Binding: Paperback
Description: James Joyce is one of the greatest writers in English. His first book A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man laid down the template for the Coming of Age novel while his collection of short stories Dubliners is of perennial interest. His great modern epic Ulysses took the city of Dublin for its setting and all human life for its subject and its publication in 1922 marked the beginning of the modern novel. Joyce's final work Finnegans Wake is an endless experiment in narrative and language. But if Joyce is a great writer he is also the most difficult writer in English. Finnegans Wake is written in a freshly invented language and Ulysses exhausts all the forms and styles of English. Even the apparently simple Dubliners has plots of endless complexity while the structure of A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man is exceptionally intricate. This Very Short Introduction explores the work of this most influential yet complex writer and analyses how Joyce's difficulty grew out of his situation as an Irish writer unwilling to accept the traditions of his imperialist oppressor and contemptuous of the cultural banality of the Gaelic revival. Joyce wanted to investigate and celebrate his own life but this meant investigating and celebrating the drunks of Dublin's pubs and the prostitutes of Dublin's brothels. No subject was alien to him and he developed the naturalist project of recording all aspects of life with the symbolist project of finding significant correspondences in the most unlikely material. Throughout Colin Mac Cabe interweaves Joyce's life and history with his books and draws out their themes and connections. Very Short Introductions: Brilliant Sharp Inspiring About THE Series: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket - sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Title: James Joyce: A Very Short Introduction
Author(s): Maccabe Colin (Distinguished Professor Of English And Film University Of Pittsburgh)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Barcode: 9780192894472
Pages: 160 Pages, 1 Black And White Image
Publication Date: 1/3/2022
Series: Very Short Introductions
Category: Literary Studies: Fiction, Novelists & Prose Writers