Dr Jonathan McCreedy is Senior Assistant Professor in English literature in the Department of English and American Studies at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. He received his PhD from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, based upon his study of Finnegans Wake and its compositional “sigla.” His scholarly interests include James Joyce, genetic criticism, Irish English, and multilingualism. He is the head of the Sofia Centre for Irish Studies, which is part of the larger Balkan Centre for Irish Studies network. He has publications in Genetic Joyce Studies, Joyce Studies in Italy, the James Joyce Literary Supplement, and the Journal of Popular Television. He is also the co-editor of Swiftian Inspirations: The Legacy of Jonathan Swift from the Enlightenment to the Age of Post-Truth (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020), New Paradigms in English Studies (St. Kliment Ohridski UP, 2017), and Ireland-Europe: Cultural and Literary Encounters (St. Kliment Ohridski UP, 2017). Address: Sofia, Bulgaria
This article adopts a sociolinguistic approach to multilingualism within James Joyce’s Finnegans ... more This article adopts a sociolinguistic approach to multilingualism within James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (1939), paying attention to how, in Book 2, Chapter 3, two Irish soldiers called Butt and Taff extensively code-switch into numerous Slavonic languages (for which Bulgarian serves as the focus of this study), and how they do so for the purposes of bonding (through humour) and expressing their complex identities as ‘Slavic Irishmen’. The study looks in depth at the Wake’s extreme levels of multilingualism (with more than 70 languages present within the work) and how a sociolinguistic approach to reading it – one which specifically employs terminology and research drawn from the academic field of sociolinguistics – can provide fresh and intriguing academic perspectives on it. Within this article, I argue that this unique approach may ‘humanize’ Butt and Taff for the reader and that these figures may even be seen to acquire identities akin to ‘real-life’ personas through their use of code-switching. This makes them unlike the ‘avatars’ or ‘siglas’ that critics in Wake studies normally identify in the work. (AUTHOR'S COPY. SEE JOURNAL FOR FINAL VERSION)
https://academic.oup.com/fmls/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/fmls/cqae004/7638814?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
ESIDRP Proceedings (English Studies at the Interface of Disciplines: Research and Practice), 2022
This article is an interdisciplinary study of David Fincher's 1995 psychological horror film Se7e... more This article is an interdisciplinary study of David Fincher's 1995 psychological horror film Se7en whose narrative retells how a diabolical serial killer, named John Doe, tortures and kills his victims according to the "deadly" sin that they have committed. My analysis focuses on the literary and discursive presence of the libertine philosopher the Marquis de Sade in the film as well as within its original and early production drafts which incorporate him differently. This text attempts to challenge current research on Se7en that does not investigate to any degree the inclusion of Sade within the plot of the film and which essentially presents Doe as an asexual monk whose homicidal motivations do not involve a need for physical gratification. I contest contrarily that each murder is erotically charged on both disturbing psychoanalytical and extreme physical levels and furthermore they individually match up with deaths within Sade's works committed by Sadian heroes during their quests for transcendence. The text provides throughout, therefore, a new and more expansive reading of Doe's character and his motivations for committing his despicable crimes. This, in addition, highlights the importance of Sade's oeuvre within the killer's literary "research" of the deadly sins within Se7en as a whole, and demonstrates that these killings are even more hideously evil and philosophically complex than generally assumed by viewers. The full 2020 EFACIS conference proceedings can be found at this link: https://coda.io/@esidrp-conference/esidrp-conference-2022/conference-proceedings-7 ISBN 978-608-234-099-9
In the following essay, I will focus upon determining whether or not the opening section of “Sire... more In the following essay, I will focus upon determining whether or not the opening section of “Sirens” (from lines 1 to 63) in James Joyce's "Ulysses" (1922) contains musical aesthetics that can be defined as being similar to experimental compositional ideas from the period and even, speculatively, anachronistic ones belonging to future decades. I hinge my argument on the biographical fact that, whilst writing “Sirens”, Joyce was living in Zurich, which at the time was a city especially rich in radical musical experimentation and “free” compositional thinking, spearheaded by the pedagogic influence of Ferruccio Busoni. I build my overall text around critical research in regard to the historical study of the musicological structure of “Sirens”, which arguably today, in certain respects, has reached a point of necessary refocus. I argue that today we are faced with a new interpretive structural problem in connection to “Sirens” which concerns its opening section and the question of its musical identity for which currently there is no similar critical agreement or definitive genetic “proof” that ties it down to a specific musicological form or concept. I will present an overall introduction to the research issue of this question, its critical history and my own approach, which owes its musical structure greatly to highly experimental modern concepts, primarily focusing on early 20th century harmonic series theory and anachronistic ideas involving 1950s serialism.
