Hey guys, first post here. I was thinking about trying to tackle Ulysses sometime soon and was wondering what would be some good literature to read before I start it. I was thinking maybe reading Portrait... and The Iliad. How does that sound? and any additional recs?
Read FINNEGANS WAKE; ULYSSES'll be a walk in the park, then.
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly.
--Shakespeare
The last post is completely ridiculous-do not read Finnegan’s Wake as a form of encouragement for reading Ulysses-more than likely, unless you are a glutton for punishment in the form of idomatia, esoteric facts, trilingual puns and other such forms of entertainment I would not read Finnegan’s Wake at all.
It would help to read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to get some information on one of the main characters in Ulysses-Stephen Dedalus (as well as members of his family who appear intermittently throughout Ulysses). This is only useful if you want to know more about Stephen and his family though. Stylistically, Portrait doesn't come anywhere near Ulysses in my opinion. It is swimming in the shallow end before plunging into the deep waters of Ulysses.
In terms of historical precedents of Ulysses's unique style, there are none, apart from Dujardin and Flaubert, both of whom are French writers.
I don't think that reading either of the Homeric epics is necessary-they are by and large irrelevant when it comes to the plot and structure of Ulysses, just read it for what it is and not as some kind of modern eulogy to Homer-it is not.
Just read it as slowly as possible and at your own pace.
The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.-Vladimir Nabokov
human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars-Flaubert
If you are thoroughly familiar with literature written before Ulysses, then you will have no problem with it.
I think I've written this somewhere before but as it wasn't in a specifically Joycean thread, you may not be able to find it - you may find a copy of James Joyce's Ulysses - a Study by Stuart Gilbert useful. It is a useful handbook for a book that is dense in literary allusion and may give you a bit of assistance if the going gets too mystifying.
If you are confident enough to tackle it without a gloss of any kind, do so by all means - Portrait of the Artist is a useful introduction if you have not read Joyce before and if you find yourself fascinated by the development of Joyce as a writer, the remaining chapters of Stephen Hero are interesting. (Joyce was dissatisfied with the first draft of Stephen's story and threw the manuscript on the fire but someone - his wife?- rescued it so we have part of the original novel which makes an interesting comparison.)
Get a map of Joyce's Dublin. I know most guide books, and certain editions of the book have on included. Also, it would help to get an annotated version of the novel to help you get used to it.
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