Bloom's Clarity

What comes to mind when you think of the date 16^th June. Not much right? On the surface, it’s just an ordinary day in the calendar year. People go about their business as they do every day. The surface reveals very little to the uninformed. But to James Joyce, it represents a momentous change in his life. For it was on this day in 1904 that Joyce spent his first outing with his soon to be wife Nora Barnacle. The pair wondered hand in hand through the streets of Dublin, eventually relocating to a park in the suburb Ringsend where Nora began to masturbate Joyce. Ahhh such is the trance of young love. The profoundness of this day did not escape the writer, who went on to base his epic novel Ulysses on the same day. Written through the perspective of Mr Leopold Bloom, Joyce explores Dublin from the viewpoint of a Jewish advertisement canvasser in his daily activities. Not exactly the most enthralling plot to a novel, is it? But mundane and boring, it is certainly not. Ulysses represents a hallmark in the history of writing. Whilst accompanying the reader on literally journey through the streets of Dublin, Ulysses explores the complex dispositions of its characters. The everlasting impact of Joyce’s work is so much so that on 16^th June every year, Bloomsday is celebrated around the world. In Dublin, this is incredibly special as people from all over the globe travel to Ireland’s capital to retrace the footsteps of Bloom. From Sandymount Strand to Davy Byrne’s Pub, natives and tourists alike are treated to the sensory delights not dissimilar from those which Joyce portrayed through Bloom’s narrative. Above everything else, the heritage of the pilgrimage is rooted in the smells, tastes and appearances of Dublin’s food and drink. Devotees to the legacy of Ulysses note that it is Joyce’s vivid depictions of food and drink (such as Bloom’s acquisition of a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and a glass of burgundy) makes Bloomsday such a memorable event. But this is not unique to Joyce’s writing. So, as I take you on an adventure across the works of Joyce, sit back, relax and revel in the imaginative delights of his provocatively appetising linguistics.