Peter Elbow - Voice in Texts

8/10/2019 Peter Elbow - Voice in Texts

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PeterElbow

UniversityofMassachusettsatAmherst

insteadofconsideringitourtaskto"disposeof"anyambiguity...weratherconsideritourtasktostudyandclarifytheresourcesofambiguity.

KennethBurke(1969,xix)

It'shardtostoppeoplefromusingthewordvoicewhentheytalkaboutwriting,butseriousobjectionscomefromthreepoints:

Manytraditionalwritingteachershavelongbeensaying,ineffect,"Don'tletstudent

confusewritingandspeaking.Theyareverydifferentmedia.Oneofthebigproblem withstudentwritingistoomuchspeechororalityinit.

Derridacallsvoiceamajorprobleminourunderstandingofdiscoursetheideathatvoiceunderlieswritingandthatwritingalwaysimpliesthe"realpresence"ofaperson

oravoice.Thisobjectionhasspreadbeyondpeoplewhoidentifythemselvesas deconstructionistsorpoststructuralists.

Peoplecommittedtothesocialconstructionofknowledge,oflanguage,andofthe

selftendtoobjecttotheconceptofvoicebecauseitsooftenseemstoimplyanave modeloftheselfasunique,single,andunchanging.

Theriseofsemioticsandsigntheoryinlinguisticsandliterarycriticismrepresentstheemergenceofavisualmetaphorfordiscourse."Text"hasbecomethepreferredwordnotjustfordiscourseingeneralbutinfactforanythingthatcarriesmeaning(e.g.,thetextualityofclothingorthesemioticsofdriving).DerridawasangrythatlinguistslikeSaussureconsideredspeechtobetheparadigmformoflanguage.Thereforeifonewantstoemphasizevoiceortousetheexampleofvoicetorepresentdiscourse,onemustswimagainstthetideofthedominantvisualmetaphorandemphasizeasoundmetaphor.

Yetthebiggestproblemforvoiceasacriticaltermmaycomefromitsfans.Thetermhasbeenusedinsuchalooseandcelebratorywayastomeanalmostanything.It'sbecomeakindofwarmfuzzyword:peoplesaythatwritinghasvoiceiftheylikeitorthinkitisgoodorhassomevirtuethatishardtopindown.We'reintroubleifwedon'knowwhatwemeanbytheterm.


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SomyeffortinthisessayistobeaspreciseasIcanindistinguishingbetweendifferensensesofvoice("clarifyingtheresourcesofambiguity").InthefirstsectionIwilltreattheliteral,physicalvoice.ThenIwilldescribefivesensesofvoiceasitappliestowriting:(1)audiblevoice(thesoundsinatext);(2)dramaticvoice(thecharacterorimpliedauthorinatext);(3)recognizableordistinctivevoice;(4)voicewithauthority;(5)resonantvoiceorpresence.BymakingthesedistinctionsIthinkIcanconfinemost

ofthedisputetothatfifthmeaningtheonlymeaningthatrequiresalinkbetweentheknowntextandtheunknownactualauthor.Thatis,IthinkIcanshowthatthefirstfoursensesofvoiceinwritingaresturdy,useful,andrelativelynoncontroversial.

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Whenpeoplespeakofvoiceinwritingorofsomeone"achievingvoice"ingeneralorintheirlife(e.g.,inBelenkyetal.1986),theyareusingametaphor.Thismetaphorissocommonthatperhapsit

willonedaybecomeliteralas"legofthetable"hasbecomealiteralphrase.Onceyoustartlisteningforthewordvoice,it'samazinghowoftenyoufinditinbooksandarticlesandreviewsespeciallyintitles.Sometimesthewriterisconsciouslyusingthetermtomakesomepointaboutwritingorpsychology,butmoreoftenthetermisjustusedinalooselyhonorificpoeticwayWhenthereissomuchmetaphoricaltalkaboutvoice,Ifinditintellectuallycleansingtoremindmyselfthatitisametaphorandtoacquaintmyselfbetterwiththeliteraltermandeventrytoimmersemyselfbetterintheexperienceoftheliteralthingitself,thehumanvoice.Ifthiswereaworkshop,it

wouldbegoodtodosometalking,reciting,singing,andotherexercisesinoralityandstopandseewhatwenotice.

Letmeputdownhere,then,someliteralfactsaboutthehumanvoice.Thesearenotquite"innocentfacts"sinceIwantthemtoshowwhyvoicehasbecomesuchasuggestiveandresonantterm.ButIhopeyouwillagreethattheyare"truefacts."

Voiceisproducedbythebody.Totalkaboutvoiceinwritingistoimportconnotationsofthebodyintothediscussionandbyimplication,tobeinterestedin

theroleofthebodyinwriting.

Almostalways,peoplelearntospeakbeforetheylearntowrite.Normallywelearnspeechatsuchanearlyagethatwearenotawareofthelearningprocess.Speechhabitsarelaiddownatadeeplevel.Also,speakingcomesbeforewritinginthedevelopmentofcultures.

Wecandistinguishtwodimensionstosomeone's"voice":thesoundoftheirvoiceandthemannerorstylewithwhichtheyspeak.Thefirstisthequalityofnoisethey


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makebasedasitwereonthephysical"instrument"theyare"playing";andthesecondisthekindof"tunes,rhythms,andstyles"theyplayontheirinstrument.

Weidentifyandrecognizepeoplebytheirvoicesusuallyevenwhentheyhaveacoldoroverabadphoneconnection.Weusuallyrecognizepeoplebyvoiceevenafteranumberofyears.Somethingconstantpersistsdespitethechange.Ofcoursethereare

exceptionssuchaswhensomeboysgothroughadolescence.

Peoplehavedemonstrablyuniquevoices:"voiceprints"areevidentlyascertainasfingerprintsforidentification.Thismightsuggesttheanalogyofourbodiesbeinggeneticallyunique,butourvoiceprintsarelessdependentupongenesthanourbodies.

Despitetheuniqueandrecognizablequalityofanindividual'svoice,wealldisplayenormousvariationinhowwespeakfromoccasiontooccasion.Sometimeswespeakinmonotone,sometimeswithlotsofintonation.Andweusedifferent"tones"ofvoice

atdifferenttimes,e.g.,excited,scared,angry,sad.Furthermore,wesometimesspeakself-consciouslyor"artificially,"butmoreoftenwespeakwithnoattentionorevenawarenessofhowwearespeaking.Thedistinctionbetweena"natural"and

"artificial"wayoftalkingistheoreticallyvexed,butinfactlistenersandspeakersoftenagreeinjudgmentsastowhethersomeonewasspeakingnaturallyorartificiallyonagivenoccasion.

Ourspeechoftengivesanakedorcandidpictureofhowwe'refeelingaswhenour

voicequaverswithfearorunhappinessorliltswithelationorgoesflatwithdepressionPeoplesometimesdetectourmoodafterhearingnothingbutour"hello"

onthetelephone.Ourmoodsoftenshowthroughinourwritingtooatleasttoverysensitivereaders;butit'seasiertohidehowwe'refeelinginourwriting.Wecan2

ponderandrevisethewordsweputonpaper.Speakingishardertocontrol,usuallylessself-conscious,closerto"autonomic"behavior.Cicerosaysthevoiceisapicture

ofthemind.Peoplecommonlyidentifysomeone'svoicewithwhoheorsheiswiththeircharacterjustasitiscommontoidentifyone'sselfwithone'sbody.(Theword

"person"meansbothbodyandselfanditsuggestsalinkbetweenthepersonandthesoundofthevoice."Persona"wasthewordforthemaskthatGreekactorsworetoamplifytheirvoices[per+sona].)

