Allusions in Ulysses

This comprehensive list of allusions found in James Joyce's modern classic <i>Ulysses</i> is in itself a classic and is a feat of literary scholarship of unprecedented magnitude. In brief this book is a copiously annotated list of Joyce's allusions in such areas as literature philosophy theology history and the fine arts. So awesome an undertaking would not have been possible without the prior work of such persons as Stuart Gilbert Joseph Prescott William York Tindall M.J.C. Hodgart Mabel Worthington and many others. But the present list is more than a compilation of previously discovered allusions for it contains many allusions that have never been suggested before as well as some that have only been partially or mistakenly identified in earlier publications.<br/><br/>In preparing this work the author has kept its usefulness to the reader foremost in mind. He often refreshed the reader's memory in concerning the context of an allusion since its context in one sense or another is always the guide to its function in the novel. The entire list is fully cross-referenced and keyed by page and line to both the old and new Modern Library editions of <i>Ulysses</i>. In addition the index is prepared in such a way that it indexes not only the <i>List</i> but also the novel itself.<br/><br/>The purpose of allusion in a literary work is essentially the same as that of all other types of metaphor - the development and revelation of character structure and theme - and when skillfully used it does all of these simultaneously. Joyce's use of allusion is distinguished from that of other authors not by its purposes but by its extent and thoroughness. <i>Ulysses</i> involves dozens of allusive contexts all continually intersecting modifying and qualifying one another. Here again Joyce's uniqueness and complexity lie not in his themes or characters nor in his basic methods of developing them but in his accepting the challenge of an Olympian use of his chosen methods. The value of this volume to Joyce scholars and students is obvious; however its usefulness to anyone who reads <i>Ulysses</i> is as great if not greater. It can truly be the key to this difficult but rewarding novel.