Lebanese University Faculty of Letters-Branch II English Literature & Language Department
Romanticism and James Joyce in A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man Prepared by Tracy Chamoun
Submitted in partial fulfillment of Modern Novel course Dr. May Maalouf
Fanar, Fall 2016-2017
0. Literature Review: Modernism, a period in English literature, which spread from almost the beginning of the twentieth century up till 1965; this period was considered revolutionary due to Modernists writer’s love for experimentation and individualism. Various critics have claimed that Modernism has its roots in some Romantic ideologies since many of the themes picked up by Modernist writers have been discussed before in Romanticism. Nevertheless, other critics discussed how Modernist authors attempt to reject some of the Romantic views; for example Modernists care little for Nature, Being, or overarching structures of history. Cristina Flores Moreno considers that Joyce as a Modernist was never fully against Romanticism instead she felt as though Joyce had abandoned Romanticism for modernism as he matured. Many believed A Portrait to be an in between stage where Joyce marked his development into Modernism which was shown later in
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “All the knowledge I posses everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own”. This quote clearly states the thoughts of a Romantic/Transcendentalist. Emerson, from “Self-Reliance”, and Peter Weir, from the movie, “Dead Poets Society”, are both Romantics/ Transcendentalists. They both believe in people thinking for themselves and their surroundings. Two philosophies that are present in both the story and in the movie, were celebrating the spirit of the individual, and that people are inherently good and should follow their own beliefs.
The XXth century in the USA is the remarkable period, not only economically, socially, culturally and spiritually. American literature grew up to a new level with the advent of such a flow as the Modernism. Modernism Literature reached its peak in America from the 1920s to the 1940s. F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most prominent representatives of this literature and entered Modernism in the United States above all as the first exponent of his ideas. In the works of Fitzgerald the topic “Lost generation” is in disastrous pursuit of wealth that swept the young post-war America.
Historical criticism strives to cognize a literary work by examining the social, cultural, and intellectual context that essentially includes the artist’s biography and milieu. Historical critics are more concerned with guiding readers through the use of identical connotation rather than analyzing the work’s literary significance. (Brizee and Tompkins). The journey of a historical reading begins with the assessment of how the meaning of a text has altered over time. In many cases, when the historical context of a text is not fully comprehended, the work literature cannot be accurately interpreted.
The peak of American Romanticism in the 1800s brought forth thousands of new ideas, poems, and rebellions towards the Enlightenment. From this time of pure creativity, great poets and philosophers rose. Poets Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson shared common ideas about nature, individuality, and existential topics, as they were both inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In works such as “I Sing the Body Electric” by Walt Whitman and “The Soul Selects Her Own Society” by Emily Dickinson, they differentially express their innermost thoughts of the individuality and distinctiveness of humans, which incorporates the Transcendentalist ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, specifically in his essay, “Self Reliance”. American Romanticism and Transcendentalism
During the period from 1760’s to the 1910’s, the European intellectual viewpoints have evolved over time starting with the Enlightenment, which sparked in the French Revolution. Equality and education became very important to the Europeans along with theories on human behavior and reason. Winding time forward, Romanticism was a movement in the arts and literature that emphasized passion, emotion of the individual, and admiration of nature. This praising of the individual transitioned to imperialism era, which was the colonization by the European powers, USA, and Empire of Japan. Every nation was in a competition to take over the natives’ land first.
Islamic Modernism and Islamism were two new streams of Islamic thought which emerged after the decline of European colonialism. Both of these movements had well defined and different visions. In the 1800s, new Western influence was widespread throughout the Islamic World. The Ottoman Empire faced a long decline characterized by financial problems by Western foreign that powers took advantage of to manipulate the decaying empire. The Wahhabi Movement and Egyptian independence marked the beginning of new reform as the Islamic world braced itself for the twentieth century.
During the nineteenth century, two literary movements occurred roughly around the same time in America: Transcendentalism and Romanticism. Both of these movements provoked characteristics that contributed to Americans wanting to find their “American Self.” The “American Self” was the common character and values of the American people which evolved depending on philosophy, religious belief, and economical aspiration. Literature and art were key aspects in the development of the nineteenth century. A lot of literature at this time felt that knowledge is something that people were born with and focused on the belief of the goodness of all people.
Since an early age, Adams displays a drastic construction of what he considers a man to be. Hemingway characterizes Adams with his own ideas regarding this field, and uses his a medium to justify how these came to
An Intimate Verging on Claustrophobia: the Language of Dubliners Kafka wrote that “a book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us,” and Joyce brilliantly depicts the exploration of inner emotions and conflicts through each character in the fifteen stories in Dubliners. In turn, the reader inevitably contemplates their inner emotions too. Araby and Eveline are two of the stories that are not necessarily connected, yet they share similar recurrent themes of isolation and the strong desire to escape. David Lodge suggests that Joyce was one of the 20th century avant garde novelists who believed that they could get closer to reality not by "telling" but by "showing" how it is experienced - subjectively. To do so, he utilizes techniques such as stream of consciousness, interior monologue and free indirect speech.
Joyce allows readers to see another side of middle class Ireland. When one thinks of Ireland, they might believe the stereotypes of alcohol, potatoes, dirty, hardcore, and many others; but, if one were to read James Joyce, then their perspective might
American Transcendentalism was highly inspired by Romanticism, and therefore they have many similarities. However, there are some differences, especially in their ideas of religion and God. The American Transcendentalist period took place in the mid 19th century. It began around 1836 and lasted to roughly 1860. Romanticism occurred much earlier, around the end of the 18th century, but was mostly dominant around 1840.
Pulp Fiction: A Postmodernist film Pulp Fiction is an American comedy crime film written and directed by critically acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino. The film came out in 1994 following the success of Reservoir Dogs by the same director. Pulp Fiction was widely praised for its unique narrative structure. The film consists of 7 major narrative sequences. There are multiple instances where the movie jumps backwards and forwards in timeline.
1. Introduction As one of the most controversial authors of British Modernist fiction, David Herbert Lawrence dealt with themes such as human relationships, sexuality and gender issues. He was often criticized for his freedom of speech that he developed through his characters, putting the emphasis on their position in the society. “D. H. Lawrence occupies an ambiguous position in British culture, simultaneously associated as he is in the public consciousness with the realms of high art, popular romantic fiction and soft porn.”
Modernist poetry refers to poetry written, mainly in Europe and North America, between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature. It is characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional styles of poetry and verse. Modernists experimented with literary expression and form, stick to Ezra Pound 's maxim to “Make it new”. This paper examines different methods that Ezra Pound used to break the boundaries of traditional poetry and the techniques he used to pave the way for later poets. To
Modern was used to relate contemporaneous. At the time art was made, it was considered modern. In the historical term of art, the word “modern” refers to a period, which date from the year 1860s to the year 1970s where it was used to describe the style and a system of ideas in art produced. While the word “modernism” was also referred to the art in the modern period. And to be more specific, “modernism” can be thought to be referring as the philosophy of modern art.