This essay will provide a study of the “Nightletter” text which appears at the very end of Book I... more This essay will provide a study of the “Nightletter” text which appears at the very end of Book II Chapter 2 of Joyce's Finnegans Wake. There is, however, a second version available to readers that looks considerably different which was lost because of editorial difficulties that Joyce faced during the final year of preparing the novel for publication. This essay will primarily focus on this relatively unknown “Nightletter” and I will study how it was created and how it evolved. My study will investigate in particular its impressive, single paged design and how its layout interacts with the Nightletter’s text, enriching it on many aesthetic levels. This research determines that Joyce’s original artistic vision for his own night letter was regrettably spoiled due to an editorial mistake in the galley proofs of II.2, an error that was never corrected. I shall conclude by giving an overview of the position of Joyce’s original night letter in terms of its readership and the possibilities of it emerging as a version that could in the future become more accepted and legitimised as the “true” design for the telegram from the Earwicker siblings to their parents at “youlldied” (FW 308.17).
The article can also be located at the Genetic Joyce Studies website: https://www.geneticjoycestudies.org/
Joyce Studies in Italy 23: JOYSPACE: JAMES JOYCE AND SPACE, 2022
In this essay, I plan to analyse the phenomenon whereupon Finnegans Wake demonstrates the apparen... more In this essay, I plan to analyse the phenomenon whereupon Finnegans Wake demonstrates the apparent ability to "foretell" future events outside of the book's compositional timeframe. This is research prompted by contemporary online interest by Joyce scholars upon how references to contemporary events seem to appear throughout the book in a rather "spooky" manner. This firstly requires analysis of how different approaches to reading Finnegans Wake facilitate such interpretations. This text is, therefore, a study of attitudes regarding what may be considered a "right" or "wrong" way of reading the novel within the wider Joycean community. The reading approaches are categorised into "types" which each have idiosyncratic characteristics and even subtypes that split them up even further. It is important to note the distinctions between all of these if we are to evaluate successfully the multiple ways in which readers may search for "prophecies" in Finnegans Wake. Information will be gathered from the respective reading "types" and the "prophetic" findings which they have collectively made ranging from interpretations that are actually considered "true"-by conspiracy theorists, for instance-to those that are knowingly "false" but are enjoyed and employed by their readers for multiple reasons and purposes. The figure of Donald J. Trump is used throughout this essay since in recent years he has attained focused, collective attention by the "prophetic" readers of Finnegans Wake throughout his term as U.S President. This phenomenon of "Trump watching" in Finnegans Wake reached its apex in November 2020 when readers, who mainly congregated online, began finding remarkable "allusions" to Trump and the Presidential election which were added to on a daily basis as the events played out, all the way through to his eventual defeat and subsequent efforts to fight the results in court. The COVID-19 outbreak, the spread of fake news though social media, and the growing mistrust of science were 2020-centered topics that "prophetic" readers also detected throughout this year, demonstrating that Finnegans Wake has a continually renewing list of so-called "references" within it to fit the timeframe of whatever is current.
University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series, 2021
University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series VOLUME XI, NUMBER 2 (new ser... more University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series VOLUME XI, NUMBER 2 (new series) The text is available online here: https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JonathanMcCreedy.pdf In the following text, I will discuss the gradual erosion of historical accuracy in connection to a series of hagiographic texts concerning the biography of Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. I will outline each one against a wide historical and cultural backdrop and subsequently ascertain whether or not the changes that hagiographers introduced over the centuries have been detrimental to his legacy. The texts I have chosen to analyse can be separated into two major time periods: the first being the trio of works that construct the absolute basics of the Saint Patrick legend, all originating from the 5th to 7th centuries, which are the autobiographical Confessio, with its heavy focus on relaying a Christian moral about sin, and the historical sources Bishop Tírechán's Account of St. Patrick's Journey and Muirchú's Life of St. Patrick. With these early hagiographic texts serving as reference points, I will, however, primarily study two Spanish Patrician works from the 17th Century: Pérez de Montalbán’s 1627 work Vida y Purgatorio de San Patricio and Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play El purgatorio de San Patricio, or The Purgatory of Saint Patrick in its English translation. Within my analysis I will determine whether or not the changes integrated into his story by Montalbán and Calderón in fact matter to the overall legacy of Saint Patrick in the modern-day and if they had any lasting impact to readers, bearing in mind that both texts, more or less, retain the essentials of his Christian message and promote him as an exemplary spiritual figure within history.
