Stephen King, The Dark Half

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Published in 1989,

The Dark Half

was Stephen King’s attempt to write a text that would express views about writing which were almost directly opposed to those he recorded in his earlier work entitled

Misery

, published in 1987. In both novels, King uses a writer as his protagonist, demonstrating the struggle involved in composing with words while at the same time illustrating the difference between what readers and critics have perceived as so-called pulp fiction and classical literature. These parallel novels feature writers who are diametrically opposed. One, Thaddeus Beaumont of

The Dark Half

, writes classic fiction under his real name and dabbles in violent crime fiction under a pseudonym, George Stark. The other, Paul Sheldon of

Misery

, writes harlequin romances under his real name…

3906 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "The Dark Half". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 February 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12650, accessed 29 March 2024.]

12650 The Dark Half 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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