The Literature of Exhaustion - 1967
One conducive approach to John Barth’s short story collection, ‘Lost in the Funhouse’ is to consider Barth’s own essay on postmodernism, ‘The Literature of Exhaustion’, within which Barth considers the contemporary novel in its exhausted current state and unpicks the contemporaneous novelty of “intermedia” (or, mixed media) forms of literature, criticising the severance of the conventional relationship between author and reader. It is worthy of note that Barth wrote Lost in the Funhouse within the same time frame of his landmark essay, its main themes resonated throughout his fiction. In this short summary, I will concentrate specifically on Barth’s thoughts on the novel form.
Barth sets out from very early on with the essay that he is believes that a novel can no longer be original in its traditional form; “By "exhaustion" I don't mean anything so tired as the subject of physical, moral, or intellectual decadence, only the used-upness of certain forms or the felt exhaustion of certain possibilities” (Barth, 1997, p.53). Barth’s lambast of novels which follow the mythic paradigms which had become the literary standard not only became a key theory of postmodern literature but also set the precedent for his own fictional works.
Furthermore, Barth’s critical essay, alongside contemplating the “exhausted” authorial styles that were associated with modernism in particular, lauds the styles of several authors and, in particular, holds up Jorge Lois Borges as an exemplary writer. According to Barth, Borges’ genius lies in his application of the imaginative to the tradition; “His artistic victory, if you like, is that he confronts an intellectual dead end and employs it against itself to accomplish new human work.” (Barth, 1984, p.56). Barth continues with his praise of Borges when he declares that Borges achieves an “apocalyptic ambience” by working both within the traditions of the novel but also experimenting with the boundaries of this, thus creating originality from the literary standard we had become accustomed to.
In conclusion, ‘The Literature of Exhaustion’ places substance to the grounding in postmodern literature – Barth not only preaching but practicing the experimental styles he applauds within his collection of short stories, Lost in the Funhouse.
Barth sets out from very early on with the essay that he is believes that a novel can no longer be original in its traditional form; “By "exhaustion" I don't mean anything so tired as the subject of physical, moral, or intellectual decadence, only the used-upness of certain forms or the felt exhaustion of certain possibilities” (Barth, 1997, p.53). Barth’s lambast of novels which follow the mythic paradigms which had become the literary standard not only became a key theory of postmodern literature but also set the precedent for his own fictional works.
Furthermore, Barth’s critical essay, alongside contemplating the “exhausted” authorial styles that were associated with modernism in particular, lauds the styles of several authors and, in particular, holds up Jorge Lois Borges as an exemplary writer. According to Barth, Borges’ genius lies in his application of the imaginative to the tradition; “His artistic victory, if you like, is that he confronts an intellectual dead end and employs it against itself to accomplish new human work.” (Barth, 1984, p.56). Barth continues with his praise of Borges when he declares that Borges achieves an “apocalyptic ambience” by working both within the traditions of the novel but also experimenting with the boundaries of this, thus creating originality from the literary standard we had become accustomed to.
In conclusion, ‘The Literature of Exhaustion’ places substance to the grounding in postmodern literature – Barth not only preaching but practicing the experimental styles he applauds within his collection of short stories, Lost in the Funhouse.
Barth, J. (1997). The Literature of Exhaustion. The Friday Book. London: The John Hopkins University Press.
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DISCLAIMER: All videos, unless created by Stephanie Darke, are linked directly from Youtube & Vimeo. At the time of publishing, all are available in the public domain.