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!

    12

    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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