Worksheet 2 on “The Dead”

As the main character, Gabriel’s view of himself and of his folks has been changed. Document some changes as revealed in the text. For instance, at the beginning of the story, Gabriel thought his folks’ grade of culture differed from his. What does this opinion reveal about him? (43/84)

Before & After

Feels pretty good about himself;

Epiphanies Mortality—aunt Julia

56; Another kind of love

he lacks; Empathy: started to

understand his wife’s pains and Michael’s passion;

Robert Browning 43(7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889)

an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.

dramatic monologues

A dramatic monologue is a piece of performed writing that offers great insight into the feelings of the speaker. Not to be confused with a soliloquy in a play (which the character speaking speaks to themselves), dramatic monologues suggest an auditor or auditors. The dramatic monologue is now understood to include short pieces of prose written for performance.

The Victorian Period Poetry

The Victorian period represented the high point of the dramatic monologue in English poetry.

Robert Browning is usually credited with perfecting the form; certainly, Browning is the poet who, above all, produced his finest and most famous work in this form. While My Last Duchess is the most famous of his monologues, the form dominated his writing career.

Browning’s Style

Browning’s fame today rests mainly on his dramatic monologues, in which the words not only convey setting and action but also reveal the speaker’s character. Unlike a soliloquy, the meaning in a Browning dramatic monologue is not what the speaker directly reveals but what he inadvertently "gives away" about himself in the process of rationalizing past actions, or "special-pleading" his case to a silent auditor in the poem.

"My Last Duchess"

a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologized as an example of the dramatic monologue. It first appeared in 1842 in Browning's Dramatic Lyrics.

Portraits of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning

Love Conquers All

The courtship and marriage between Robert Browning and Elizabeth were carried out secretly. Six years his elder and an invalid, she could not believe that the vigorous and worldly Browning really loved her as much as he professed to, and her doubts are expressed in the Sonnets from the Portuguese, which she wrote over the next two years. Love conquered all, however…

“God's in his Heaven -All's right with the world!”

If Gabriel included a Browning’s poem, very likely it is this piece to fit the context.

Pippa Passes was a dramatic piece, as much play as poetry, by Robert Browning published in 1841 as the first volume of his Bells and Pomegranates series.

Significance of allusion to Browning

1. to air Gabriel’s sense of superiority; 2. to refresh Browning’s personal example in his

relationship to his wife; 3. to provoke wild speculation on why Browning is

mentioned, a big challenge to the reader since Joyce did not specify the quote, thus creating an open text;

4. Irony of the so-called the Browning Society popular in the 19th century—danger of codification against Browning’s own will;

Gabriel’s Self-reflection

43—Gabriel is still in the dark, not sure why he’s failed Lily;

He still feels his grade of culture and education is superior to that of his country fellows.

A well educated person doesn’t necessarily fail his or her country fellows unless stuck with a sense of superiority.

Gabriel vs. MollySelf-justification

52—”Literature was above politics”? Writing book reviews for The Daily Express

doesn’t make Gabriel a “West Briton.” West Brit (abbreviation for West British) is

a pejorative term for an Irish person perceived by some of his countrymen as too ‘anglophile in matters of culture or politics.

Molly’s complex move

She differs from other women who dress in low-cut dresses;

As Gabriel’s intellectual equal (unlike Lily, a servant girl; unlike Gretta, a country cute), Molly attacks Gabriel but flirts with him;

51—the large brooch, an Irish device and motto:

IRISH DEVICE AND MOTTO

A Nationalist enthusiasm for Celtic language, history, and literature began in the 1890s and is reflected here by the wearing of reproductions of Celtic jewelry; one of these brooches carried the inscription "Tir agus Teanga": "Country and Language".

The University Questionthe National Heritage

The argument throughout the nineteenth century concerned how much Ireland herself, and her Catholic religion, should be a part of a university education.

English academic control of all universities (Trinity in Dublin, as well as Oxford and Cambridge) required that all students (including Irish Catholics) pass examinations in Protestant theology until 1871.

82Gabriel’s new perspective

He felt ashamed about himself

A pennyboy for his aunts: slang an employee whose duties include menial tasks, such as running errands

The party as a cover-up for fundraising for his aunts to attract more students; 

More to the light—Gretta means a child of light;

Gabriel’s pain becomes palein comparison with what Gretta and

Michael have gone through (85)

Generous tears filled Gabriel's eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love. The tears gathered more thickly in his eyes and in the partial darkness he imagined he saw the form of a young man standing under a dripping tree.

Molly Ivors 51-54

Describe the role Miss Molly Ivors has played in awakening Gabriel from his cultural Narcissism, his intellectual insensitivity or his paralysis. Your critique should be double-edged: Identify some instance in which Molly also suffers paralysis, a stiff point of view when judging people and things around her. For instance, is that justifiable when she labels Gabriel as a West Briton?

