Dialogism, Intertextuality and Metamodern Sensibility in Ali Smith’s Autumn

Abstract

This paper examines the dialogue of voices in Ali Smith’s novel Autumn to explore the role which art plays in the writer’s fiction, an issue which has been largely neglected in studies of her work to date. In the novel, the theme of art is addressed through several different voices, but the effect of polyphony that this generates is not necessarily part of the theme’s dialogic design. The paper also argues that intertextuality is employed to establish the semantic position of the character of Elisabeth, suggesting a metamodern sensibility.