The Poetics of the Constructed Environment in J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise
Keywords:
J.G. Ballard, poetics of space, architecture in literature, high-rise, alienationAbstract
This article analyses major constituents of the poetics of the constructed environment in James Graham Ballard’s novel High-Rise (1975). The novel’s high-rise is contextualised within the framework of contemporary architectural development as well as Ballard’s overall work, with its particular emphasis on novels dealing with prototypically modern urban constructions. The interpretation of Ballard’s narrative seeks to examine the chief aspects of the space of the tower block as well as the tenants’ response to it. The paper endeavours to highlight the author’s tendency to examine the interconnected relationships between humans and contemporary architectural structures in his fiction.
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