In the summer before beginning the final year of my undergraduate degree I started considering which modules I would like to study. As a Single Honours BA in English student I would also be taking on 2 special studies seminars, smaller classes focusing on an area of literature in-depth. Previously I had studied the works of Oscar Wilde and Arthurian Literature and both classes were indeed the highlight of my 2nd year.
The 3rd year seminars proved to be no less interesting, with a wide selection of topics covered by the lecturers of UCC English. I spent hours considering which 2 would be best suited to my interests, yet the one that stood out to me was the seminar entitled “Reading Ulysses”
Like most students of literature I had of course heard of James Joyce’s infamously difficult book before, though I had never even attempted to read it in my own time. For final year I particularly wanted to focus on my main area of interest: modern literature (which is what I would eventually end up specializing in for the MA that brings me to this blog) and Ulysses is regarded as one of the greatest works of Modernism, thus I knew there would be some very useful overlapping between the seminar and the modules I was studying.
Aside from this the real reason why I had chosen to study such a seemingly difficult text in the first semester of my final year was simply I was curious. Was the book as challenging as people perceive? I had heard lecturers and fans of the book praising its style and humor, what would my overall opinion be at the end?
To put it simply I can say without a doubt studying Joyce’s Ulysses was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my undergraduate degree. Each week the class group would read and analyse a different chapter (or “episode”) from the text and discuss it at length, it truly is a work that lends itself greatly to group discussion. I had experienced other works from Joyce prior to undertaking the seminar; in 1st year I read his collection of short stories Dubliners and have since seen two stage adaptations of The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Like many of the Modernist writers; T.S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein etc. Joyce’s works are very well suited to the stage and being read aloud, like they were written to be heard as well as read. Following on from my positive experience of studying his magnum opus I attended “Bloomsday” on June 16th, the single day of the events of book now a yearly celebration of Joyce in Dublin. I heard many such readings and performances, now truly appreciating how much of an impact on Irish culture Ulysses has had.
As part of my MA, I find myself returning to the long difficult book I chose to study simply out of curiosity. Though I have once again enjoyed discussing it with my classmates and hearing their ideas and interpretations I do not see it as a potential thesis topic, as I wish to explore other areas. However, James Joyce’s story about the ordinary day shared by Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus that has been read and loved by countless people will always be one of the most memorable and influential parts of my growth as a scholar of literature
Featured image: Statue of James Joyce in Dublin city
A Journey in Modern Literature and Film 