Audiencehasabigeffectonvoice.(a)Partlyit'samatterofimitatingthosearoundus:justaswepickupwordsandphrasesfromthosewespendtimewith,orpickupa


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regionalaccent,soweoftenunconsciouslyimitatethewaysoftalkingthatweconstantlyhear.(b)Partlyit'samatterofrespondingtothosearoundus.Thatis,ourvoicetendstochangeaswespeaktodifferentpeopleoftenwithoutawareness.Wetendtospeakdifferentlytoachild,toabuddy,tosomeoneweareafraidof.MywifesaysshecanhearwhenI'mspeakingtoawomanonthetelephone.Somelistenersseemtobringoutmoreintonationinourspeech(seeBakhtin1976on"choral

support").

Therearegoodactors,onandoffthestage,whocanconvincinglymaketheirvoicesseemtoshowwhateverfeelingorcharactertheywant.

Peoplecanbecomejustascomfortableinwritingasinspeaking,indeedwearesometimesdeeplyawkward,tangled,andevenblockedinourspeaking.

Thoughvoiceisproducedbythebody,itisproducedoutofbreath: somethingthati

notthebodyandwhichissharedorcommontousallbutwhichalwaysissuesfrominsideusandisasignoflife.Thismaypartlyexplainwhysomanypeoplehavebeensotemptedtoinvestvoicewith"deep"oreven"spiritual"connotations.

Voiceinvolvessound,hearing,andtime;writingortextinvolvessightandspace.

Thedifferencesbetweenthesemodalitiesareprofoundandinteresting.(Totrytocharacterizethesemodalities,however,asOnghasdoneatlength,isspeculative,soImustresortbrieflytoparentheseshere.Sightseemstotellusmoreabouttheoutsideso

things,soundmoreabouttheinsidesofthings.Inevolution,sightisthemostrecentsensemodalitytobecomedominantinhumansandisdealtwithinthelargestandmostrecentpartsofthehumanbrain.Sightseemstobemostlinkedtorationalityinourbrainandourmetaphorse.g.,"Doyousee?"ButtherearecrucialdangersingoingalongwithOngandothersinmakingsuchfirmandneatassociationsbetweencertainmentalitiesandoralityandliteracyespeciallyfortheteachingofwriting[seeElbow1985].)

Spokenlanguagehasmoresemioticchannelsthanwriting.Thatis,speechcontainsmorechannelsforcarryingmeaning,moreroomfortheplayofdifference.Thelistofchannelsisimpressive.Forexample,thereisvolume(loudandsoft),pitch(highandlow),speed(fastandslow),accent(yesorno),intensity(relaxedandtense).Andnotethatthesearenotjustbinaryitems,forineachcasethereisahugerangeofsubtledegreesallthewaybetweenextremes.Inaddition,ineachcasetherearepatternedsequences:forexampletuneisapatternofpitches;rhythmisapatternofslowandfastandaccent.Furthermore,thereisawidespectrumoftimbres(breathy,shrill,nasal,andsoforth);thereareglidesandjumps;therearepausesofvaryinglengths.Combination


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ofallofthesefactorsmakethepossibilitiesdizzying.Andallthesefactorscarrymeaning.Considertheexampleofthesubtleornotsosubtlepauseaswearespeakingthelittleintensityorlengtheningofasyllableandalltheotherwayswecomplicatethemessageswespeak.Wecan'tdothosethingsinwriting.(SeeBolinger1986foramasterfulandscholarlytreatmentofalldimensionsofintonationinspeech.)

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It'snotthatwritingispovertystrickenasasemioticsystem.Butwritinghastoachieveitssubtletieswithfewerresources.Aharpsichordcannotmakegradationsofvolumethewayapianocan,butharpsichordistsusesubtlecuesoftimingtocommunicatethekindofthingthatpianoscommunicatewithvolume.MozarthadfewerharmonicresourcestoplaywiththanBrahms.Hehadtodoalotwithless.Towritewellisalsotodoalotwithless.Ifweareangry,wesometimespressharderwiththepenorbreakthepencilleadorhitthekeysharderorwritethewordsallinarush.Insuchamood

ourspeechwouldprobablysoundveryangry,butnoneofthesephysicalbehaviorsshowsinourwriting.

Considerthemanywayswecansaythesentence,"Listentome"fromangrytofondorinfactwithawholerangeofmodesofanger.Withwriting,ouroptionsarecomparativelysmall.Wecanunderlineoruseallcaps;wecanendwithacomma,aperiod,aquestionmark,anexclamationmark.Wecancreatepausesbyusingtheellipsissign.Thereareothertextualresourcesofcoursesuchasvaryingthespacing,sizing,orcoloroflettersandwords,playingwiththeshapingoflettersandwords,andsoforth

buttheseareconsidered"informal"andinappropriateto"literate"writing.(Ifwearewritingbyhand,wecanletourangerorserenityshowthroughquite"graphically."Forsomereason,weseemtohaveloosenedtheconventionsforwritingoncomputersandallowedinmoregraphicalplay.)Perhapsthemainresourceinwritingiswordchoice:choosedifferentwords,putthemindifferentorders,setacontextbywhatcomesbeforeorafterwardstoaffecthowreaderswillexperienceanygivensentence.

Thesearethewaysweconveysignificationsinwritingthatweconveyeffortlesslyinspeech.Inwriting,wemustdomorewithfewerchannels.(SeeBrower1962,58-74,foranexplorationofhowpoetsaddtotheresourcesofwrittenlanguagebytheuseofmeter,line,andstanza.)

Peoplehavevoices;radios,telephones,TVsets,andtaperecordersemitvoices.Textshavenovoices;theyaresilent.Wecanonlytalkaboutvoiceinwritingbyresortingtometaphor.


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It'smyargumentthatthisisametaphorworthusing,butwecan'tuseitwellunlessweuntanglethedifferenceswithinafamilyoffiverelatedmeaningsthatpeopleimplywhentheytalkaboutvoiceinwriting:audiblevoice;dramaticvoice;recognizableordistinctivevoice;voicewithauthority;andresonantvoiceorpresence.

(1) Audible Voice in Writing

Alltextsareliterallysilent,butmostreadersexperiencesometextsasgivingoffmoresenseofsoundmoreoftheillusionaswereadthatwearehearingthewords.RoberFrost(1917)insiststhatthisisnotjustavirtuebutanecessity:"Adramaticnecessitygoesdeepintothenatureofthesentence....Allthatcansavethemisthespeakingtoneofvoicesomehowentangledinthewordsandfastenedtothepagefortheearoftheimagination"

("Introduction").

Howisit,then,thatsometextshavethisaudiblevoice?WehavetosneakupontheanswerbywayoftwofactsIcitedintheprevioussection:thatmostpeoplehavespokenlongerandmorecomfortablythantheyhavewritten,andthatspeakinghasmorechannelsofmeaningthanwriting.Asaresult,whenmostpeopleencounteratexasetofwordsthatjustsittheresilentlyonthepagewithnointonation,rhythm,accent,andsoforththeyautomaticallyproject aurallysomespeechsoundsontothetext.Givenhowconditioningandassociationwork,mostpeoplecannothelpit.Ourmostfrequentandformativeexperienceswithlanguagehaveinvolvedhearingspeech.

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Infact,peoplearevirtuallyincapableofreadingwithoutnerveactivityinthethroatasthoughtospeakusuallyevenmuscularactivity.Wejokeaboutpeoplewhomovetheirlipsastheyread,butthismovementiscommonevenamongthesophisticatedandeducated

andmanypoetsinsistthatitisatravestytoreadotherwise.(Haveresearcherscheckedoutthehearingnerveswhilepeopleread?I'llbetthecircuitsarebusy.)Silentreadingmustbelearnedandisrelativelyrecent.St.AugustinetellsinhisConfessionshowamazedhewastoseeAmbrosereadingwithoutsayingthewordsoutloud.

