Synopses & Reviews
Joyce and the Science of Rhythm situates the modernist writings of James Joyce within the context of the scientific discourse on 'rhythm' that emerged in the late nineteenth century. Drawing on a number of new sources, each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of rhythm, including the meters of Chamber Music, the dialogues of Dubliners, the narrative 'tension' of Joyce's Portrait and the periodic movements of city in Ulysses. Concluding with an analysis of Joyce recording the Wake, this book will interest those working in the fields of Joyce studies, Irish studies, prosody and literary modernism.
Synopsis
This book situates Joyce's critical writings within the context of an emerging discourse on the psychology of rhythm, suggesting that A Portrait of the Artist dramatizes the experience of rhythm as the subject matter of the modernist novel. Including comparative analyses of the lyrical prose of Virginia Woolf and the 'cadences' of the Imagists, Martin outlines a new concept of the 'modern period' that describes the interaction between poetry and prose in the literature of the early twentieth century.
About the Author
William Martin is the inaugural Irish Studies Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of English at the University of Otago.
Table of Contents
Introduction: 'If thou but scan it well':Rhythm as Meter in Chamber Music'the most commonplace conversation'Rhythm as Gesture in Stephen Hero and Dubliners: Rhythm as Gesture in Stephen Hero and Dubliners'the curve of an emotion': Rhythm as Tension in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 109'Acatalectic tetrameter of iambs marching': Rhythm as Movement in UlyssesConclusion: Recording Anna Livia Plurabelle