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Chapter 3 - The Art of Reading Proteus: Hi, Chandra I enjoyed your thoughts on this. I wrote something similar on another list. We were in the (unending) discussion of Finnegans Wake and I commented that most readers seemed so busy counting the leaves that they had forgotten what a tree looked like, much less the forest. Although an innocent approach to Ulysses has its advantages, one can hardly expect it unless one reads the book when one is very young and is captivated by it despite its difficulties. An older reader appreciates the attraction of commentaries. They are fun in themselves and sometimes helpful. Bod and I usually agree about books but I would say a kinder word for Blamires than he. Bloomsday Book is a handy guide. Its theological bias is annoying and the brevity of the book prevents it from being fully instructive but it serves fairly well. Best Bob Hi everyone, Chandra said: "It means to me that I will read U, reading every page by myself a couple of times, going back to it after looking up my treasures, rereading and learning to appreciate, etc. I am aware that this is a very slow process." I must recommend strongly against this method. You must dive into Ulysses, head first, without the aid of Gifford (or at least very little aid) on a first reading. Don't expect to make sense of much of it the first time round (or even the 20th!) becuase that's not what it's all about. Gifford or whoever else must not be seen as the key to Ulysses, making it almost like an equation. I recommend reading whole chapters in one sitting, you will completely lose the sense of unity of each chapter, and therefore the unity of the book as a whole if you read one/two pages several times. Try to set yourself to read a whole chapter in one or two sittings. Be prepared to be confused because this is inevitable and all part of the work and in fact, and part of what makes it great. The text CAN be appreciated in a first read, without the aid of notes, and every time you re-read it, inevitably you will gain a deeper (but never definite) understanding of the text. But, in the first read must be prepared to simply move on, don't linger on certain passages, picking them apart piece-meal like, and I am sure your method would not have been recommended by the author. These are my thoughts, but i'm sure others will have an opinion on this also, THanks, Bod There is indeed a speed of reading that is necessary for comprehension. Faster than that speed destroys understanding of the text but slower than that speed is equally destructive. A linear approach to Joyce cannot succeed because the information you need is often not on the page that you are reading. The answer to your question is often twenty or a hundred or more pages further on. Joyce deliberately wrote a book that the reader CANNOT understand at one go. The reader must not just read; the reader must re-read. Most of us Joyce addicts are happy to do just this. Contrast Joyce with any traditional writer. You'll note that the traditional writer is careful to place little bundles of information along every path the reader must take. The reader of this book will never be lost, will never starve. Joyce, on the other hand, simply doesn't care. The only need-to-know that he recognizes is that of his characters. Find a comfortable pace and read on. As Sherlock Holmes used to tell Watson: "All will be revealed." (Not ALL as it happens but a goodly amount.) Best Bob For my first reading of U. I read the chapter with out help. then read cliff notes for the chapter. read the chapter. then looked at the new bloomsday book at corresponding chapter. Read chapter. Read chapter. then read the next chapter. I used Ulysses Annotated often to look up words that I HAD to understand.(not every word) Cliffs notes and the new bloomsday book, try hard not to tell you to much about what comes later in Ulysses but, some information does slip by. But, it is these slips or clues do help you cue into themes that run throughout the book. Mike
Nice to read what you both said, Mike and Bob. Actually I am not proceeding so very slowly as I made it out. Two days ago, I read chapter 4 at ONE GO. Met Mr. Bloom for the first time. Saw that Joyce uses even the words from my most favourite aria - La ci darem la mano - and what else could I do but be pleased as a cat licking cream to read that chapter! Bob, you raise a good point that reading Ulysses is not reading other traditional books. And I have no fights with Bod's views that Gifford does not know all the answers. Perhaps Campbell also does not. Whether their answers/explanations can become ours too depends on whether we look at the things with the same eyes and minds. In all, reading Ulysses is an experience. Particularly when one tries to do that along with other duties and obligations. There is only so much time in a week for that, and if one ends with nothing more than raised eyebrows, then it is easy to hunt for other sources which could prove helpful. I had read Portrait in three or four days straight. Just loved that experience. With U it ha been different. I hope, Bob, that I find my own pace soon, a pace which will give me the most from the reading. Chandra HOME! |