The Journal of Popular Television, Volume 9, Number 2. pp. 233-250 , 2021
This article will study the world of American professional wrestling in connection to the recepti... more This article will study the world of American professional wrestling in connection to the reception of masculine tropes by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fans. Wrestling fans, who are in majority male and traditionally come from the American working class, are in the unique position to voice, or scream, their opinions of positive or negative masculine behaviours that they see live in the ring. Since it is a scripted show (or in wrestling jargon, a ‘work’), it offers us a fascinating insight into how men view masculine behaviour as they view the action from a fictional distance. As unlikely at it may seem, I will argue that based upon their live reception of positive and negative masculine traits, modern WWE fans are surprisingly liberal in their condemnation of masculinist beliefs such as misogyny, having a hatred of oppressive patriarchal systems and, mostly recently, opposing the sleazy objectification of women. I will additionally challenge accusations that wrestling is a fundamentally misogynistic industry, with particular reference to the modern reception of female wrestlers as serious athletes, rather than erotic valets leading males to the ring, or as sex objects in general, with reference to the successful 2015 ‘Divas revolution’ and the company’s decision to rename them ‘superstars’ in all broadcasts ‐ giving them equal status to their male counterparts.
JOYCE’S OTHERS / THE OTHERS AND JOYCE (Joyce Studies in Italy 22), 2020
This essay will research what I shall call “James Joyce” literature,
which is a specific type of ... more This essay will research what I shall call “James Joyce” literature, which is a specific type of speculative fiction. To qualify as such a work, James Joyce must function as a character within the text and the story must be told within some kind of alternate history. This can be a conveniently changed timeline to allow for new biographical occurrences, or else the author can create fantastical “New Joyces” who act in ways completely foreign to his real-life personality. It is my objective to evaluate “James Joyce” literature as an oeuvre, to determine why authors continue to be compelled to retell Joyce’s life story in new and radical ways. Joyce is one of only a few writers who has received this treatment, (with Shakespeare and his “Shakespeare” literature a notable comparison), so I will study why authors have deemed it important to recreate his character fictionally, in multifaceted forms. His role as an artistic innovator is deserving of homage, but his reinvention as a pop-culture icon today is also of importance. I carry out close readings of these “James Joyce” literary works, especially in connection to their usage of intertextual references to Joyce’s works, and how these quotes and stylistic imitations carry out literary homage, parody, pastiche and burlesque concepts. Finally, I will discuss how the works share an overarching stylistic kinship concerning the style of juxtaposing of high artistic culture (intertextual referencing from Ulysses and Finnegans Wake say) with those from popular culture (such as the Da Vinci Code and Back to the Future).
