“The Origins of Speech Lie in Song”

Abstract

In Disgrace, David Lurie finds preposterous the proposition that “Human society has created language in order that we may communicate our thoughts, feelings and intentions to each other”, privately believing that, on the contrary, “the origins of speech lie in song” (Coetzee 2000: 3-4). In my 2010 book J. M. Coetzee and the Power of Narrative, I included a brief survey of references to music as a type of language in Coetzee’s work. In this paper I will examine my claim in greater depth, seeking musical resonances in his novel Age of Iron, both in his prose and in the form and structure of the novel. I will attempt to account for my impression that despite his reputation for spare, academic prose, Coetzee is a lyrical and impassioned writer, and that musical rhythms and structures are an essential element in his work.