Essays on Ulysses

James Joyce’s Ulysses represents one of the most important works of modernist literature. The name of the novel is a Latinised name of Homer’s Odysseus and there are many parallels between the two works. The novel has been highly controversial and considered to be obscene so it attracted a lot of attention. In this essay I am going to focus on the narrative innovations Joyce brought in his work. The work is written through the stream of consciousness technique and…

James Joyce’s complex and riveting novel Ulysses features many parallaxes and deep complexities within it. Themes of paternity and maternity issues, self-identity, and heroism are some composites that makeup Ulysses. In the first set of chapters, we meet multiple men of Dublin. The male characters of Ulysses are relatively the same with their forms of masculinity. However, the character Leopold Bloom is unlike any of the other male characters within his form of masculinity and femininity. Focused in this analysis,…

There are different theories on why the entire story takes place on Thursday, June 16. Richard Ellman states that “Joyce chose June 16th for a more pasional reason – as a gift to his partner and eventual wife, Nora – to commemorate the day which she went walking with him and changed his life.” (Groden) Joyce chose 1904 because the summer of this year was significant for himself, not only because he met Nora, but he started writing some of…

The Character of Ulysses in the Poem by Tennyson The poem Ulysses is a dramatic monologue that the king of Ithaca, Ulysses speaks. He just came back from the Trojan War although once he is caught up in his everyday routine, he shows unhappiness in life plus indifference towards the people and his family. He compares his the past of heroism to the present boring state and puts emphasis on his yearning to revisit his heroic past. On the one…

During the Middle Age, the character of Ulysses is charged with new meanings, which trigger a process of multiplication of identities and symbols that have its fulcrum in Canto XXVI of Dante’s Inferno where, for the first time, the Homeric hero merges with the Christian and Western values systems. With Dante's rewriting, the story of Ulysses is enriched with shades that, while not contemplated by the original context, give an account of the immense capacity of the myth to adapt…

Joyce’s semi-autobiographical work titled A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man details the artistic development of Stephen Dedalus. This scene near the end of Chapter IV is a climactic moment wherein Stephen’s choice in career is confirmed. Stephen’s epiphany is induced by a young girl wading into the water at the beach. As Stephen revels in the girl’s beauty and sensuality, she is transformed from a girl into a “strange and beautiful seabird” (150). Her beauty is further…

One of the most important autors in Ireland is James Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941), a novelist, literary critic, poet and teacher. He wrote the short-story collection Dubliners, the well-known novel A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and poems. He is known for using experimental language and new literary techniques in novels as Finnegans Wake and Ulysses which represents a parallel to Odyssey by Homer, published by Silvia Beach on 2nd February 1944. Ulysses…

Alfred Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" is a poetic masterpiece that resonates with readers on a deep emotional level. The poem not only captures the tragic valor of soldiers in the face of insurmountable odds but also explores themes of loyalty, duty, war, and death. This comprehensive analysis delves into Tennyson's background, the historical context surrounding the poem, identified themes, stylistic elements, critical perspectives, and the profound emotional impact the poet aims to evoke.Tennyson's Background and Historical…