Author : Michael J. O'Shea
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 24,68 MB
Release : 1986-06-01
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780887062704
Book Description
James Joyce and Heraldry demonstrates that heraldry is an essential key to the symbols of Joyces major works. It is a clear, witty introduction to heraldry and the use of heraldic imagery by Western writers, including Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Jonson, and Sterne. Michael OShea shifts the focus from the aural imagery of Joyce to reveal the visual impact deriving from Joyces use of the symbols and language of heraldry. He cites biographical and textual evidence of Joyces deep interest in coats of arms, crests, and other heraldic emblems; and demonstrates that Joyce used these visual symbols as well as the curious jargons of heraldry in his writings. OShea succeeds in compiling an indispensable reference work that sheds new light on Joyces major texts, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake. His commentary is thoroughly illustrated and includes a glossary of heraldic terms keyed to Joyces usage of them.