Meaning Behind Faulkner’s Novel Title: As I Lay Dying

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Meaning Behind Faulkner’s Novel Title: As I Lay Dying

Faulkner’s title phrase “As I Lay Dying” solicits many suspicions from potential readers of the novel. The phrase itself is not traditionally grammatical because it is not able to stand by itself. As a dependent clause, the phrase “As I Lay Dying” would typically serve as a noun, adjective, or adverb within the sentence and then be linked with a main clause. The absence of a main clause in the title causes the reader to speculate about the forthcoming plot of the novel.

Traditionally, the use of the subordinating conjunction “as” indicates the intention of the writer to highlight the aspect of time in relation to the main clause of the sentence. In addition, the use of the present progressive tense in this clause tells the read...

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