ENGL 291: The American Novel Since 1945
Lecture 11 - John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse. In her lecture on John Barth's collection of stories Lost in the Funhouse, Professor Amy Hungerford delves beyond the superficial pleasures and frustrations of Barth's oft-cited metafictional masterwork to illuminate the profound commitment to language that his narrative risks entail. Foremost among Barth's concerns, Hungerford argues, is the multi-faceted relationship between language and love. Desire can drive a narrative, or disrupt it. Language can create desire, or replace it. Unifying the virtuosic variety of his tales is Barth's inquiry: Does language always stand in for a loss of bodily presence? Must the written word always exist as the shadow of the oral? (from oyc.yale.edu)
| Lecture 11 - John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse |
| Time | Lecture Chapters |
| [00:00:00] | 1. Barth, the Teacher |
| [00:10:00] | 2. The Modernist Ambition in 'Night-Sea Journey' |
| [00:25:27] | 3. Alienation and Desire |
| [00:42:05] | 4. The Power of Voice |
| References |
| Lecture 11 - John Barth, Lost in the Funhouse Instructor: Professor Amy Hungerford. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov]. |
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