Tristram Shandy Contains A Marbled Page

147 laurence sterne s experimental approach to narrative is attractive to both writers and artists he uses images and devices that are astonishingly modern for a novel of the eighteenth century.

Tristram shandy contains a marbled page.

You really have to admire an 18th century novel that can get literary critics. The life and opinions of tristram shandy gentleman also known as just tristram shandy is a novel by laurence sterne it was published in nine volumes the first two appearing in 1759 and seven others following over the next seven years vols. Wildly experimental for its time tristram shandy seems almost a modern avant garde novel. Shockingly audacious even today tristram shandy was printed in installments from 1759 to 1769 about two hundred and fifty years ago.

Earlier in tristram shandy sterne had pulled off another literary stunt by printing an entirely black page to mark the death of yorick prefaced by the shakespearean quote alas. Narrated by shandy the story begins at the moment of his conception and diverts into endless digressions. Laurence sterne misuses the stuff novels are made of the ink the symbols the pages the fly leafs to make readers aware of the materiality of the book. Thereby we lose the point which is that each of its first.

The life and opinions of tristram shandy gentleman vol vi p. A close look at the swirls of tristram shandy s famous marbled page which helped define the art of the modern novel. In modern paperback editions of tristram shandy the marbled page is both monochrome as opposed to the vividly crowded colours of the original and uniform every copy of a penguin classics version has the same marbled page photographically copied from an 18th century original. Tristram shandy experimental novel by laurence sterne published in nine volumes from 1759 to 1767.

Flipping through the novel you will come across a totally black page front and back. Laurence sterne 24 november 1713 18 march 1768 was an anglo irish novelist and an anglican clergyman. He wrote the novels the life and opinions of tristram shandy gentleman and a sentimental journey through france and italy and also published many sermons wrote memoirs and was involved in local politics sterne died in london after years of fighting tuberculosis. 5 and 6 1762.

Laurence sterne s tristram shandy full title. The life and opinions of tristram shandy gentleman is one of the weirdest books in the western canon written from 1759 to 1769 in seven volumes it.