Comments on: in which I succumb to the ineluctable attraction of irish literature http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/ Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:22:05 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Brendan http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-1226 Brendan Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:40:58 +0000 http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-1226 Thanks for posting this... it really is awe-inspiring. I'm attampting to read Ulysses aloud and make MP3s available of it - http://community.livejournal.com/libertylit/tag/ulysses. Thanks for posting this… it really is awe-inspiring. I’m attampting to read Ulysses aloud and make MP3s available of it – http://community.livejournal.com/libertylit/tag/ulysses.

]]> By: My Shopping Planet http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-1124 My Shopping Planet Sat, 18 Aug 2007 09:17:28 +0000 http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-1124 Thanks for sharing this information. Really is pack with new knowledge. Keep them coming. Thanks for sharing this information. Really is pack with new knowledge. Keep them coming.

]]> By: missmellifluous http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-30 missmellifluous Fri, 09 Mar 2007 22:17:30 +0000 http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-30 You need to understand Irish history to appreciate Irish literature, so you're off to a good start, Kim. Joyce is not for everyone. His writing can plunge into the abject which can be quite unsettling. As his purpose was to communicate every detail of daily life the abject is not without context. There are examples of this in Dubliners. His short stories paint a bleak portrait of Dublin at the time in which he wrote. But it is amazing that he captures life in all its gore and glory. The work of Joyce is also very dense. There are so many allusions and examples of intertextuality in his writing that it can be very hard to follow what is going on. I like the challenge though and I like that Joyce reacts so strongly to the political climate of his time. He had some very revolutionary ideas about nationalism and Irish identity. If you decide to read Ulysses I suggest you get an edition that contains a good study guide, such as the Oxford edition with introduction and notes by Jeri Johnson. Also, read it alongside The Odyssey by Homer because Joyce has based the structure of Ulysses on Homer's epic and in doing so rewrites notions of what it is to be heroic. Bloom is our everyday hero who blunders through life struggling to relate to his wife, struggling to fit into notions of what it means to be Irish, and yet he is gracious and kind to those he meets. Comparing Bloom to Odysseus is quite interesting. I think you would enjoy studying it, Kim, if you can get past the abject. You need to understand Irish history to appreciate Irish literature, so you’re off to a good start, Kim. Joyce is not for everyone. His writing can plunge into the abject which can be quite unsettling. As his purpose was to communicate every detail of daily life the abject is not without context. There are examples of this in Dubliners. His short stories paint a bleak portrait of Dublin at the time in which he wrote. But it is amazing that he captures life in all its gore and glory.

The work of Joyce is also very dense. There are so many allusions and examples of intertextuality in his writing that it can be very hard to follow what is going on. I like the challenge though and I like that Joyce reacts so strongly to the political climate of his time. He had some very revolutionary ideas about nationalism and Irish identity.

If you decide to read Ulysses I suggest you get an edition that contains a good study guide, such as the Oxford edition with introduction and notes by Jeri Johnson. Also, read it alongside The Odyssey by Homer because Joyce has based the structure of Ulysses on Homer’s epic and in doing so rewrites notions of what it is to be heroic. Bloom is our everyday hero who blunders through life struggling to relate to his wife, struggling to fit into notions of what it means to be Irish, and yet he is gracious and kind to those he meets. Comparing Bloom to Odysseus is quite interesting. I think you would enjoy studying it, Kim, if you can get past the abject.

]]> By: Kim in http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-29 Kim in Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:02:58 +0000 http://regainingparadise.wordpress.com/2007/03/08/in-which-i-succumb-to-the-ineluctable-attraction-of-irish-literature/#comment-29 Well, I have spent more time reading Irish history rather than Irish literature, so maybe you can teach me something. I have never read Ulysses. I was not a Joyce fan after reading Dubliners. Maybe I need to re-visit him. Well, I have spent more time reading Irish history rather than Irish literature, so maybe you can teach me something. I have never read Ulysses. I was not a Joyce fan after reading Dubliners. Maybe I need to re-visit him.

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