James Joyce lived from 1882-1941. He published only six books, yet he was a very dominant figure of Modernist literature. His works include a book of poems, a play, a collection of short stories ("Dubliners", 1914), and three novels: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (1916), "Ulysses" (1922), and "Finnegans Wake" (1939). His best known contribution to the literary techniques of Modernism is the stream-of-consciousness narrative, which is disconnected, lacking the plot linearity of the traditional novel. The literary sense of "epiphany" also originated with Joyce. He used the word for the sudden insight experienced by a fictional character by which he or she glimpses some meaning in the turbulance of life. Joyce influenced modern literature through extensive use of myth as well. He often used playful manipulations of wordds and their sounds, coining new terms out of combined words: bluddlefith = battlefield + blood + filth.

This page has been visited times.