A theory of rhythm analysis applied to Joseph Conrad’s the secret agent and its adaptations

This thesis is a study of rhythm in Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent and some of its adaptations. The division in two parts reflects a twofold approach: Part I develops a theory of rhythm analysis based on narratological and semiotic methods, with varied examples drawn from several media; Part II discusses Conrad’s use of rhythmic and tensive devices and how they have been adapted in different media. Chapter 1 introduces the key concepts of Daniele Barbieri’s rhythm analysis, based on the notion of textual relief and the essential relationship between rhythm and tension. Section 1.3 elaborates on such method, adapting the theory of Possible Worlds and Greimasian semiotics to the identification of rhythmic and tensive structures; section 1.4 deals with issues of rhythm in adaptation, specifically with the notion of the ‘transcodic resistance’ of rhythm. Chapter 2 approaches rhythmic strategies from the recipient’s point of view, discussing cognitive responses to the textual structures outlined in Chapter 1; making use of cognitive narratology, the first three sections analyse the mechanisms of reception that interact with tension and rhythm – attention, immersion and suspense. The final section highlights interconnections between those three cognitive responses and their relationship with rhythmic devices, concluding the theoretical part. Chapter 3 is a thorough analysis of the rhythm of Conrad’s The Secret Agent, showing how the novel’s complex narrative structures contribute to the creation of a multi-layered rhythmic and tensive architecture. Finally, Chapter 4 deals with five of the numerous adaptations of the novel: Conrad’s theatrical version, John K. Snyder’s graphic novel, Hitchcock’s Sabotage, and two BBC TV series adaptations. The works analysed adapt the novel in several media with variable success, but they are all remarkable in their more or less effective transfer of the novel’s multifaceted rhythmic structure into the language and technical specificity of the different media involved.