Concetti Chiave
- The novel "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is James Joyce's semi-autobiographical work, exploring the life stages of Stephen Dedalus.
- The title signifies a singular artistic perspective and highlights Stephen's identity as an artist, reflecting the novel's focus on personal interpretation.
- Stephen Dedalus' name combines Christian martyrdom and mythological references, symbolizing his struggles and desire for artistic freedom.
- The plot parallels Joyce's own life, depicting Stephen's rejection of priesthood and family expectations in pursuit of artistic freedom.
- Joyce's innovative techniques, such as stream of consciousness and evolving language, are prominent features of the novel, marking significant literary contributions.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is James Joyce’s second novel. It was published in Dublin in 1916, it’s a semi-autobiographical novel.
The title of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man relates to its main character, Stephen Dedalus. Joyce portrays the life of the young Stephen Dedalus: the novel deals with Stephen’s childhood, adolescence and finally with his life as a young artist.
- ‘A’ portrait, because the poet can only offer one vision of that man, everyone can give an interpretation
- 'artist' and 'portrait' refer to Stephen's identity as an artist
Significato del nome Stephen Dedalus
This name, Stephan Dedalus, is very significant:
- Stephen is the first christian martyr ( somebody who dies for his own ideals. He was stoned to death. The protagonist fells him as a martyr, somebody who is not understood, who had to obey to the others.
- Dedalus is a mythological name ( Dedalus was closed in a maze, like the poet is closed in a prison. He made a pair of wings made by wax in order to get free in the same way Stephen and the poet himself feel in prison in Dublin - they want to escape on the wings of his art –.
Il destino di Stephen Dedalus
Everyone want him to became a priest (like the poet) but he understands he has another way: becaming an artist. So he breaks up with his family with its strict education ( the novel mirrors Joyce’s life up to age 20, when he left Dublin for Paris) and he flights away from Ireland.
Stephan Dedalus is also one of the three protagonists of Ulysses.
This novel shows Joyce’s innovation in the literary world: it starts to make use of new techniques such as stream of consciousness narration, the interior monologue, ...
There is also an evolution of the language ( costantly adapted to the age of the protagonist ) : at the beginning infant language, then the slang of university students.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è il significato del titolo "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"?
- Qual è l'importanza del nome Stephen Dedalus nel romanzo?
- Quali tecniche letterarie innovative utilizza Joyce nel romanzo?
Il titolo si riferisce al protagonista Stephen Dedalus e alla sua identità come artista. "A" ritrae una visione unica dell'uomo, mentre "artist" e "portrait" sottolineano il suo percorso artistico.
Il nome è significativo perché "Stephen" richiama il primo martire cristiano, simboleggiando il protagonista come un martire incompreso. "Dedalus" è un riferimento mitologico, rappresentando il desiderio di Stephen di fuggire dalla sua "prigione" a Dublino attraverso l'arte.
Joyce introduce tecniche innovative come la narrazione del flusso di coscienza e il monologo interiore. Inoltre, l'evoluzione del linguaggio riflette la crescita del protagonista, passando dal linguaggio infantile allo slang universitario.