James Joyce: life and works, Dispense di Inglese

Scarica James Joyce: life and works e più Dispense in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! James Joyce He was born in Dublin → he was the eldest of 10 children He wasn’t interested in the movement for Ireland’s freedom → he considered himself an European more than an Irishman Trieste→ 1905-1915 He began teaching English → he met Svevo The years in Trieste were marked by disappointment and financial problems (he had problems with publisher and printers) He writes Dubliners (short stories about Dublin and its life) → it would be published after WWI Zurich→ 1915-1920 He was an affirmed writer → though he had financial difficulties Thanks to anonymous donation he kept writing the Ulysses Paris→ 1920-1940 He published the Ulysses→ filled with praise but also sharp criticism These years were marked by his daughter’s illness Zurich→ 1940-1941 He moved when France was occupied by the Germans He died in France Ireland (Dublin) → setting of all his works ↳ he wanted to give a realistic portrait of the life of ordinary people ↳ it was a representation of man’s mental, biological and emotional reality He converted to Catholicism → rebelled against the official doctrine of Church Style → he was influenced by the French Symbolists ↳ he believed in the impersonality of the artist → artist: had to render life objectively ↳ he used different points of view and narrative techniques (direct speech, interior monologue with two levels) His language broke down into a succession of words with no punctuation and grammatical connections ↳ broke down into puns Dubliners It consists of 15 short stories → they all lack action ↳ they’re about human situations and lead to a moral, social and spiritual revelation The opening stories deal with childhood → the others deal with the middle years (characterised by social and political affairs) Joyce criticised urban life → Dublin was a place where compassion and true feelings didn’t exist ↳ it was the centre of the paralysis Stories divided into 4 groups (each one about an aspect of life): ◆ childhood → The sisters ◆ adolescence → Eveline ◆ maturity → A little cloud ◆ public life → The dead → it is the epilogue (summarised all the themes) Characters → the Dubliners ↳ afflicted people ↳ spiritually weak → they can’t escape even if they wanted to He mixes realism and symbolism → external details have a deeper meaning ↳ realistic descriptions ↳ religious symbolism ↳ colour symbolism Epiphany→ revelatory moments ↳ consequence of Symbolism → it took the reader beyond the usual aspect of life (analysis of the particular) Style → characterised by the interior monologue and the chiasmus (created a melodic effect) ↳ first 3 stories → he uses a first-person narration (narrator is nameless / probably a young boy) ↳ the other 12 stories → he uses a third-person narrator → he shares one of the character’s perspective ↳ disappears in the interior monologue (free direct speech / no reporting verbs) Language → simple, objective and neutral Ulysses Novel composed of 18 chapters → divided into 3 groups It deals with the life of Leopold Bloom → advertising agent It takes place in Dublin in a single day Plot→ Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom meet several times during the day and they get to know each other ↳ Molly (Leopold’s wife) commits an act of adultery during the afternoon At midnight Leopold saves Stephen from a fight ↳ he becomes a father figure to him At the end, Leopold and Molly are in bed → she decides to give him one more chance Analogies with the Odyssey ↳ Ulysses is Leopold ↳ Telemachus is Stephen ↳ Penelope is Molly The division into 3 books follows the division of the Odyssey Mythical method → he declines the mythic into the human and mediocre ↳ influenced by Vico’s theory of cycles in human history ↳ three stages: the divine, the heroic and the human (Uylisses) Style ↳ realistic style ↳ techniques: interior monologue and the stream of consciousness ↳ frequent puns The sisters A young boy reflects on the death of Father Flynn (his friend) who had three strokes and is now paralyzed. He walks past FF’s house and thinks of the word “paralysis”. Old Cotter says that FF is dead and the boy stays silent. The uncle and Old Cotter start talking, the uncle says that FF was preparing the boy to become a priest and Old Cotter says that he should play with people his age → the young boy was angry with the Old Cotter for alluding to him as a child. His comment keeps the boy awake and he dreams of FF saying something to him (he actually feels uncomfortable around him). He visits FF’s house and then again in the evening with his aunt and kneels at his open coffin with one of his sisters (Nannie). He imagines FF smiling like in his dream → in reality he is serious and solemn and he is holding a chalice.