A Side-Step

James Joyce(1882-1941),is one of the most important writers and critics in the 20th century.His novels such as Ulysses and Finnegans Wake have established his certain status as a master of modern literature.Nevertheless,compared with his novels that have recognized by most readers,Joyce’s contribution to drama has always been neglected by critics.Naturally,the only survival playscript of Joyce,Exiles,has not got enough attention.Thus,this dissertation is willing to put focus on James Joyce’s drama-Exiles,to explore the following questions:what the Joyce’s drama view is like,what relationship between his drama and the other,writings,and the influence on and from Joyce’s drama.There are three major portions in this dissertation.Chapter one is talking about Joyce’s drama theory.Through the whole life,Joyce showed much enthusiasm about drama and always tried to build his own integral drama aesthetics.He wrote some commentaries on theatre,of which on Ibsen had brought him a lot of honor.He often emphasized the difference between the drama and the general literature,but these thoughts were vague,fragmented,and unsystematic.Accordingly,I will comb and conclude Joyce’s main ideas about drama.The kernel of those ideas is to represent the internal conflicts in one’s mind but not the external problems.Next Joyce presented a principle called "esthetic stasis"and thought comedy exceeded tragedy.Finally,partly influenced by the opera at that time,Joyce valued the function of rhythm.On the grounds of the basic drama aesthetics,I will analyze Joyce’s Exiles,trying to explore the links between his theory and his practice.In chapter two I will discuss the relationship between Exiles and Joyce’s novels.Exiles was written during the period between A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man and Ulysses.Some subtle similarities in Exiles with the novels could be found by close reading.In the aspect of theme,both Joyce’s drama and novels were talking about the marriage and infidelity,individuality and national identity.Some aesthetic theories existed in A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man became dramatic in Exiles.On the style,the experience of writing novel made Joyce’s drama less theatrical.Oppositely,some dramatic skills obviously used as outstanding devices in the novels,for instance,the "Circe" in Ulysses.Moreover,the hero in Exiles Richard Rowan claimed the maturity of Joyce’s hero.Before Richard,the protagonists of Joyce’s works were adolescent and after that they became adults,became fathers.Together with Stephen Dedalus and Bloom,the male protagonists of James Joyce mapped a biographic track,which helped us to understand Joyce’s change of his mind.Chapter three is concerned with the inheritance and the development of Exiles.I will compare Exiles with Ibsen’s When we Dead Awaken and Pinter’s Betrayal respectively.James Joyce had worshipped Ibsen for his whole life.His drama showed an obvious imitation of Ibsen,both on structure and on characters.Inspired by Ibsen,Joyce’s Exiles discussed the dilemma in the soul of the artist,and the relationship between artists and the women.Overall,the drama tradition absorbed by Joyce was more from Europe than Ireland.Harold Pinter was the one who successfully staged Exiles.As one of Joyce’s successors,many of his plays can reflect Joyce’s effect.Betrayal was one of them.By comparing Pinter’s play with Exiles,we can see the life force and development of Exiles.