Motif of waiting as a temporal dimension of the lack of freedom in Paul Lynch's novel "Prophet Song"

Abstract

The aim of the research is to identify how the motif of waiting in Paul Lynch's novel "Prophet Song" objectifies the lack of freedom through the loss of control over time, transforming waiting from a routine delay into an existential state. The study is based on the works of B. Schwartz, A. Göttlich, and G. Schweizer, which offer theoretical approaches to the analysis of waiting as a socio-psychological phenomenon. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time based on the material of a contemporary dystopian novel, the motif of waiting is examined as a mechanism for objectifying the lack of freedom, and its evolution is traced in the context of interaction with the motifs of denial and silence. The findings show that the motif of waiting in the novel undergoes a consistent transformation from waiting-anticipation, embedded in measurable time, to waiting-hope, existing outside chronological logic. It has been established that the motifs of denial and silence, interacting with waiting, form an algorithm for suppressing the will that deprives a person of the capacity for action. In the novel's finale, waiting becomes a mode of being in empty time – a space without beginning or end, where the lack of freedom takes its final shape and hope turns into a "prophet song" that no one hears.

Research materials

1. Allardice L. Interview with Paul Lynch // The Guardian. 2023. May 12. https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/12/paul-lynch-prophet-song-booker-prize-interview-irish-writer
2. Lynch P. Prophet Song. L.: Oneworld Publications, 2023.
3. Lynch P. “The Slide to Illiberalism Represents a Dialling Down of Compassion”: Paul Lynch // The Wire. 2025. January 29. https://thewire.in/books/paul-lynch-prophet-song-interview

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: July 3, 2026.
• Published: July 31, 2026.

Keywords

• Пол Линч
• современная ирландская литература
• современная антиутопия
• трансформация темпоральных мотивов
• мотив ожидания
• Paul Lynch
• contemporary Irish literature
• contemporary dystopia
• transformation of temporal motifs
• motif of waiting

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© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

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