A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Description
The most extensively annotated edition available with almost 1,000 notes by Marc A. Mamigonian and John Turner
This text is based on the Egoist Press second edition of 1918
James Joyce’s first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a Ku¨nstlerroman which chronicles the emotional and intellectual development of Stephen Dedalus – a character partly based on the author himself – from his early childhood and his school and university days all the way to his first forays as a young artist. Dedalus’s thoughts and epiphanies reveal the tensions, insecurities and feelings of guilt that are the product of living in a country and period so deeply divided along religious and political lines.
Pioneering an innovative stream-of-consciousness technique characteristic of early Modernism, and often resorting to mythical, historical and literary allusion which would find fuller expression in Ulysses, Joyce’s groundbreaking work shocked the readers of its day and continues to challenge analysis and interpretation.
About the Author
Born in Dublin, James Joyce (1882–1941) spent most of his life abroad, living in Trieste, Paris and Zurich. His writings, however, mainly centre on Dublin – most famously Ulysses, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. He pioneered and perfected avant-garde prose techniques that saw him rise to the rank of one of Europe’s foremost Modernists.
Praise for A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
"His writing is not about something; it is that something itself." —Samuel Beckett
"This volume likely presents the most ambitious annotations of tlle novel to date and might even surpass Don Gifford's colossal stand-alone reference guide." —Greg Winston, James Joyce Quarterly