Inshort,hearingatextisthenorm.Weareconditionedtohearwords,andtheconditioningcontinuesthroughlife.Thusthefruitfulquestionisnot,"Whydowehear

sometexts,"butrather,"Whydon'twehearalltexts?"


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Therearetwomainthingsthatpreventusfromhearingwrittenwords.Themostobviousbarrierscomefromthetextitself:certaintextsresistourconditionedhabittohear.

Thewriterhaschosenorarrangedwordssothatitishardorimpossibletosaythem,andasaresultweseemtoexperiencethemashardtohear.Thisfurtherillustratesthe

mediationofvoiceinhearing:forofcourse,strictlyspeaking,wecanhear anywordaall.Butwhenwrittenwordsareeasytosay,especiallyiftheyarecharacteristicofidiomaticspeech,wetendtohearthemmore;whenwrittenwordsareawkwardorunidiomaticforspeech,wetendtohearthemless.

Peopleproduceunsayablewritinginmanyways.Somepoets,forexample,wanttoblocksoundandexploitvision(asinconcretepoetry,somepoemsbye.e.cummings,andsomeL=A=N=G=U=A=G=EPoetry).Muchlegalandbureaucraticwritingisunidiomaticandunsayableandthustendstobeunheardbecausethewriterssooften

createsyntaxbyaprocessof"constructing"orropingtogetherunits(oftenjargonorevenboilerplateunits)inawaythathasnothingtodowithspeech.Somescholarlywritingisunsayableforvariousreasons.(Acertainamountoftechnicalanddifficultterminologymaybeunavoidable;andconsciouslyornotscholarsmaywanttosoundlearnedorevenkeepouttheuninitiated.)Andofcoursemanyunskilledwritersalsoloseallcontactwiththeprocessofspeechorutteranceastheywrite:theystopsoofteninthemiddleofaphrasetowonderorworryaboutaword,tolookupitsspelling,ortochangeittoonethatsoundsmoreimpressive,thattheylosetheirsyntacticthread

andtherebyproducemanysentencesthatarewrongorcompletelyunidiomatic.

Butwecan'tblameinaudiblewritingonlyonawkwardlanguageorungainlywriters.Thereisalargerreasonculturallyproducedwhyweoftendon'thearavoiceinwriting.Ourcultureofliteracyhasinculcatedinmostofusahabitofworkingactivelytokeepthehumanvoiceoutofourtextswhenwewrite.

Notice,forexample,theinformalwritingofadolescentsorofpeoplewhoarejustlearningtheconventionsofwriting.Noticehowoftentheyusethelanguageofspeech

Inadditiontheyoftenusestrikingtextualdevicesthatareexplicitlydesignedtoconveysomevividlyaudiblefeaturesofspeechsomeofthemusicanddramaofthevoice:pervasiveunderliningsometimesdoubleortriple;threeorfourexclamationmarksorquestionmarksatonce;pervasiveall-caps;oversizedletters,colors,parentheticalslangasides"(NOT!!)".(I'msureI'mnotaloneinusingtoomanyunderliningsinmyroughdraftsasI'mtryingtospeakmyemphasesontothepageandsoI'malwayshavingtogetridofthemasIreviseandtrytofindothermeanstogivetheemphasisIwant.)

Whatinterestsmeishowunthinkinglyweallgoalongwiththeassumptionthatthese


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textualpracticesarewrongforwriting.Thatis,mostofusareunconsciousofhowdeeplyourculture'sversionofliteracyhasinvolvedadecisiontokeepvoiceoutofwriting,tomaximizethedifferencebetweenspeechandwritingtopreventwritersfromusingeventhosefewcrudemarkersthatcouldcapturemoreofthesubtleandnotsosubtlesemioticsofspeech.Ourversionofliteracyrequirespeople5

todistancetheirwritingbehaviorfurtherfromtheirspeakingbehaviorthantheactualmodalitiesrequire.SowhenDerridatriestoremoveconnotationsofvoicefromwriting(thoughhe'snotsaying,"Stopallthatinformallanguageandthatunderliningandputtingthingsinallcaps!"),heisneverthelessgivinganunnecessaryfilliptoasteamrollerlongatworkinourversionofliteracy.

Thusitisnotlackofskillorknowledgethatkeepsanaudiblevoiceoutofthewritingofsomanypoorwriters.It'stheirworryaboutconformingtoourparticularconventionsofwritingandtheirfearofmistakes.Unskilledwriterswhoarenot

worriedusuallyunschooledwriterstendtowriteprosethatisveryaudibleandspeech-like.Hereisafirstgraderwritingalargestory:Oneday,welliftherewasaday.Therewassandanddustandrocksandstonesandsomeotherthings.Anditwasathunderclaps!Andaplanetbegantorise.AndtheycalleditEarth.Anddoyouknowwhat?Itrainedandrainedandrainedforthirtydaysinthebigholes.Andseewebegantogrow.

Andthefirstanimalwasalittledinosaur...Don'tlistentothenewspaperman,allthataboutthesun.Don'tbeafraidbecausethesunwilllastforever.That'sallthereis.(Calkins1986,49.Ofcoursethisisatranscriptionofwhatthechildwrotein"inventedspelling,"i.e.,"1dayweliftharwasaday...."Andthetextwasonlyhalfthestory:itwentalongwithaseriesofvividdrawings.)

Theveryterm"illiteratewriting,"asitiscommonlyused,tendsinfacttoimplythatthewritingsuffersfrombeingtoomuchlikespeech.Thecultureofschoolandliteracyseemstoworkagainstourtendencytowriteaswespeakortohearsoundsinatext.(Animportantexception:ourculturesanctionsmoreaudiblewritinginpoetryand

fictionandliterarynonfictionperhapsbecauseofthestrongerormorerecentlinkstooralityintheseforms.)

SofarIhavebeenfocusingonthequestionofhowspeechintonationgetsintowritingButwemustn'tforgettheimportantpriorquestion:howdoesintonationgetintospeechinthefirstplace?Forofcoursesometimesourspeechlacksintonation.

Sometimeswespeakinamonotone;somepeopleputmore"expression"intotheirspeechthanothers.Bakhtin(1976)focusesonintonation.Hearguesthatintonation


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oftencarriesthemostimportantmeaninginanydiscoursemeaningthatmaynotbecarriedbythelexical,semanticmeaning.Asheputsit,intonationisthepointwherelanguageintersectswithlife.Andhepointsoutthatweoftenloseintonationinourspeakingifwelack"choralsupport"fromlistenersthatis,ifwehaveanaudiencethatdoesn'tshareourvalues.(Hedoesn'tpointoutthatsometimeswegetourdanderupinthefaceofanalienoroppositionalaudienceandactuallyraiseourvoiceandthus

ourintonation.)

Isenseevenagenderissuehere.Donotwomeninourculturetendtousemore

"expression"orintonationintheirspeechthanmenmorevariationinpitch,accent,rhythmandsoforth?mentendingonaveragetobeabitmoretightlippedandmonotone?Arecentextensivestudyshowsthatwomeneveninwritingusemoreexclamationmarksthanmen(RubinandGreene1992,22).Perhapsthecultureofliteratewritingismoreinhospitabletowomenthantomen.

