Let’s talk about a great novelist, James Joyce, the modernist, so new, so involving, both difficult and clear….
SESSION 1: his life and his collection of short stories, DUBLINERS
Watch his biography on the following video, not so long and enjoyable !
You can read further informationa about him here
He was Irish but suffered the strict Irish culture very much, as you will see!
You can find all the short stories from DUBLINERS in the following website
and here you will find EVELINE which I’d like you to download and print. You are supposed to read it before coming to the lesson.
TASK : Read EVELINE as homework
I want to give you some tips to help you understand the story
1- Derevan Seraun is a word of unknown origin one of the many nonsense words Joyce uses but the most frequent translation is considered from latin : “The end of pleasure is pain” but many other critics think it has a gaelic origin. Therefore most prefer not translating it.
2- The Bohemian Girl is a light opera written by the Irish composer M.William Balfe and not the Bohemienne. The plot is based on Cervantes “La Gitanella” and is set in Bohemia . The most important aria is “I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls”
Listen and enjoy!
SESSION 2: Joyce’s novel, ULYSSES
Have you ever heard about BLOOMSDAY?
It’s a celebration taken in Dublin and all around the world celebrating the 16th June 1904 which is the day depicted in ULYSSES. The day is named after the main character , Leopold Bloom. The novel follows his life and thoughts on this day.
Celebrations include dressing up like the characters in the book together with readings, performances and visiting the main places of Leopold's walk.
What is more, a marathon takes place on the same day!!!
What is more, a marathon takes place on the same day!!!
I’d like to end this post on Joyce with Stephen Fry’s short One Minute Book Review Video of the novel Ulysses. “I’ll tell you the book I have chosen as my favourite book. And it may make some people’s heart sink, because it is associated with difficulty, where in fact it should be associated with joy…” “It is to me the most perfectly written book. Or perhaps the second most perfectly written book. But this book is deeper, richer and wider”.
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