Impact of something we do for a while

Human beings are creatures of habit; Narrow reading of “Eveline” or anything by

different approaches; Our expertise could block our vision; Meet the Fockers The “I” vs. the “Eye” Colored vision by habit, expertise, by

cultural assumptions or other factors;

Gretta’s paralysis

What was the real reason Michael Furey died? 82

Consumption related to the gasworks (82) (Michael Furey was a boy in the gasworks where unhealthy working conditions afflicted him consumption in the first place;

Comment on how Romanticism could paralyze or colonize someone.

I THINK HE DIED FOR ME 82

This statement is crucial, as we now see that Gretta herself has been unable to escape the sentimentality, the nostalgia for the past, and -- most of all -- the romanticism that has, in Joyce's view, damaged the Irish soul and spirit. Michael did not die for her, or even because he stood out in the rain beneath her window: he died of tuberculosis. --Gray

Allusion to William Butler Yeats(13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939)

(Joyce has paid homage here to William Butler Yeats, one of his early supporters: in Yeats' play, Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902), an old woman who represents Ireland says about an Irish martyr-patriot who had been hanged "He died for love of me: many a man has died for love of me.")

William Butler Yeats

an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature.

In December 1923, Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Style

Yeats is generally considered to be one of the twentieth century's key English language poets. He can be considered a Symbolist poet in that he used allusive imagery and symbolic structures throughout his career. Yeats chose words and assembled them so that in addition to a particular meaning they suggest other abstract thoughts that may seem more significant and resonant. His use of symbols is usually something physical which is used both to be itself and to suggest other, perhaps immaterial, timeless qualities.

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Michael (Biblical reference)

Michael is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God. He is mentioned by name in the Book of Daniel, the Book of Jude and the Book of Revelation. In the Book of Daniel, Michael appears as "one of the chief princes" who in Daniel's vision comes to the Archangel Gabriel's aid in his contest with the angel of Persia (Dobiel).

Romeo & Julietby William Shakespeare written about 1594–96

a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers: whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families.

Romeo and Juliet

used by the editors of the First Folio of 1623. The characters of Romeo and Juliet have been depicted in literature, music, dance, and theatre. The appeal of the young hero and heroine—whose families, the ‘Montagues and the ‘Capulets, respectively, are implacable enemies—is such that they have become, in the popular imagination, the representative type of star-crossed lovers.

the "balcony scene"

After the ball, in what is now called the "balcony scene", Romeo sneaks into the ‘Capulet courtyard and overhears Juliet on her balcony vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the ‘Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union, they are secretly married the next day.

Double Functions of an Allusion

Complement the theme Romeo and Juliet—the

theme of death fits Gretta and Michael Furey’s case

Gretta is emotionally “dead” since Michael has taken her to his grave;

Contradict the theme

Gabriel is not Michael Furey

Age difference

Michael Furey vs. Gabriel ConroyGabriel is not Michael

I love you and I will die for you;

Repetition of Romeo;

But from a medical/scientific perspective, nobody could die of love;

Gabriel’s love for Gretta: Against his mother’s wishes to marry a country cute; Book a hotel room for the night so that Gretta would not catch a cold again; Got her a pair of goloshes to protect her from the cold;

Gabriel vs. Michael

Goloshes for Gretta; A sensible &

intelligent husband His intelligence

ranges from academic to pragmatice

Though passionately in love with Gretta, Michael has given up on living since Gretta is leaving for a convent;

Standing under a dripping tree (85)—a romantic but irrational act

Michael Furey’s Pains

His last name puns on Fury--unrestrained or violent anger, rage, passion, or the like… Michael has nothing going for him:

He suffers consumption, incurable at the time—gasworks produce black lung disease, TB and other problems;

His love is leaving him for a convent; His suicidal move is a way out of his

sufferings—”he did not want to live” (83)

Oughterard

a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland.

Coalworker's pneumoconi’osis

Gasworks is a plant where heating and illuminating gas is manufactured and piped to homes and buildings.

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), colloquially referred to as Black Lung Disease, is caused by long exposure to coal dust.

Gas Works Park in SeattlePerspective of the park

showing the former plant

The Lass of Aughrimhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=I1CP5Lz2iHE

The lyrics tell the story of a young peasant girl who has a child by a Lord Gregory, who seduced and then left her. She comes to his castle to beg for his help, but is turned away by his mother who, behind the closed front door, imitates her sons voice. She puts out to sea in a small boat to drown herself and the child, but is not saved, even though the lord discovers his mother's ruse and races to find her. The ballad ends with the lord mourning for his lost love and bringing down a curse on his mother.

The function of the songDiscovery and Recovery?

A portal of discovery and Recovery“A man of genius makes no

mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” —Stephen Dedalus• Ulysses, Episode 9

Scylla And CharybdisUlysses Episode 9

The famous library scene where Stephen Dedalus extensively discusses literary works, a brother poet on a brother poet;

Note a library represents the brain of a city, a university, or a nation;

Juxtaposition: Hamlet in which nine lives are lost because of revenge;

Hamlet has become a monster from a noble prince (just like Odysseus how managed to kill 108 suitors, in addition to 12 corrupted and unfaithful maids…

Odyssey XII In Homer's Odyssey XII, Odysseus is given advice by Circe to

sail closer to Scylla, for Charybdis could drown his whole ship: "Hug Scylla's crag—sail on past her—top speed! Better by far to lose six men and keep your ship than lose your entire crew" she warns and tells Odysseus to bid Crataeis prevent her from pouncing more than once. Odysseus then successfully sails his ship past Scylla and Charybdis, but Scylla manages to catch six of his men, devouring them alive:

• "...they writhedgasping as Scylla swung them up her cliff and thereat her cavern's mouth she bolted them down raw—screaming out, flinging their arms toward me,lost in that mortal struggle."

