released 10/1/2026
In this September 2026 lecture, given at the Valor Institute’s Academic Retreat, Glenn Arbery discusses William Faulkner’s exploration of the limits of language in his novel The Sound and the Fury. Through examining key moments of the story, Arbery shows how each main character keeps “trying to say,” that is, how they wrestle with the inadequacy of language to communicate their internal experiences, griefs, memories, and desires. Faulkner stretches, bends, and re-orders the structure and language of the novel itself in his search for a form that can convey this frustration with the limits of language.
This lecture is provided courtesy of the Valor Institute.
45 minutes
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