Ulysses Explained: How Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare Inform Joyce's Modernist Vision

by David Weir

Overview

When it comes to James Joyce's landmark work, Ulysses , the influence of three literary giants, Homer, Shakespeare, and Dante, cannot be overlooked. Examining Joyce in terms of Homeric narrative, Dantesque structure, and Shakespearean plot, Weir rediscovers Joyce's novel through the lens of his renowned predecessors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137482877
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	06/03/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	254
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

David Weir is Professor of Comparative Literature at The Cooper Union, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Homeric Narrative 2. Shakespearean Plot 3. Dantesque Design Afterword Appendix A: Synopsis of Ulysses Appendix B: Consolidated Schema Appendix C: The Odyssey and Ulysses : Episode and Chapter Comparison Appendix D: Modernist Sexuality in Exiles

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"David Weir's book speaks to the reader eager to encounter the many ways Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare serve James Joyce's Ulysses. Weir has an almost uncanny ability as a critic to make his points with crystal-clear and often ingenious examples from the texts under scrutiny. What he reveals is how Joyce adapts and undercuts key epic and dramatic elements in order to create a kind of cultural template for the modern writer." - Michael Seidel, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, USA

"Fortunately for us, the triads that fascinated Joyce so much intrigue David Weir as well. Homer and Ulysses' narrative, Shakespeare and its plot, Dante and its structure: each individual relationship comes alive in Ulysses Explained, but they particularly shine when Weir plays one off against another and especially when he triangulates them all to show Ulysses as an interlocking amalgamation of three very separate traditions. All readers - beginners, scholars, and those in between - will discover much that they didn't know before in this lucid and lively book." - Michael Groden, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Western University, Canada and author of Ulysses in Progress and Ulysses in Focus

Editorial Reviews

‘Ulysses’ Explained is an excellent book that combines smooth readability and sound scholarship and works perfectly well both as a guide for the general reader and as an enriching experience for the specialized Joycean.” (Laura Pelaschiar, James Joyce Quarterly,Vol. 53 (1-2), 2015-2016)

From the Publisher