From the moment I read the first sentence I've been a Joyce fanatic, but I've also seen and understood the vast majority of readers either scratching their heads or dismissing him outright. I get it. But why do I love his work so much? It's weird and dense. One possible reason is the fact that Joyce was disabled, as am I. His eyes gave him grief his whole life, and he was progressively going blind. I have a different disability, but somehow I recognized his disability shaped his language more than anything. I think that is a major key to understanding Joyce, and one that hasn't been explored nearly enough. Ulysses is a book of the senses in general but specifically sight. And it's the preoccupation of a writer who knows his sight is progressively darkening, and he's trying to capture the visible world in all its complexity before it's too late. Behind the comedy is an extreme anxiety and sadness, to be sure. Joyce is laughing at a funeral. And Finnegans Wake I'd suggest is Joyce's attempt to find an alternate sense of perception as his sight was profoundly restricted by that time. Once your senses go, your language changes in proportion.
I have two very different copies. I read the first copy when I first moved to the city where I studied for my master's degree (finished it in a hotel bed; appropriate). And I intend to read it again.
From the moment I read the first sentence I've been a Joyce fanatic, but I've also seen and understood the vast majority of readers either scratching their heads or dismissing him outright. I get it. But why do I love his work so much? It's weird and dense. One possible reason is the fact that Joyce was disabled, as am I. His eyes gave him grief his whole life, and he was progressively going blind. I have a different disability, but somehow I recognized his disability shaped his language more than anything.
I think that is a major key to understanding Joyce, and one that hasn't been explored nearly enough. Ulysses is a book of the senses in general but specifically sight. And it's the preoccupation of a writer who knows his sight is progressively darkening, and he's trying to capture the visible world in all its complexity before it's too late. Behind the comedy is an extreme anxiety and sadness, to be sure. Joyce is laughing at a funeral.
And Finnegans Wake I'd suggest is Joyce's attempt to find an alternate sense of perception as his sight was profoundly restricted by that time. Once your senses go, your language changes in proportion.
This is a very interesting viewpoint I had not previously thought of, good point!
I have this book and have absolutely no idea how I got it. I've never read it, apparently it was waiting for this moment 😂
That’s usually how it shows up.
Awesome video essay! Loved it
Thanks so much!
I have two very different copies. I read the first copy when I first moved to the city where I studied for my master's degree (finished it in a hotel bed; appropriate). And I intend to read it again.
I also feel like I will re-read mine at some point!
I have a door that keep opening, this should do the trick
Custom made for just such an occasion!
Thank you, you just convinced me why I should never read it 😂 great video
Honestly, it is not for everyone! (Or frankly, most people lol)