Indeed,perhapsDerridaattacksvoicesovehementlybecauseheislivingataculturalmomentwhentheoldantipathytovoiceinwritingisbeginningtofadeandwritingismoreandmoreinvadedbyvoice.(Iknowthisisnothispoint.)WhatMcLuhanandOngcall"secondaryorality"issurelytakingatallinwriting.Evenacademicwritingismuchmoreopentoinformaloralfeatures.

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Despitethetwoformidablebarrierstoaudibilityinwriting(frequentlyunsayablewritingandaculturethatwantsitdifferentfromspeech),mosthumanscomeatwritingwithechoesofspeechintheirears.Wehearatextifitgivesushalfachance.Theonusisonpeoplewhoobjecttotheideaofvoiceinwritingtoshowthathearingthewordsisn'tapervasivefactofreading.

Thus,"audiblevoice"isanecessarycriticaltermbecauseitpointstooneofthemaintextualfeaturesthataffectshowwerespondtowriting.Otherthingsbeingequal,most

readersprefertextsthattheyhearthathaveaudiblevoice.Afterall,whenwehearthetext,wecanbenefitfromallthosenuancesandchannelsofcommunicationthatspeechhasandthatwritinglacks.OfcourseIdon'tmeantodenythatsometimespeoplefinditusefultoproduceavoiceless,facelesstexttogiveasensethatthesewordswereneverutteredbutjustineluctablyexistwithauthorityfromeverywhereandnowhere("Allstudentswill

...")andthustrytosuppressanysensethattheremightbeavoiceorpersonbehindthem.


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Naturally,notallreadersagreeaboutwhetheratextisaudible.Butthereisatleastasmuchagreementabouttheaudibilityofatextorpassageasthereisaboutthe"structure"or

"organization"ofitandweassumetheusefulnessofthosecriticalconcepts.Afruitfulareaforresearchlieshere:Whatarethefeaturesoftextsthatmanyreadersfind

audible?

Howmuchagreementdowegetaboutaudibilityoftextsandamongwhatkindofreaders?1

(2) Dramatic Voice in Writing

Letmestartagainfromafactaboutliteralvoice.Weidentifypeoplebytheirspokenvoicesoftenevenwhenwehaven'ttalkedtotheminyears.Infactweoftenidentity

someone'svoicewithwhattheyarelike.Idon'tmeantoclaimtoomuchhereI'mnoyettouchingonvoiceandidentity.Idon'tmeanthatwealwaysbelievethatsomeone'svoicefitstheircharacter.Afterall,wesometimessayofsomeoneweknow:"Healwayssoundsmoreconfidentthanhereallyis."Mypointissimplythatwedotendtoreadahumanqualityorcharacteristicintoavoice.Eveninthatexample,wearereadingconfidenceintoavoiceintheveryactofdecidingthatthepersonisnotconfident.

Thesameprocessoccursevenwithpeoplewe'venevermetbefore.Ifwehear

someonetalkformorethanafewminutes,wetendtohearcharacterinhisorherwayofspeaking.

Again,thenegativecaseclinchesmypoint:wearestruckwhenwecannothearcharacter:

"Shespokesoguardedlythatyoucouldn'ttellanythingaboutwhatshewaslike"oreven,

"Shesoundedlikeaguardedkindofperson."

Thereforeitwouldbepeculiarhabitorconditioningbeingwhatitisifpeopledidnhearcharacterordramaticvoiceinwrittentextssincetheysohabituallyhearitinspeech.

AndinfactI'vesimplybeentryinginthelasttwoparagraphstosneakupbyapathwayofeverydayempiricismonwhathasbecomeacommonplaceofliterary


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criticismatleastsincetheNewCriticsandWayneBooth:thatthereisalwaysanimpliedauthorordramaticvoiceinanywrittentext.NewCriticsliketodescribeanypieceofproseintermsofthe

"speaker"(Brower1962).Wherethereislanguage,insisttheNewCritics,thereisdrama.

Ofcoursethespeakerorimpliedauthormaynotbetherealauthor;infacttheNewCriticsbroughtinthisterminologyinordertoheightenthedistinctionbetweenthecharacterimpliedbythetextandtheactualwriter.

Mypointisthis:whenweacknowledgethateverytexthasanimpliedauthor,weareacknowledgingthateverytexthasacharacterordramaticvoice.Indeed,studentsusuallydobetteratfindinganddescribingtheimpliedauthorinatextwhenweusethecriticaltermdramatic voiceandinvitethemtousetheirearsbyaskingthem,"What

kindofvoiceorvoicesdoyouhearinthisessayorstoryorpoem?"(ortoaskthemabouttheirownwriting7

withtheclassicquestionthatWilliamColesandothersusesowell:"Isthatthekindofpersonyouwanttosoundlike?").

Ofcoursethevoicemaybehardtohear.Forexamplewemayreadcertainwoodenortangledtextsandsay,"There'sno oneinthere."ButtheNewCriticshavetrainedustolookagainlistenagainandalwaysfindaspeaker.Itmayjustbe"thebureaucratic

speaker"

hidingbehindconventionalforms,butitisaspeaker.AndBakhtincontinuesthistraining

helpingushearmultiple voicesevenwhenitlooksatfirstlikemonologue.

LetmeillustratedramaticvoicewithapassagewhereD.H.Lawrence(1951)istalkingaboutMelvilleinMoby Dick:

Theartistwassomuchgreaterthantheman.ThemanisratheratiresomeNewEnglanderoftheethicalmystical-transcendentalistsort:Emerson,Longfellow,Hawthorns,etc.Sounrelieved,thesolemnasseveninhumour.Sohopelesslyau

grand serieuxyoufeellikesaying:GoodGod,whatdoesitmatter?

Iflifeisatragedy,orafarce,oradisaster,oranythingelse,whatdoIcare!Letlifebewhatitlikes.Givemeadrink,that'swhatIwantjustnow.


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Formypart,lifeissomanythingsIdon'tcarewhatitis.It'snotmyaffairtosumitup.Justnowit'sacupoftea.Thismorningitwaswormwoodandgall.Handmethesugar.

Oneweariesofthegrand serieux. There'ssomethingfalseaboutit.Andthat'sMelville.Oh,dear,whenthesolemnassbrays!brays!brays!(157-58)Lawrence's

dramaticvoicehereisvivid:thesoundofabrash,opinionatedpersonwholikestoshowoffandevenshock.Ifwearecriticallynaivewemightsay(echoingLawrencehimself),"Andthat'sLawrence."Ifwearemorecriticallyprudentwewillsay,"NoticethewaysLawrenceconstructshisdramaticvoiceandcreatesaroleorpersona.Wesensehimtakingpleasureinstrikingthispose.It'savividrolebutlet'snotassumethisisthe'real'Lawrenceoreventhatthereissuchathingasa

'real'Lawrence."(OfcourseinsayingthiswewouldalsobeechoingLawrenceinhisdictum,"Nevertrusttheteller,trustthetale.")Comparethefollowingpassageby

theChicagocritic,R.S.Crane(1951):

...apoetdoesnotwritepoetrybutindividualpoem.Andtheseinevitably,asfinishedwholes,instancesofoneoranotherpoetickind,differentiatednotbyanynecessitiesofthelinguisticinstrumentofpoetrybutprimarilybythenatureofthepoet'sconception,asfinallyembodiedinhispoem'ofaparticularformtobeachievedthroughtherepresentation,inspeechuseddramaticallyorotherwise,ofsomedistinctivestateoffeeling,oforalchoice,oraction,completeinitselfandproductiveofacertainemotionorcomplexofemotionsinthereader.(96)

Cranehasalessvivid dramaticvoiceherethanLawrence,butanyonewhoisfollowingandenteringintothisadmittedlymoredifficultprose(andsuchashortsnippetmakesithardtodothat)cansenseacharacterheretoo.Ihearalearnedbuilderofdistinctions,carefulanddeliberateandpreciseandsomeonewhotakespleasureinbuildingupsyntacticarchitecture.Butbecausehisprosesoundslesslikeapersontalkingit'smore"constructed"than"uttered"insyntaxreadersmaydisagreemoreaboutthecharacterofthespeakerthaninthecaseofLawrence.Suchdisagreements

donot,however,underminethewell-ensconcedcriticalnotionofanimpliedauthorinanytext.

