the narrative strategies employed in his works.In the light of Narratology,this thesis aims to reveal Lawrence's unique and integrated narrative art by a thorough research on his major works.From the perspective of narrative point of view,plot structure,and speech representation,this thesis analyzes the narrative strategies of Lawrence's masterpieces---Sons and Lovers and The Rainbow based on the theories of the narratologists such as Shen Dan,and Chatman in order to reveal Lawrence's unique narrative art and aesthetic character.Study shows that Lawrence has maintained conventions and meanwhile,has made breakthroughs in terms of narrative strategy.Firstly,he adopts both omniscient point of view and the restricted point of view on the level of narrative perspectives.Secondly,the plot of his works has different features---unravelling and revelatory.Thirdly,he applies both direct speech and free indirect speech to his novels in terms of speech presentation.His mastery handling of the narrative strategies not only enriches the connotation of his works but also adds extra charms to them.