The Novels of James Joyce

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In comparison to many great and well-known authors and their renowned volumes of work, James Joyce wrote just three novels – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. His collections of other work however, consisted of poetry, short story and series of epiphanies . Many individuals have analysed Joyce and written literary critiques and study-guides stemming from their interpretations of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, including Harvey Peter Suckmith – an Associate Professor of English at Dalhousie University, who has also focused on works such as Little Dorit by Charles Dickens and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins . In beginning his analysis, Sucksmith states: “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man may not be Joyce’s greatest novel. It lacks, for example, the scale and scope of Ulysses or the mythopoeic and linguistic richness of Finnegans Wake. Yet it is Joyce’s most exquisite work of fiction, perhaps his most perfect novel, and it is certainly the one which communicates with us most readily. ” This popularity is clearly evident when reading about Joyce, as he his always associated with Ulysses or Finnegans Wake, rather than A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man .

Between 1914 and 1941, the reception surrounding Joyce’s work, has been said to pinpoint largely from himself due to his talent for working amidst expansive print culture, as well as being surrounded by an association of friends and acquaintance who were eager to promote his work . Although Ezra Pound – one of Joyce’s earliest critics and supporters when he was still relatively unknown – presented Joyce’s work in a simple-minded format, he portrayed Joyce as a ‘supranational, European writer, one devoted to a universal hu...

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...omatoes. 2011. James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – Rotten Tomatoes. Viewed 18th October 2011, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/portrait_of_the_artist_as_a_young_man

- As expected a basic, un-reputable source (in academic terms), that provides a rating system and overview of films.

Sucksmith, Harvey Peter. James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. London: Edward Arnold Publishers, 1973.

- An extremely helpful and in-depth interpretation and account of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, one of the key sources used in preparing this assignment.

Think Exist 2011. James Joyce Quotes and Quotations. Viewed 21st October 2011, http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/James_Joyce/

- Using the same format as the ‘rotten tomatoes’ website, a database for finding quotes based on keywords, good for searching points of interest.

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