TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Though set in the American South and often associated with stream-of-consciousness narrative, William Faulkner’s "The Sound and the Fury" also resonates with jazz's rhythms and improvisational spirit. The novel’s fragmented structure, shifting perspectives, and nonlinear storytelling mirror the spontaneity and unpredictability of jazz improvisation.
Each character’s consciousness plays like a solo, weaving complex emotional and temporal patterns that challenge the reader to find coherence—much like following a jazz ensemble through a free-flowing improvisation.
Jazz’s influence on the literature of this era reflects the broader cultural movement of modernism, where writers and musicians alike experimented with form, timing, and expression.
The music in "The Sound and the Fury" may not be literal, but jazz's improvisational energy is embedded in the narrative's very fabric.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and South Carolina Public Radio, made possible by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.