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Letmetrytosharpendramatic voiceandaudible voiceascriticaltermsbycomparingtheminthesetwosamples.Formostreaders,Lawrence'swordsprobablyhavemoreaudiblevoicethanCrane's.NoticeinfacthowLawrenceheightenstheaudibleorspokeneffectbyembeddingbitsoftacitdialogueandminidrama.Hesays,


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"Youfeellikesaying..."sothatwhatfollows,"GoodGod,whatdoesitmatter?"andsoforthisreallyalittlespeechinadifferentvoice,andthusinimpliedquotationmarks.Similarly,whenhewrites"Handmethesugar,"he'ssettingupaminiscene-

on-stagethatdramatizesthemoodhe'sevoking.

ButCrane'sproseisnotwithoutaudiblevoice:hestartsoutwithacrisplybalancedpronouncementsomethingpronounced("apoetdoesnotwritepoetrybutindividualpoems").Andthesecondsentencebeginswithastrikinglyaudibleinterruptedphraseor"parenthetical"("Andtheseareinevitably,asfinishedwholes...").Butashedriftsfromsyntacticutterancetoarchitecturalconstruction,Ifindhiswordsincreasinglyunidiomaticofanythingeverspokenanddifficulttosayandhear.

So,whereasatextcanhavemoreorlessaudiblevoice,shallwesaythesameofdramaticvoice?Yesandno.Ontheonehand,thecriticalworldagreesthateverytext

is100percentchockfullofimpliedauthor.Evenifthedramaticvoiceissubtleorhardtohear,eveniftherearemultipleandinconsistentdramaticvoicesinatext,thewordfromBoothtoBakhtinisthatthetextisnothingbutdramaticvoices.Butcommonsensearguestheotherwaytoo,andthisviewshowsitselfmostclearlyintheeverydaywriterlyorteacherlyadvice:"Whydoyoukeepyourvoiceorcharactersohiddenhere?Whynotallowitintoyourwriting."2

SoIwouldassertthesameconclusionhereasIdidaboutaudiblevoice.Justasitisnaturalandinevitabletohearaudiblevoiceinatextunlesssomethingstopsus,sotoowithdramaticvoice:wehearcharacterindiscourseunlesssomethingstopsus.

(3) Recognizable or Distinctive Voice in WritingWriters,likecomposersorpainters,oftendevelopstylesthatarerecognizableanddistinctive.Anditiscommonforbothpopularandacademiccriticsandwritersthemselvestogoonestepfurtherandnotjusttalkaboutawriterfinding"a"

distinctivevoicebut"findinghervoice."

Thereisnothingtoquarrelwithhere.Afterall,writingisbehavior,andit'shardforhumanstoengageinanybehaviorrepeatedlywithoutdevelopingahabitualwayofdoingitastylethatbecomesrecognizable.Perhapsthemoststrikingexampleisthephysicalactofwriting:handwritingitself(thustheforceoftheconceptof"signature")Andweseethesamethinginwalking,toothbrushing,whatever.Wecanoftenrecognizesomeonebyhowtheywalkevenhowtheystandwhenwearetoofarawaytorecognizethembyanyothervisualfeature.Ifourwalkingandhandwritingtendtobedistinctiveandrecognizableandusuallystableovertime,whyshouldn'tthat


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alsobetrueofthekindofvoiceweuseinourwriting?

Ofcourseifweseldomwalk,andalwayswithconsciouseffort,weprobablydon'tdeveloparecognizable,distinctivewalkingstyle.Earlytoddlershaven'tyet"foundtheirownwalk."Soitisnaturalthatinexperiencedwritersoftenhavenocharacteristicstyleor

"signature"totheirwriting.HelenVendler(1982)saysofSylviaPlaththatshe"hadearlymasteredcertaincoursesoundeffects,"butinherlaterpoetry,"shehasgivenuponabaldimitationofThomasandhasfoundherownvoice"(131).

Butit'sworthquestioningthemystique thatsometimessurroundstheideaof"findingone'svoice"questioningtheassumptionthatitisnecessarilybettertohavearecognizable,distinctivevoiceinone'swriting.Surelyitdoesn'tmakeawriterbetter to9

haveadistinctivestyle.ItisjustasadmirabletoachieveKeats'sidealof"negativecapability":theabilitytobeaprotean,chameleon-likewriter.Ifwehavebecomesopracticedthatourskillsareautomaticandhabitualandthuscharacteristicweareprobablyprettygood,whetheraswalkerorwriter.Butareallyskilledorprofessionalwalkerorwriterwillbeabletobringincraft,art,andplaysoastodeploydifferentstylesatwill,andthusnothavearecognizable,distinctivevoice.Don'twetendtoseeYeatsasmoreimpressivethanFrost(notnecessarilybetter)BrahmsthanElgarfortheabilitytouseagreatervarietyofvoices?

NoticehowIamstillnotbreachinganyofthestickytheoreticalproblemsofselforidentitythathauntargumentsaboutvoiceinwriting.IfIhavea"distinctiveandrecognizablevoice,"thatvoicedoesn'tnecessarilyresemblemeorfeeltomelike"mine"orimplythatthereisa"realme."Recognizableordistinctivevoiceisnotabou"realidentity."Wemayrecognize someonefromtheirhandwritingortheirwalk,butthosebehaviorsarenotnecessarilypicturesofwhattheyarelike.Forexample,wemightfindourselvessaying,"Hehassuchadistinctivelycasual,'laid-back'wayof

walking,yethispersonalityorcharacterisveryuptight."

Soifwestripawayanyunwarrantedmystiquefromtheterm"recognizable,distinctivevoiceinwriting,"ithasasimpleandpracticaluse.Wecanaskaboutanyauthorwhetherheorshetendstohaveacharacteristicstyleorrecognizablevoice;andifso,whetheraparticulartextdisplaysthatstyleorvoicewhetheritischaracteristicordifferentfromhowthatauthorusuallywrites.Andwecanaskourstudentstodevelopcomfortablefluencyandtonoticeifandwheretheyseemtodevelopadistinctivestyleandwhetherthatstyleseemstobehelpfulforthem.Itendtodiscouragestudents


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fromlustingaftera

"distinctivevoice,"sincethatsooftenleadstopretensionandoverwriting.

SolookagainatourexamplefromD.H.Lawrence:itmaynotbeapictureofthe"real"

Lawrence(ifthereissuchathing)butitisvintageLawrencecriticismnotjustanoncestyleorvoiceheusedinthisessay.

(4) Voice with Authority"Having a Voice"

Thisisthesenseofvoicethatiscurrentinmuchfeministwork(see,forexample,JulieandCarltoninthisvolumeandWomen's Ways of Knowing byBelenky,Clinchy,Goldberger,andTarule).Butthesenseisvenerabletoo.Indeedthephrase"havinga

voice"hastraditionallymeanthavingtheauthoritytospeakorwieldinfluenceortovoteinagroup.

