<P> In literary criticism , stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind . The term was coined by William James in 1890 in his The Principles of Psychology , and in 1918 the novelist May Sinclair ( 1863 -- 1946 ) first applied the term stream of consciousness , in a literary context , when discussing Dorothy Richardson 's ( 1873 -- 1957 ) novels . Pointed Roofs ( 1915 ) , the first work in Richardson 's series of 13 semi-autobiographical novels titled Pilgrimage , is the first complete stream of consciousness novel published in English . However , in 1934 , Richardson comments that `` Proust , James Joyce , Virginia Woolf & D.R. ... were all using ' the new method ' , though very differently , simultaneously '' . There were , however , many earlier precursors and the technique is still used by contemporary writers . </P>
<P> In literary criticism , stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind . The term was coined by William James in 1890 in his The Principles of Psychology , and in 1918 the novelist May Sinclair ( 1863 -- 1946 ) first applied the term stream of consciousness , in a literary context , when discussing Dorothy Richardson 's ( 1873 -- 1957 ) novels . Pointed Roofs ( 1915 ) , the first work in Richardson 's series of 13 semi-autobiographical novels titled Pilgrimage , is the first complete stream of consciousness novel published in English . However , in 1934 , Richardson comments that `` Proust , James Joyce , Virginia Woolf & D.R. ... were all using ' the new method ' , though very differently , simultaneously '' . There were , however , many earlier precursors and the technique is still used by contemporary writers . </P>
who used the term stream of consciousness for the first time
who used the term stream of consciousness for the first time
William James
William James