James Joyce

1882 - 1941 *

the most influential novelist of the 20th century

James Joyce was born in Dublin, and educated by Jesuits and at the Catholic University College, Dublin.

His early work showed a great gift for languages. He was a talented musician with a fine tenor voice, and in his writing fully explored the relationship between music and words.

He left Ireland permanently in 1912, despite the fact that he was a Irish nationalist.

Joyce's most famous work, Ulysses, was banned in Britain and America for obscenity. It is characterstic for its use of a variant of the interior monologue that became known as the 'stream of consciousness'. This technique has been very influential in the development of 20th century works in all genres. Using this technique, Joyce was able to explore in depth characters and their relationships.

The autobiographical A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was published before Ulysses. The last 17 years of his life were occupied writing Finnegans Wake, a vast dream novel.

          Source: Classics Network Editorial Team

Irish novelist, noted for his experimental use of language in such works as ULYSSES (1922) and FINNEGANS WAKE (1939). During his career Joyce suffered from rejections from publishers, suppression by censors, and attacks by critics, and misunderstanding by readers. Joyce's technical innovations in the art of the novel include an extensive use of interior monologue; he used a complex network of symbolic parallels drawn from the mythology, history, and literature, and created a unique language of invented words, puns, and allusions. From 1902 Joyce led a nomadic life, which perhaps reflected in h... [read entire biography]

          Source: Petri Liukkonen

These essays offer analysis of the author's life and works. Many of them have been submitted by users, and are assigned an Editorial Rating on a scale from one to five stars to assist you in evaluating their worth. See also: Note on Essays, Editorial Policy.

     

Parents of the Revolution -- Gender roles in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
By Ishmael, Student	Editorial Rating:

Mythical Elements in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man -- The employment of Greek, Christian and Egyptian mythodologies together with Ovid's metamorphises in creation of Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
By Jelena Graovac, Undergraduate Student	Editorial Rating:

Epiphany: The Psychology of Joyce's "The Dead" -- An examination of the psychology of Gabriel Conroy of Joyce's story "The Dead" as a way of exploring it's meaning.
By Mary Jones, Undergraduate Student	Editorial Rating:

Eveline-Discuss Joyce exploration of hope Defeated -- Eveline-Discuss Joyce exploration of hope Defeated
By alas, Student	Editorial Rating:

The Archetypal Myth of the Quest in Joyce's Araby -- The development of theme in
By MAHMOOD AZIZI, Masters Student	Editorial Rating:

     

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Catholicism is, in a paradox, a bigger thing than the faith. It is a kind of nationality one is stuck with forever. Or, rather, a supranationality that makes one despise small patriotisms -- Little Wilson and Big God

Additional searches

Joyce at Encarta Encyclopedia

Joyce at Britannica Encyclopedia

Joyce at Xrefer.com