On Musicalization Of Amsterdam

Ian Mc Ewan,one of the most influential writers in the English literary world today,is regarded as the British national writer.His novel Amsterdam won the British Booker Prize,which tells that the composer Clive and the editor Vernon change from close friends to enemies.This novel contains many musical elements which,however,haven’t received widespread attention up to now.Guided by Werner Wolf’s theory of musico-literary intermediality,this thesis expounds musicalization of Amsterdam and its functions.It firstly analyzes the explicit thematization of music in the novel including the prevalence of musical elements in Mc Ewan’s novel at the contextual level,the story of Clive’s composition of the Millennial Symphony at the story level and Clive’s views on musicians at the discourse level.Then,it reveals the novel’s implicit musicalization which involves the musicalization of language rhythm and narrative rhythm,the analogy between the novel’s structure and musical forms such as the imitation of musical techniques like sonata form,counterpoint and leitmotiv,and the musical “evocation” function of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy which is repeatedly mentioned in the novel.Besides,it explores the function of musicalization in narration,the demonstration of musical values and the realization of “perfection.”This thesis believes that the explicit musicalization of the novel displays Clive’s inner thoughts and highlights his dual personality of despising depravity yet choosing depravity,the sonata form structure of the novel expounds the themes of “death” and“depravity,” and the “evocation” function of Ode to Joy and Molly as the leitmotiv emphasize Clive’s desire for freedom.Moreover,it points out that the musicalization of the novel plays an important role in foreshadowing the development of the plot and creating defamiliarization,and reveals that Mc Ewan has an affirmative attitude toward music’s aesthetic and communicative value,and that he pursues “perfection” in both form and connotation by adopting musicalization of his novels.