Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America Commons^™

“Daren’T Joke About The Dead”: James Joyce’S Concerted Effort To Include Humor In The “Hades” Episode Of Ulysses, Barry Devine

Barry Devine

It is now widely accepted that during the revisions between The Little Review and the publication of Ulysses, Joyce went back over many episodes to strengthen the Homeric allusions. He added dozens of flower references to the “Lotus Eaters” episode, food references to “Lestrygonians,” and even more death and underworld allusions to “Hades.” At the same time, however, he was also doing much more than just multiplying the connections to Homer. He also added hundreds of references to Dublin popular culture, Irish nationalism, historical figures, and more. These new allusions have nothing to do with Homer, but Joyce collected pages …