("Doesshehaveavoiceinthefacultysenate?"or"inthePresident'skitchencabinet?"Asreadersweoftenhavenotroubleagreeingaboutwhetheratextshowsawriterhavingortakingtheauthoritytospeakout:whetherthewriterdisplaystheconvictionortheself-trustorgumptiontomakehervoiceheard.Asteachers,wefrequentlynoticandapplaudthedifferencewhenweseeastudentwhoisatimidwriterfinallyspeakoutwithsomeconvictionandgiveherwordssomeauthority.Weoftennoticethesam

issueinourownwritingorthatofourcolleagueswhenweareaskedtogivefeedbackOneofthetraditionalproblemswhenwerevisedissertationsforpublicationisgettingridofthedeferential,questioning,permission-askingtonegettingmoreauthorityintothevoice.Itwouldbeaninterestingresearchprojecttounderstandbetterwhattextualfeaturesgivereadersasenseofauthority.

Noticethatthissenseofvoice,likeallthepreviousones,doesnotentailanytheoryofidentityorself,nordoesitrequiremakinganyinferencesabouttheactualwriterfrom

thewordsonthepage.Whenweseethiskindofauthorityinwriting,orthelackofit,wearenotnecessarilygettingagoodpictureoftheactualwriter.It'snotunusual,forexample,forsomeonetodevelopavoicewithstrongauthoritythatdoesn'tmatchtheirsenseoroursenseofwhotheyare.Indeed,oneofthebestwaystofindauthorityorachieveassertivenessof10

voiceistorole-playandwriteinthevoiceofsome"inventedcharacter"whoisstrikinglydifferentfromourselves.Weseethisinsimplerole-playingexerciseswherethetimidperson"getsinto"strongspeech.AndweseeitinthecomplexcaseofSwift.


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HeexertedenormousauthorityinthepersonofGulliverandallhisotherironicpersonae,andneverpublishedanythingunderhisownname.(Ironically,hewieldedexcoriatingjudgmentalauthoritythroughpersonaethatwerenonjudgmentalandself-effacing.)Let'slookatourexamplesagain.ClearlyD.H.Lawrencehadnotroubleusingavoicewithauthorityandmakingitheardinprint.Somefeelheoverdidit.R.SCraneusesaquietervoicebutachievesamagisterialauthoritynevertheless.An

authoritativevoiceinwritingneednotbeloud;itoftenhasaqualityofquiet,centeredcalm.Weseethisinspeechtoo:schoolchildrenoftentalkabout"shouters"teacherswhoshoutalotbecausetheylackauthority.

Asteachers,mostofussaywewantourstudentstodevelopsomeauthorityofvoice,andweapplaudwhenthetimidstudentspeaksout.However,manyofourpracticesasteachershavetheeffectofmakingstudentsmoretimidandhesitantintheirwriting.InthefollowingpassageVirginiaWoolf(seePayne1983)writesaboutvoiceasauthoritythatis,aboutthestruggletotakeonauthorityinasituationwhereshewasexpected

tobedeferential:

Directly...Itookmypeninmyhandtoreviewthatnovelbyafamousyoungman,shslippedbehindmeandwhispered,"Mydear,youayoungwoman.Youarewritingaboutabookthathasbeenwrittenbyaman.Besympathetic;betender;flatterdeceiveusealltheartsandwilesofoursex.Neverletanybodyguessthatyouhaveamindofyourown..."Andshemadeasiftoguidemypen...[Butindoingso]shewouldhavepluckedtheheartoutofmywriting.(Payne1983,83)Wemaywriteelegantlyand

successfully,sheimplies,butifwedon'twritewithauthority,withamindofourownthatiswillingtooffend,whatweproducescarcelycountsasrealwriting(the heart islucked out of it).

(5) Resonant Voice or Presence

Hereatlastistroubletheswamp.Thisistheangleofmeaningthathasmadevoicesuchadisputedtermthearenaof"authenticity,""presence,"sincerity,identity,self,andwhatIcalled"realvoice"inWriting with Power(1981).Beforewadingin,letme

pausetoemphasizewhatIhavegainedbyholdingbacksolongcarefullyseparatingwhatissolidfromwhatisswampy.Formymainargumentinthisessayisthatthereislittlegroundtodisputevoiceasasolidcriticaltermatermthatpointstocertaindefiniteandimportantqualitiesintextsthatcannoteasilybegainsaid:audiblevoice,dramaticvoicerecognizableordistinctivevoice,andvoicewithauthority.Thatis,evenifwearecompletelyatoddsaboutthenatureofselvesortheideologyofidentityaboutwhetherpeopleevenhavesuchthingsasselves,andabouttherelationofatexttothepersonwhowroteit,wehaveagoodchanceofreachingagreementabout


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whetheranygiventexthasaudiblevoice,whatkindofdramaticvoiceithas,whetherithasarecognizableordistinctivevoice,andwhetherthewriterwasabletoachieveauthorityofvoice.Similarly,evenifteachersdisagreecompletelyaboutthenatureofselfandidentityandaboutthevalueofsincerityinwriting,theycanprobablyagreethatstudentswouldbenefitfromexploringandattendingtothesefourdimensionsofvoiceintheirwriting.Withthesemeaningssecure,Ifeelmoreauthoritytoenterthe

arenaofdifficultyandconflict.

Indeed,Icanbeginmyaccountofresonantvoicebyshowingthatthegroundisnotasswampyaswemightfear.Thatis,theconceptofresonantvoiceorpresenceiscertainlyarguable,anditinvolvesmakinginferencesabouttherelationbetweenthepresenttextand11

theabsentactualwriter;itdoesnotassumeanyparticularmodeloftheselfortheoryofidentityandinparticularitdoesnotrequireamodeloftheselfassimple,single,

unique,orunchanging.Icanmakethispointbydescribingresonantvoiceincontrasttosincerevoice(somethingthatenthusiastsofvoicehavesometimesmistakenlycelebrated).

Wehearsincerevoicesallaroundus.Loverssay,"Ionlyhaveeyesforyou";parentssay,"Trustme";teacherssay,"Iamonyourside."Evensalesmenandpoliticiansaresometimesperfectlysincere.SurelyReaganwassinceremuchofthetime.Butsometimesthosesincerewords,even in their very sincerity,ringhollow.Genuinesinceritycanitselffeelcloyinglyfalse.Yetwemustn'tflipallthewayovertothecynicalpositionofpeoplewhohavebeenburnedtoooftenandsaythatsincerityitselfisfalse("nevertrustaguywhoreallythinkshelovesyou"),ortothesophisticatedpositionofsomeliteraryfolk("sincereartisbadart").Sometimeswecantrustsincerewords.Sincerediscourseisnotalwaystinny.

Whatisasincerevoice?Whenwesaythatsomeonespeaksorwritessincerely,wemeanthatthey"reallyreallybelieve"whattheyaresaying.Thismeansthattheyexperiencenogapatallbetweenutteranceandintention.Inshort,sinceritytellsus

aboutthefitbetweenintentionandconsciousthoughtandfeeling.Butonlythatonlyaboutwhattherelationbetweenwhatpeopleintendtosayandwhattheyareconsciouslythinkingandfeeling.Whataboutgapsbetweenutteranceandunconsciousintentionsandfeelings?

Resonantvoiceisausefulconceptbecauseitpointstotherelationshipbetweendiscourseandtheunconscious.Whenwehearsinceritythatisobviouslytinny,wearehearingagapbetweenutteranceandunconsciousintentionorfeeling.Self-deception.


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Sensitivelistenerscanhearverysmallgaps.Thustheyarealsolikelytobesensitivetotheresonancethatoccurswhendiscoursedoes fitlargerportionsofthespeakerthosepreciousmomentsinlifeandwritingwhenapersonactuallydoesharnesswordstofitmoreofapersonthanconsciousintentionthosewordswhichseem(inAdrienneRich'swords)to"havetheheftofourlivingbehindthem."

