I-III Tristram Shandy

I-III TRISTRAM SHANDY

“Nothing odd will do long,” said Dr Johnson; “Tristram Shandy did not last.” But Tristram Shandy has lasted, to be cherished in the century of Joyce and Rushdie even more than in the eighteenth century. The oddest thing about the novel is that in spite of the widely circulated remarks among students as well as staff concerning its “tough” nature, “lengthy” volumes, and “multi-layered” meanings, it has gained a quite wide range of popularity among second year students. This popularity might seem unconventional to the students themselves, since they have usually evaluated literary texts in terms of their final exam marks rather than in terms of the witty humour, joyful smiles and free, open discussions they have enjoyed while studying this novel along with the poor, funny Shandean instructor. The following section comprises some of the attempts of the Shandean students to capture Sterne’s revolt in terms of his unconventional form and their own revolt in terms of their unconventional reading.