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In this eloquently written discussion of Faulkner's aesthetic form and style and the components of his artistic creativity as reflected in Light in August, the author focuses largely upon the concept of time. The deliberate ambiguity, fluid reversibility between past and present, circular repetitiveness, and rhythmic oscillation in his style create a sense of timelessness in Faulkner's writing. The characters in Light in August are portrayed as living in both a linear time progression and a subjective, amorphous sense of existence in which past and present blend to form their own reality. Although the characters represent single, dominant, almost monolithic concepts such as deadened detachment, vindictive moralism, wishful undoing, etc., they are by no means unidimensional. Their conflicts are searing and violent; they are haunted, tragic figures. Central themes of loss, violence, guilt, and traumatic primal scene exposure run through the dramatic narrative, evoking echoes of primitive undifferentiated experiences. Faulkner offers no solutions, but presents with most powerful aesthetic creativity