Suchwordsareofcourserare.Foradiscoursecanneverfullyexpressorarticulateawholeperson.Apersonisusuallytoocomplexandhastoomanyfacets,parts,roles,voices,identities.Butatcertainluckyorachievedmoments,writersorspeakersdomanagetofindwordswhichseemtocapturetherichcomplexityoftheunconscious;orwordswhich,thoughtheydon'texpress orarticulateeverythingthatisintheunconscious,neverthelesssomehowseemtoresonate withorhave behind themtheunconsciousaswellastheconscious(oratleastmuchlargerportionsthanusual).Itiswordsofthissortthatweexperienceasresonantandthroughthemwehaveasenseofpresencewiththewriter.

Noticenowhowtheconceptofresonantvoiceopensthedoortoirony,fiction,lying,andgames;indeeditpositivelycalls fortheseandotherpolyvocalormultivalentkindsofdiscourse.Ifwevaluethesoundofresonancethesoundofmoreofapersonbehindthewordsandifwegetpleasurefromasenseofthewriter'spresenceinatext,weareoftengoingtobedrawntowhatisambivalentandcomplexandnotjusttoearnestattemptstotellthesinceretruth.CantwomillionNewCriticsbecompletelywrongintheirobsessivepraiseofirony?Themostresonantlanguageisoftenlying

andgamey.Writingwithresonantvoiceneedn'tbeunifiedorcoherent;itcanbeironicunaware,disjointed.

AnynotionofresonantvoicewouldhavetoincludeSwift'sstrongestworks;evenPope's"RapeoftheLock"wherehemakesfunofthesillinessandvanityhealsoloves.

WhenLawrencesaysofMelville,"Theartistwassomuchgreaterthantheman,"heistalkingaboutthedifferencebetweenMelville'ssinceresentimentsandthosepartsof

hiswritingthatexpresshislargerdarkervisionwritingthatresonateswithmorepartsofhimselforhisvisionorhisfeelingsthanhewasconsciouslyawareof.Ineffect,LawrenceissayingthatMelville"theman"hasplentyofaudible,dramatic,distinctiveandauthoritative,voice("Andthat'sMelville.Ohdearwhenthesolemnassbrays!brays!

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brays!").Buthelacksresonantvoice("Butthere'ssomethingfalse")exceptwhereh


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functions"asartist"andrendersmoreofhisunconsciousknowledgeandawareness.It'snoaccidentthattheresonanceshowsupmostinhisdiscourse"asartist":thatis,wetendtogetmoreofourunconsciousintoourdiscoursewhenweusemetaphorsandtelstoriesandexploitthesoundsandrhythmsoflanguage.

Onceweseethatresonancecomesfromgettingmoreofourselvesbehindthewords,

werealizethatunityorsinglenessisnotthegoal.Ofcoursewedon'thavesimple,neatlycoherentorunchangingselves.ToremembertheroleoftheunconsciousistorememberwhatBakhtinandsocialconstructionistsandotherssayindifferentterms:wearemadeofdifferentroles,voices.Indeed,BarbaraJohnsonseesalinkbetweenvoiceandsplitness ordoubleness itselfwordswhichrendermultiplicityofself:"Thesignofanauthenticvoiceisthusnotself-identitybutself-difference."

KeithHjortshoj(exploringrelationsbetweenwritingandphysicalmovement)insiststhatcohesionisnotalwaysthegoalwithwritingorwithselves:Cohesion,then,isn't

alwaysacardinalvirtue,in[physical]movementorwriting...

Toappreciatefullythefreedom,flexibility,andspeedwithwhichyoungchildrenadapttotheirsurroundings,wehavetorememberthattheycontinuallycomeungluedandreassemblethemselvesusuallyseveraltimesaday.Theyhavewild,irrationalexpectationsofthemselvesandothers.Theytakeuncalculatedrisksthatleadthemtofrustration,anger,andfearinthespaceofafewminutestheypassfromutterdespairtounmitigatedjoy,andsometimesbackagain,likeyouraveragemanic-depressive.(12)

Selvestendtoevolve,change,takeonnewvoicesandassimilatethem.Theconceptoresonantvoiceexplainstheintriguingpowerofsomuchspeechandwritingbychildren:theyweartheirunconsciousmoreontheirsleeve;theirdefensesareoftenlesselaborate.

Thustheyoftengetmoreofthemselvesintoorbehindtheirdiscourse.

Onereasonwritingisparticularlyimportant(asopposedtospeech)andwhywriting

providesasiteforresonantvoiceorpresenceisthatwriting,particularlywithitspossibilitiesforprivacy,hasalwaysservedasacrucialplacefortryingoutpartsoftheselforunconsciousthathavebeenhiddenorneglectedorundevelopedtoexperimenandtryout"newsubjectpositions."(SeeJonsberg1993.)Whenwehavegottentoknowastudentsomewhatthroughherwriting,orwhenwearereadingasufficientlylongmanuscript,wecansometimesnoticeparticularplaceswherethewriterseemstogetinabitmoreofwhatwesenseisherselforsensibility.Oftenthesearelittlechangesoftoneoreruptionsorasidesordigressionsevenlapsesofasort:buttheyareplaceswheresuddenlywefeelanaddedinfusionofweight,richness,presence.


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somethingwhichisdirectlyinthecantor'sbody,broughttoyourearsinoneandthesamemovementfromdeepdowninthecavities,themuscles,themembranes,thecartilages,andfromdeepdownintheSlavoniclanguage,asthoughasingleskinlinedtheinnerfleshoftheperformerandthemusichesings.Thevoiceisnotpersonal: itexpressesnothing of the cantor and his soul [emphasisadded];itisnotoriginal...andathesametimeitisindividual:ithasushearabodywhichhasnocivilidentity,no

"personality,"butwhichisneverthelessaseparatebody...The

"grain"isthat:thematerialityofthebodyspeakingitsmothertongue.(181)

SeeAdrienneRich'sfigureoflanguagewith"thesheerheft"orweight"ofourlivingbehindit.3

OfcourseI'mnotsayingthatwritingwithresonantvoicemustbeironic,gamey,splitcannotbesincereorpersonal.TheRichpoemissurelysincereandpersonal.

Northattheselfdoesnotcharacteristicallyhaveakindofcoherenceandevenpersistenceofidentityovertime.I'mjustinsistingthatthenotionofresonantvoiceorpresenceinwritingdoesnotrequirethesethings.

Examplesofresonantvoice?IwouldventuretocalltheAdrienneRichpoemanexample(seeendnote3).Butexamplesarenoteasytocitebecausewecannotpointtoidentifiablefeaturesoflanguagethatare"resonant"aswecanpointtofeaturesthatareaudible,dramatic,distinctive,orauthoritative.Rather,weareinthediceybusiness

ofpointingtotherelation oftextualfeaturestoaninferredpersonpresentbehindthetext.Ofcoursethisinferredpresencecanonlycomefromotherfeaturesofthetext.It'sasthoughputtingitbluntlyorschematicallyanysentence,paragraph,orpagecanberesonantornot,dependingonthecontextofalongerworkoroeuvre.

14

Look,forexample,atourpassagesfromLawrenceandCrane.Ihearsomuchvoicein

theLawrence:audible,dramatic,distinctive,authoritative.Withthatmuchvividnessandnoise,Ican'tdecidewhetherIhearresonance.Thepassageisgamey,tricky,show-offyapose.Butofcoursethatdoesn'tdisqualifyiteither.I'mnotsure;I'dhavetoreadmore.

