Universität Duisburg-Essen, (Campus Essen) Fachbereich 3
Reflections on Science and Progress in the Novel: Sterne`s Tristram Shandy
and Mark Twain`s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur`s Court
SS 2005, 7. Fachsemester

Sterne`s writing and conversational style - a co-operative work between the author and the reader

by

Volodymyr Kalinkin

Contents

1. Introduction... 3

2. The role of conversation and writing in the 18th century... 4

3. Sterne`s graphic design and print form as means of increasing the reader`s imagination... 5

3. 1. The role of asterisks for the reader`s co-work... 7
3. 2. The function of dashes in the text... 10
3. 3. Sterne`s typography and the written word... 12

4. Identification and selfpresentation of Tristram Shandy and his relationship with the reader... 13

4. 1. The problem of identification... 13
4. 2. Tristram`s selfpresentation and friendship with the reader... 14
4. 3. Tristram`s didactic technique and his book... 17

5. Summary... 21

6. Bibliography... 22

1. Introduction

In the spring and summer 2005, Mr. Dr. Jens Martin Gurr conducted the seminar dealing with the reflections on science and progress in the novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman written by Laurence Sterne, at the University of Essen. This was how my concern with the investigation of Sterne`s writing and conversational style and its influence on the reader of the novel came into being. The general aim of my homework was to find out different means and methods Sterne used to influence the readers imagination and to involve the reader into an equal conversation with him. I tried to gather different informations about this novel and the theme I have chosen.This was done in two ways:

1. By reading the text and underlining those parts of the text which suit my theme best.
2. By collecting books and journal publications on my subject, using the MLA Online Bibliography available on the website of the university library.

All informations from another sources are indicated with quatations. I have indicated the material from the internet used in the last chapter of my homework too. After the introductory part that sets the stage and provides a conceptual framework, my homework is organized into three major sections. The first section of my homework deals with the general information about the role of the writing and conversational process in the 18th century. My interest in what tendencies in the 18th century help to create such texts like Sterne`s Tristram Shandy led to certain decisions about the information I present in my homework. The first section is small, and it occupies only one page of my homework.
The second section addresses the question of what role different graphic means and print forms play in the relationship between Tristram and the reader. We can trace, how Sterne tries to engage the reader into an equal conversation with the help of some graphic means and print tricks, how he influences the readers imagination and makes the reader an active participant in the novel. I tried to mention the most interesting moments in the text, which I found in the text during the process of reading of Tristram Shandy. The number of these moments is, of course, far from complete.
The last section looks at the relationship of Tristram Shandy with his readers. We can trace, how Tristram conducts his conversation and tries to win the reader´s attention and sympathy. We can see, how he attracts the reader with his conversational style and involves the reader into a co-operative work with him. I also present the table of content at the very beginning of my homework, which might aid a reader in locating a section, and finally a selective bibliography.

2. The role of conversation and writing in the 18th century

In the eighteenth century, a tradition which had been dominated by oral interaction between people was replaced by a tradition based on the written text. We can trace this changes both in France and in England. The new art of representation of language in the eighteenth century occurred during the time of Sterne. At the same time, from the end of the seventeenth century, the role of conversation became different meaning and intention: “…the verb `converser` retained its latin sense of `to frequent` or `live with`, and the noun `conversation`conveyed a sense of place that is no longer has today. Conversation created its own social space with carefully marked boundaries; to `be somebody` one had to be `in the best conversation`. …In the classical written portrait, the best compliment one could pay one`s subjects was to praise their conversation; no skill was more important for enhancing one`s social status” (Goldsmith, 1988, P. 2).
The role of the speaker and of the listener or the reader was changed too. The speaker should be a person who conversed with friends or created a friendly atmosphere during the process of conversation like in the family circle. He must please the reader`s imagination, his language must arouse mental images in the mind of the listener or the reader, “while ideal speakers must appear to be expressing a loose, unpremeditated chain of thoughts, what in fact makes perfect conversation possible is their willingness to submit to the rule of the group” (Goldsmith, 1988, P. 46). Or we can say a little bit different to this point of view, after the reading of Sterne`s Tristram Shandy, that not only the speaker but also the reader should have a willingness to submit to the rule of the speaker and to support his conversation. It was one requirement to find oneself in a good company. Tristram stated to this point too. He said that a conversation built a good company: “Writing, when properly managed, (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different name for conversation: As no one, who knows what he is about in good company, would venture to talk all…” (Sterne, 1760, P. 83).
The process of conversation in the eighteenth century became a new conception, where conversation was a relationship between writing, speech and images. Sterne`s writing deals with the unusual form of the text and strategies of language he represents us, his speech associates with the narration process in the text which guides the reader through the intricate and complicated world of Tristram Shandy, and images influence the mind of the reader making him or her an active participant in Tristram`s conversational exchange. To examine it in detail, I go on to the next chapter of my homework.

3. Sterne`s graphic design and print form as means of increasing the reader`s imagination

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