coming of age in a portrait of the artist as a young man
The literary works of Irish writer James Joyce are perhaps the most studied, argued and admired of all modern classics. Joyce, who was born near Dublin in 1882, was the eldest son in an impoverished, middle-class family. Educated by Jesuits at Clongowes Wood College, Belvedere College in Dublin, and University College, he majored in philosophy and literature. He exiled himself from Ireland in 1904 and moved to Trieste where he taught English at the Berlitz School from 1905 to 1915.
His love of language was instrumental in his experimental writing that used mythology, literature, and history to create an innovative language using symbols and various narrative forms. Joyce’s intellectualism and creativity has been compared to that of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, whose contributions to mankind are historical.
The American poet, Ezra Pound, championed Joyce and aided him financially through his many periods of poverty. The Dubliners, first published in 1914, was followed in 1916 by A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Though the latter gained Joyce notice in literary circles, it didn’t do well commercially. His only play, Exiles, was published in 1918.
Ulysses, completed in 1922, was first published in France and is considered his first major work. The book was banned in both Great Britain and the United States because parts were construed as obscene, and it wasn’t published in the United States until 1933 after years of litigation. His second major work, Finnegan’s Wake, was published in 1939.
Ulysses is considered one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. It employs the use of stream of consciousness, a writing technique that uses the running commentary in one’s mind. Ulysses has generated an abundance of academic criticism and scholarship. The book is almost incomprehensible to many, and even Joyce’s friends urged him to write an explanation of the book. His response was, “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the
His love of language was instrumental in his experimental writing that used mythology, literature, and history to create an innovative language using symbols and various narrative forms. Joyce’s intellectualism and creativity has been compared to that of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, whose contributions to mankind are historical.
The American poet, Ezra Pound, championed Joyce and aided him financially through his many periods of poverty. The Dubliners, first published in 1914, was followed in 1916 by A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Though the latter gained Joyce notice in literary circles, it didn’t do well commercially. His only play, Exiles, was published in 1918.
Ulysses, completed in 1922, was first published in France and is considered his first major work. The book was banned in both Great Britain and the United States because parts were construed as obscene, and it wasn’t published in the United States until 1933 after years of litigation. His second major work, Finnegan’s Wake, was published in 1939.
Ulysses is considered one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. It employs the use of stream of consciousness, a writing technique that uses the running commentary in one’s mind. Ulysses has generated an abundance of academic criticism and scholarship. The book is almost incomprehensible to many, and even Joyce’s friends urged him to write an explanation of the book. His response was, “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the