Crane?Againwecannotdecidefromsuchashortpassage.CertainlyitisnotrichinthekindofaudibleanddramaticvoicethatRobertFrostaskedfor(the"speakingtoneofvoicesomehowentangledinthewordsandfastenedtothepagefortheearoftheimagination').Butthat'snotthepointwithresonantvoice.Ifwereadmorewemight


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indeedhearbehindthissomewhatforbiddingprosethe"sheerheftofhisliving,"

andexperienceapowerfulresonanceorpresenceinthepassage.

Forofcourseassertionsaboutresonantvoicewillalwaysbemorearguablethanaboutotherkindsofvoice.Notonlybecausewearedealingwithsubtleinferencesrather

thanpointingtoparticularlinguisticfeatures,butalsobecauseourmainorganforlisteningtoresonanceisourownself.Thatis,wearemostlikelytohearresonancewhenthewordsresonatewithus,fitus.Thisisanobviousproblem,anditisenoughtomakesomepeopleinsistthattheonlyresonancewecantalkaboutisbetweenthetextandthereader,notthetextandthewriter.(Bakhtinusesametaphorofliteralresonancebetweenspeakerandlistenerwhenhesaysweloseintonationinourspeechunlesswehave"choralsupport"

fromsympatheticorlike-mindedlisteners[1976,102-6].)Iagreethatwhenwehear

resonance,wearemostoften hearingaresonanceofthewordswithourownpredilections,tastes,obsessions.Butsomethingmorethanthisishappening,surely,whenreadersofmanydifferenttemperamentshearresonanceinthesamepieceofwritingevenaveryidiosyncraticpiece.Andmostofushaveoccasionallyhadateacheroreditorwhoispeculiarlygoodbecauseshepossessestheabilityto"heararound"herowntemperamentandpredilectionstohearresonanceevenwhenitdoesn'tfither.Thisistheabilitytoloveandfeelgreatpowerinapiecewhilestillbeingabletosay,

"Butthisisnotmykindofwritingitdoesn'treallyfitme"andstillhelpthewriterreviseherpieceinadirectiondifferentfromone'sownpredilectionsortaste.Toputitanotherway,thiskindofreaderismoreexpertatlisteningforresonanceevenwhenitinvolveswhatis"other"or"different"fromherself.

Theconceptofresonantvoiceorpresencemaynotassumeanyideologyofselforidentity,butitdoesassumesomethingelsecontroversial:thatwecanmakeinferencesaboutthe

fitbetweenthevoiceinatextandtheactualunknown,unseenhistoricalwriterbehindthetextonthebasisofthewrittentextalone.Wecanhaveaudible,dramatic,distinctive,andauthoritativevoicewithoutanysenseofwhetherthevoicefitsordoesn'tfittherealauthor.

Notsoherewithresonantvoiceorpresence.

Althoughitmayseempeculiartosaythatwecansensethefitbetweenthevoiceinatextandtheunknownwriterbehindit(especiallyinthelightofmuchpoststructural


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infactthecommonsenseview:ineffect,"It'snicetobetrustworthy;butifyou'reskilledyoucanfakeit."

WhenAristotlesaysthatwecanpersuadepeoplebycreatingadramaticvoicethatismoretrustworthythanweactuallyarebysaying,ineffect,thatagoodrhetorcansometimesfooltheaudienceheistalkingaboutthegapbetweenimpliedauthorand

realauthor,betweendramaticvoiceandthewriter'sownvoice.Becausehe'swritingahandbookforauthors,he'stellingthemhowtheycanhidethisgapiftheyareskilled.Theycanseemmoretrustworthythantheyare,buttodosotheymustfooltheaudienceintonotseeingthegap.Ifhe'dbeenwritingahandbookforaudiences ratherthanauthors(writing

"receptiontheory"insteadof"transmissiontheory"),hewouldhavelookedatthisgapfromtheotherside.Hewouldhaveemphasizedhowskilledlistenerscanuncoverthegapthatspeakersaretryingtohide.Hewouldhavetalkedabouthowskilledlisteners

candetect17

differencesbetweentheimpliedauthorandtherealauthorcandetect,thatis,dishonestyoruntrustworthinesseventhroughasensiblemessageorafluentdelivery.Inshort,byarguingintheRhetoric thatskilledspeakerscanseembetterthantheyare,heisacknowledgingthatthereisagaptobedetected,andimplyingthatgoodlistenerscanmakeinferencesaboutthecharacterofthespeakerfromtheirwords.

Sincereadersandlistenersmaketheseperceptionsallthetimeaboutthetrustworthinessofthespeakerorwriteronthebasisoftheirwordsalone,anyvalidrhetoricaltheorymustshowthatpersuasivenessoftencomesfromresonant voice orcommunicated presence asoftenasitcomesfrommerelydramaticvoiceorimpliedauthor.

Aristotleclearlyimplieswhatcommonsensetellsus:wearenotpersuadedbyimpliedauthorassuchthatis,bythecreationofadramaticvoicethatsoundstrustworthy;weareonlypersuadedifwebelievethatdramaticvoiceisthevoiceoftheactualspeaker

orauthor.

Wedon'tbuyausedcarfromsomeonejustbecauseweadmiretheirdramaticskillincreatingafictionaltrustworthyvoice.Ifethosisnothingbutimpliedauthor,itlosesallpowerofpersuasion.4


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Vanzetti)thatColesusesinhisteaching:"...formethere'sno'facade'here,notanymorethanSaccois'behind'anything.Thatlanguageofhis,sofarasI'mconcerned,he'sin.

He'sit.Andit'shim"(179).Whentheycriticizeatextualvoice,theyoftenfake;Colessometimesevencallsitbullshit.(Ifwecreateourselvesaneweverytimewe

speakorwrite,howcanourcreationeverbeanythingbutreal?)HereisColesworkingbothsidesofthe/identitystreetintwoadjacentsentenceswhereheisdescribinghisprocessof

"rewriting"himselfintheprocessofrevisinghisownbook.Inonesentencehesaysheisdoing"nomorethantryingtosolveawritingproblem";butinthenextsentencehesayshisrevisingisawayofseeingwhatitcouldmeantobelongtoone'sself..."(276).

(Cole,andGibsonhavesomethebestearsaroundforthesubtletiesandnuancesofvoiceinatextandthisclearlyderivesfromtheirworkinTheodoreBaird'sfamousEnglish1-2

courseatAmherstCollegeinwhichRobertFrostalsoseemedtoplayalurkingrole[seeVarnum'sforthcomingbookandHarris'sforthcomingarticleentitled"Voice"].Inthecultureofthatcoursewecanseethesameambivalenceaboutandidentity:ainsistencethatvoiceisnothingbutaphenomenonoftextyetacontinual,intuitivelisteningforhowtextualvoicereverberatesinrelationtoapersonbehindthepage.Gibson'sTough,Sweet and Stuffyseemstomeoneofthebestbooksaroundaboutvoiceandwriting.)

Bakhtin,Mikhail.1976."DiscourseinLifeandDiscourseinArt(ConcerningSociologicalPoetics)."AppendixtoFreudianism: A Marxist Critique,byV.N.

Volosinov.TranslatedbyI.R.TitunikandeditedbyNealH.Bruss.NewYork:AcademicPress.[Holquist'sattributionofthisworktoBakhtinisgenerallyaccepted.]

.1981."DiscourseintheNovel."InThe Dialogic Imagination:FourEssays,editedbyMichaelHolquistandtranslatedbyCarylEmersonandMichaelHolquist,259422

Austin:UniversityofTexasPress.

Barthes,Roland.1977.Image, Music, Text.EssaysselectedandtranslatedbyStephenHeath.NewYork:HillandWang.


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Documents

Peter Elbow - Voice in Texts