On Musicalization Of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nocturnes

Kazuo Ishiguro,a British-Japanese writer,was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017.As one of Kazuo Ishiguro’s most representative musical fiction,Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall(2009)depicts the bumpy lives of underappreciated musicians who flounderingly pursue their dreams.From the existing research,there are only a few master’s theses and journal papers dedicated to the work in China,which mainly focus on alienation themes,trauma writing,identity construction,narrative techniques,music narrative research,etc.Although some scholars have studied it from the perspective of musicalization,they mainly focus on the theme,which is not comprehensive.Therefore,this thesis intends to make some valuable discussions on this aspect to make up for the deficiency of its research.The first chapter discusses the imitation of the musical form in presenting and developing themes of Nocturnes.Crooner,Come Rain or Come Shine,Malvern Hills,Nocturne,and Cellist become the theme of the variations,Variation 1,Variation 2,Variation3 and Variation 4,which let the themes of the five stories present effectively in variation and unification.The second chapter discusses the reference to musical techniques in Nocturnes.Kazuo Ishiguro adopts polyphony of imitation in music,weaving the five stories into a big net where the storyline unfolds in the interlaced memories,and the theme reappears faintly in different parts.In addition,Kazuo Ishiguro employs the counterpoint in polyphonic music to the plot narrative,showing conflicts vividly through the male versus the female and tradition versus modernity.Finally,the author also uses leitmotiv,which allows readers to appreciate the deep meaning behind the repeated images.The third chapter discusses the musical rhythm in Nocturnes and analyzes it from three aspects: the meter of language,the tempo of narrative motivation and the dynamics of narrative.Firstly,the work uses the repetition and variation of language to make the language full of musical rhythm.Secondly,it generates a cadenced sense of rhythm by employing the relationship between the story’s duration and the discourse’s length.In addition,the characters’ emotions and the development of the plots have musical dynamics.This thesis points out that Kazuo Ishiguro creatively borrows the musical form,musical techniques and rhythm to give Nocturnes a strong sense of musical beauty and endow it with unique artistry through the analysis of musicalization above three chapters.Nocturnes criticize the prevailing utilitarianism has brought severe psychological trauma to the protagonists.It also reveals the living status that most people have no choice but to give up their ideals when they face reality and inspires contemporary people should maintain their original intention and not be moved by fame and fortune when faced with the choice between the ideal and reality.