Charybdis could drown his whole ship

In Greek mythology, Charybdis or Kharybdis (pronounced /kəˈrɪbdɨs/; in Greek, Χάρυβδις) was a sea monster, once a beautiful naiad and the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia. She takes form as a huge bladder of a creature whose face was all mouth and whose arms and legs were flippers and who swallows huge amounts of water three times a day before belching them back out again, creating whirlpools.

Gabriel’s Speech 67

“But yet,” continued Gabriel, his voice falling into a softer inflection, “there are always in gatherings such as this sadder thoughts that will recur to our minds: thoughts of the past, of youth, of changes, of absent faces that we miss here tonight. Our path through life is strewn with many such sad memories: and were we to brood upon them always we could not find the heart to go on bravely with our work among the living. We have all of us living duties and living affections which claim, and rightly claim, our strenuous endeavours.

Always talking about the good old days 62

“Oh, well,” said Mr. Bartell D’Arcy, “I presume there are as good singers today as there were then.”

It is very hard to live at the present and for the present;

People always live and relive in the past or long for the future;

This parallels Grett’s nostalgia and her sentimentality, and idealized romanticism;

Gretta’s Trust

Gretta’s trust: she finally opens up to her husband;

She felt relieved after her “confession” --she fell asleep (soundly) The logic (warrant): trust forms the basis

for an intimate relationship;

Reasoning

If Gretta did not trust her husband, she would not reveal her secret to him;

If Gretta thought Gabriel could not stand the moment, she would not tell him in the first place—Gretta did not want to kill her husband (make him feel suicidal)

If Gretta could foresee her confession would result in a breakup in their marriage, she would not tell her husband about her painful love affair in the past;

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If you were to write a Sequel to The Dead

A moment of Prolepsis--The representation or taking of something future as already done or existing; anticipation, an important device to plotting a story;

Gabriel has imaginatively visited Michael Fury’s grave at the end of the story 85.

Gabriel’s imagination of Aunt Julia’s death; None of the events has occurred within the story;

Who died in the story? None!Two characters will die—some proleptic moments

Aunt Julia is going to die 84;

Freddy’s mother is going to die 68;

“Mrs. Malins will get her death of cold.”

Prolepsis

What is prolepsis? Identify some instances in the text. How is prolepsis related to making sense of the story?

a figure of speech in which a future act or development is represented as if already accomplished or existing.

85: Gabriel’s visit to Michael Furey’s grave (with Gretta), signals the direction/projection

Aunt Julia’s death 84

Functions of Prolepsisa device in plotting a story

"[P]rolepsis is a form of looking ahead, of assuming something to be the case before it has been encountered, a foreshadowing in some sense. Novelists do this all the time when they hint at things to come, or when they omit information, almost as if they thought the reader already knew it. The result of such prolepsis [is] that the reader (or hearer) creates, rather than passively receives, the information necessary to complete the scene or circumstances that the writer (or speaker) merely hints at."

Prolepsis and Flashforward

A figure of speech in which a future event is referred to in anticipation. For example, a character who is about to die might be described as "the dead man" before he is actually dead. The same device can be used in non-verbal media such as film, where it is also called flashforward.

A flashforward an interjected scene that takes the narrative

forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future. They may also reveal significant parts of the story that have not yet occurred, but soon will in greater detail. In the opposite direction, a flashback (or analepsis) reveals events that have occurred in the past.

Irony/Allusion

Identify some instances of irony and allusion in the story. How could irony and allusion contribute to or complicate the meaning or interpretation of a literary text?

Allusion in thematic connection

The Dead; the title/the Homeric tradition in which a hero must make an appointment with death and come back alive—Odysseus’ visit to Hades;

Romeo and Juliet vs. Michael and Gretta and Gabriel vs. Gretta

Constantine, the first Roman emperor advocating religious toleration;

Most important 85

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.

Irony

irony, language device, either in spoken or written form in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the literal meanings of the words (verbal irony) or in a situation in which there is an incongruity between what is expected and what occurs (dramatic irony).

dramatic irony in literature, a plot device in which the audience’s

or reader’s knowledge of events or individuals surpasses that of the characters. The words and actions of the characters therefore take on a different meaning for the audience or reader than they have for the play’s characters. This may happen when, for example, a character reacts in an inappropriate or foolish way or when a character lacks self-awareness and thus acts under false assumptions.

Instances of Irony

Aunt Julia Arrayed for the

Bridal 56 Freddy 57 Is he a qualified

critic judging Aunt Julia’s performance?

Mary Jane’s performance;

Lily’s name—no more purity;

Rich students vs. poor teachers;