James Joyce: A European Perspective on Dublin and Irish Identity, Appunti di Lingue e letterature classiche

Scarica James Joyce: A European Perspective on Dublin and Irish Identity e più Appunti in PDF di Lingue e letterature classiche solo su Docsity! JAMES JOYCE Dublin, 1882-1904 Born in Dublin in 1882, the eldest surviving of 10 children, 4 boys and 6 girls. Enrolled at University College, Dublin, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on Modern languages. He wasn't attracted to the political and literary movements which had as their objectives the freeing of Ireland from England dominance. His interest was for a broader european culture, and this led him to begin to think of himself as a European rather than an Irishman. His attitude contrasted with that of his literary contemporary, W.B. Yeats, who was trying to rediscover the Irish Celtic identity by referring back to the past in order to create a national conscience. Joyce believed the only way to increase Ireland's awareness was by offering a realistic portrait of its life from a European, cosmopolitan viewpoint. He spent some time in Paris, where he intended to pursue a writing career, but his mother's fatal illness brought him back to Dublin. He published his first short story, The sisters, in the Evening Telegraph. It would eventually serve as the opening story in his Dubliners collection. He met and fell in love with Nora Barnacle, a 20-year-old girl who was working as a chambermaid in a hotel. First date: [[6tAMMONEM904, which was to become the “Bloomsday” of Ulysses AII his works are set in Ireland. He wrote - Dubliners (first work, collection of short stories set in Dublin) - A portraitof the artist as a younger man (semi biographical novel) - Ulysses (his masterpiece) - Finnegans Wake At the end of his life he was almost blind. He was a cosmopolitan. He thought that Dublin and Irelend represented a sort of paralysis for his art. He found religion a paralysing force. Trieste: 1905-15 1905: the couple settled in Trieste, where he began teaching English and made friends with Svevo. They had 2 children, Giorgio and Lucia, and married in 1931. — difficult years, filled with disappointment and financial problems. He had trouble with publishers because of supposedly obscene elements in his prose. Here he wrote 36 short poems and Dubliners, which wasn't a huge commercial success but caught the attention of Ezra Pound, who praised Joyce for his unconventional style and voice, and helped him print A Portrait ofthe Artistas a Young Man Zurich: 1915-20 He moved with his family, since his position as a British national in Austrian-occupied Trieste left him no alternative. He still had financial difficulties. 1917: he received the 1st of several anonymous donations which enabled him to continue writing Ulysses, which began to appear in serial form in The Little Review in 1918, but was suspended on charge of obscenity. Paris: 1920-40 Published Ulysses in 1922, followed by an american and British edition. The novel drew both praise and sharp criticism. Daughter affected by mental illness, sent to a mental hospital. He started going blind. He wrote Fifii@gamsiWWaRe, which, with many puns and new words, was even more difficult to read than his previous work. Zurich: 1940-41 because France was occupied by Germans, where he was buried. Ordinary Dublin He wanted to give a realistic portrait of the life of ordinary people doing ordinary things and living ordinary lives. Style He thought that the artist, like all symbolists, had to be independent (from moral religion and forces) and impersonal. He used different points of view simultaneously and his description derives from the character's mind. He uses the [Mfariarmonologue Winiziievelsioimamationi. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS AYOUNG MAN Semi autobiographical novel of education. Set in Dublin Protagonist: Stephen Dedalus (also one of the protagonists of Ulysses), referring to: - oneofthe first christian martyrs, because he preached a new religion, victim_of incomprehension just like Joyce. - creator of the labyrinth who escaped with the use of 2 wings; similarly, Joyce escaped from Dublin through the wings of his art. Several points of view that gradually shift with the 15 person narration — Shift from external to intemal The article “A" and not “the” implies one of the possible portraits. DUBLINERS Collection of 15 short stories, arranged according to the different stages of life (childhood, adolescence, maturity, public life) — chronological order All set in Dublin, because it seemed the centre of paralysis, caused by religious, social, political and moral forces. The last story “The Dead” was an addition and was considered Joyce's first masterpiece. It summarises themes and motifs of the other 14 stories, but it functions more as an epilogue. It also anticipates Joyce's move away from the short story toward the novel. Characters It was the oppressive effects of religious, political, cultural and economic forces on the lives of lovwer-middle-class Dubliners that provided Joyce with the raw material for a psychologically realistic picture of Dubliners as afflicted people. Everyone in Dublin seems to be caught up in an endless web of despair. Even when they want to escape, they are unable to because they are spiritually weak. Weak people: they're bound there and can't escape their situation and paralysis caused by social conventions, religious and especially political forces —> Theme of failure to escape. Mixture of realism and symbolism (many religious symbols) The use of the “Epiphany”: (manifestation of the newborn Christ to the magi) for Joyce it's a sudden spiritual revelation. The characters suddenly become aware of something. The revelation is caused by an object, sound, music, situation. This sudden spiritual awakening is a sort of revelatory moment, it reveals the characters inner truth