Writing polyphony is fun because it ignores writing rules, squeaks at the reader, lulls them and makes some readers want to dance. Polyphony novels are populated by unhinged voices that cannot be contained within a single consciousness. Conversely, if your novel is written in a single voice, you’re writing monologue.

Technically, polyphony belongs more to the music world than the writer’s world. It’s a style of musical composition employing two or more simultaneous but relatively independent melodic lines. But it’s widely used in literature without music. “In a novel, polyphony is in most cases metaphorical, as is the term ‘voice.’ A polyphonic novel is a novel in which a variety of conflicting ideological positions are given a voice and set in play both between and within individual speaking subjects, without being placed and judged by an authoritative authorial voice. Polyphony includes a diversity of points of view and voices.” [1]

Voice is the style an author uses to tell a story—usually as a first-person narrator. But many authors choose a more complex ornate voice, one that insists that the reader knows the author is stepping directly into the window of her character’s life. Polyphony books are stories told from a third-person point of view, known as omniscient POV. The author/narrator can see into the minds and souls of all characters in the novel. This is especially attractive in novels with multiple mindsets and worldviews. To complicate things, skilled omniscient narrators can deliver their own thoughts and opinions about what is going on in the story, thus motivating both the story and the reader. Once we shift our writer’s voice into third gear (omniscience) we can literally fly into polyphonic prose—writing in several voices representing many ideological positions. We can give every character POV, disagreeing with one another and speaking their feelings about one another.

So, with this shifting, defining, and alternating the POV’s of characters, what ethical imperatives are implicated? A “biography” is nonfiction. It is bound by truthfulness, accuracy, reliable research, and honesty. A “novel” is fiction. So, by default, the answer is no; you cannot write a polyphonic biography.

However, novels are governed, loosely speaking by ethics. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University insists that ethics do govern fiction writing. They assign an ethical parameter well known to medical doctors—Do No Harm. This equally applies to writers. “This also applies to the fiction writer, too, presuming his subject is worthy of such caution. In fact, most book contracts from major publishers require a guarantee from the author that the prospective manuscript’s contents will not cause injury: will not, for example, educate the reader on constructing a firebomb from hair gels and shaving cream or give lessons on how to hotwire a Cadillac – though such information is possibly available on the internet.”[2]

Viewed from a legal aspect, and applying ethical overtones, polyphony authors must give some thought to libel. There are legal consequences when real authors use real people in fiction as characters. Libel is a false statement of fact about a living person that damages their reputation. There is no defense in arguing that because it is a work of fiction it merely describe a world that does not actually exist.[3]

Novelists have an ethical responsibility to their readers. And since polyphony novelists write about several characters at once, sometimes mingling made-up characters with live persons, that responsibility is real, even if their book is not. “Writers have an ethical responsibility to readers. They must treat readers how they themselves want to be treated. This means providing an honest representation of facts, opinions, beliefs, and research. Readers assume authors are the originators of written works, unless stated otherwise. Writers should ensure their work is an accurate portrayal of the truth.”[4]

Goodreads ranks these five polyphonic novels as the best ever.[5]

  1. The Kaleidoscope—the Gift of Madness, by Adrian Mendoza
  2. The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner
  3. The Castle, by Frank Kafka
  4. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
  5. The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Apropos nothing, it’s interesting that four of the top five novels in history all start with the same first word: “The.” There must be some polyphonic message there.

I’ll close with the notion that words often carry hidden meanings. The word polyphony invites that question. Is it poly, meaning much or many? Or is it phony, meaning fraudulent or bogus? Once you separate it into two words, politics comes to mind. Politicians tell stories every day to get votes irrespective of whether their words are much, many, fraudulent, or bogus. Maybe there ought to be a third political party in the U.S. The Polyphonic Party.  

[1] https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/wip-editions/articles/writing-the-polyphonic-novel.html#

[2] https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/more-focus-areas/resources/the-ethics-of-fiction-writing/

[3] https://www.copylaw.org/2010/07/libel-in-fiction.html

[4] https://blog.carlow.edu/2021/06/14/ethical-standards-for-creative-writing/#

[5] https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/17460.Polyphonic_Novels

Gary L Stuart

I am an author and a part-time lawyer with a focus on ethics and professional discipline. I teach creative writing and ethics to law students at Arizona State University. Read my bio.

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