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Interpreting The Multimodal Novel: A New Method for Textual Scholarship

Wagoner, Elizabeth A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1416406231

Abstract Details

2014, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English.
WAGONER, ELIZABETH A., Ph. D., December, 2014 ENGLISH INTERPRETING THE MULTIMODAL NOVEL: A NEW METHOD FOR TEXTUAL SCHOLARSHIP (# PP.) Director of Dissertation: Raymond Craig The recent proliferation of multimodal novels calls for a method of literary interpretation that addresses specific aspects of the genre that cannot be adequately addressed using existing literary critical tools. My project draws together tools from book design, narratology, and new media to investigate the ways multimodal novels communicate narrative detail in multiple modes. With this methodology, I analyze three multimodal novels, demonstrating that the multimodal novel makes meaning differently than the traditional novel. I argue that using this method to methodically gather a large data set before interpretation is necessary for a full understanding of the interactions of multimodal components in the novel, and of these elements as parts of a working whole. Chapter 1 reviews scholarship of the multimodal novel using narratology, new media theory, and book design. There is little critical consensus on a method for analyzing these texts, calling for a common methodology. Chapter 2 draws upon concepts from these three areas, developing a descriptive taxonomy to be used in a new method of textual analysis. Analyses of three representative multimodal novels in Chapter 3 show that textual elements with similar appearances function differently in each sample. In the first reading, The Fourth Treasure, I demonstrate that multimodal form functions to draw attention to narrative themes of the novel. With the second reading, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, I discuss challenges posed by less active multimodal elements, and explore how layout constructs the reading path, including ways reading paths can offer an additional level of meaning in multimodal novels. In the final reading, House of Leaves, I examine problems posed by multimodal novels that do not repeat layout patterns or use multimodal elements in a fixed way. Chapter 4 discusses my findings, including ways textual elements function in the multimodal novel. This project argues for a more systematic method of analyzing multimodal novels, proposing and demonstrating a new interpretive methodology.
Raymond Craig, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Kevin Floyd, Dr. (Committee Member)
Pamela Takayoshi, Dr. (Committee Member)
Gordon Murray, Dr. (Committee Member)
Katherine Rawson, Dr. (Committee Member)
346 p.
American Literature; Literature; Modern Literature; Rhetoric
Multimodal novel; Intermedial narratology; Book design; Typography; Multimodal; Novel; American Literature; Contemporary Literature; New Media; Ergodic; House of Leaves; The Fourth Treasure; The Selected Works of TS Spivet; Danielewski; Larsen; Shimoda

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wagoner, E. A. (2014). Interpreting The Multimodal Novel: A New Method for Textual Scholarship [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1416406231

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wagoner, Elizabeth. Interpreting The Multimodal Novel: A New Method for Textual Scholarship. 2014. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1416406231.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wagoner, Elizabeth. "Interpreting The Multimodal Novel: A New Method for Textual Scholarship." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1416406231

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1416406231
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.