The paper intends to explicate the reasons why the 2018 British-Irish television series Derry Gir... more The paper intends to explicate the reasons why the 2018 British-Irish television series Derry Girls seemingly succeeded against all odds to become one of Channel 4's most successful ever shows. Derry Girls uses unadulterated Derry/Londonderry English dialogue with highly specific 1990s and native references. I argue that its writer Lisa McGee wrote it in this way so as to make Derry Girls as organic and culturally alive as possible. Without the usage of Derry/Londonderry English dialogue, the unique character of Derry Girls would arguably become subject to artistic compromise and erosion. I argue that copious layers of nuanced meaning would become lost from the show if its usage of Derry/Londonderry English became softened or even "translated" slightly into Standard English. This is because it is a core element of Derry Girls idiosyncratic style which celebrates Irish English and revels in its remarkable linguistic elasticity. In short, without Derry/Londonderry English, Derry Girls would cease to be as successful as it is. This paper is a study of the linguistic and cultural content of the 2018-2019 Channel 4 television series Derry Girls, which is now in its second series. The show is set in the city of Derry/Londonderry in the early 1990s in the midst of the Northern Ireland "Troubles" and the Derry Girls themselves are a group of four 15 year olds growing up in a working class, and dangerous, Irish Republican estate near the city walls called the Bogside. However, the show is a comedy and the characters live by and large mundane lives where the political events going on around
Swiftian Inspirations: The Legacy of Jonathan Swift from the Enlightenment to the Age of Post-Truth pp. 225-246, 2020
My chapter will take the stance that Ireland’s economic uncertainty as a
result of Brexit is comp... more My chapter will take the stance that Ireland’s economic uncertainty as a result of Brexit is comparable to historical incidents into which Jonathan Swift involved himself from 1724 onwards, concerning a coin (a halfpence) patented by the English ironmaster William Wood, who intended to introduce it into the circulation of Ireland’s currency. Swift’s The Drapier’s Letters (1724-5) was a seven part pamphlet series written with the sole intention of preventing the halfpence from being officially adopted due to legitimate fears that it would instigate hyperinflation in Ireland and trigger subsequent nationwide disasters. Swift warned the Irish people about this impending catastrophe by providing them with economic facts and figures in accessible terms, and he also ignited fury among the populace by exposing political corruption and scandal in connection to the affair. Due to genuine fears of revolt in Ireland, and a united boycott of the new currency, the British government withdrew Wood’s patent and the coin was never used. Therefore, The Drapier’s Letters stand as being one of Swift’s greatest writing achievements, largely because they almost singlehandedly prevented Ireland falling into devastating economic ruin, and he undoubtedly saved lives in the process.
Proceedings of the ESIDRP Conference pp. 159 - 175, 2020
This essay presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable about — and appreciated — moderni... more This essay presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable about — and appreciated — modernist classical music. It provides an exposition of his musical life in Zurich and Paris, from 1915 onwards, with connection to his acquaintances with the composers Phillipe Jarnach, Otto Luening, and Georges Antheil; the modern musicological theory he learned in both cities; the concerts he attended; and how this lengthy collective experience realized itself artistically during the writing of episode 11 of Ulysses (titled “Sirens”) and throughout Finnegans Wake. This research into 20th century classical music in the works of Joyce stems largely from my dissatisfaction with contemporary critical summaries of his personal taste in music. I have concerns in regard to the general critical consensus that Joyce was traditional, non-eclectic and disliked the contemporary musical avant-garde despite being an experimental modernist himself. I feel that the current evidence supporting his apparent aversion to modernist classical music is inconclusive. The writing of this essay was also instigated by the considerable shortage of biographical and critical information available on the subject. ISBN 978-608-234-073-9
In genetic Joyce studies the “battle diagram” refers to an image in the drafts of the first chapt... more In genetic Joyce studies the “battle diagram” refers to an image in the drafts of the first chapter of Finnegans Wake in connection to a passage of the text known as the “Museyroom” (FW 8.9 – 10.23). Most scholars know it, of course, through its facsimile reproduction in David Hayman’s The First Draft of Finnegans Wake (50) and its partial representation in Roland McHugh’s The Sigla of Finnegans Wake (82).This study attempts to establish whether it can help us understand this difficult section of Finnegans Wake. The “Museyroom” plotline may be straightforward, but its overall setting presents the reader with considerable challenges owing to the conflation of images. Locations and individuals shapeshift and hold no fixed visual identity, in addition to them being avatars for Finnegans Wake characters. The complex expository framework situates the action within a waxwork museum and readers hear the story, as well as view it, in the context of a tour led by a figure called Kate, a “janitrix” (FW 8.8). The museum, or “museyroom” (FW 8.9) itself holds multiple fluid identities, so by design, this section is hard to comprehend and its overall visualisation is interpreted different by critics. I believe that the images in the “Museyroom” can be stabilised and made largely comprehensible if one develops a full understanding of the battle diagram in terms of how it is an authoritative visual conception and that its siglic components connect with the section’s narrative. This essay first looks at its speculative origins in notebook VI.B.15, which Joyce began in September 1926, shortly after returning from a holiday in Belgium. I argue that biographical information concerning Joyce’s visit to Waterloo is important in regards to the diagram’s design and how it connects to the “Museyroom” text. Then I’ll study two early drafts of Book I chapter 1 with table layouts, for ease of comprehension. The diagram’s sigla, dashed lines and other shapes are presented beside annotations to show their tight links with specific passages.
In Google Books: https://books.google.bg/books?id=AGDNDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspiration... more This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspirational cultural legacy which generations of writers, thinkers, and satirists have recurrently relied upon since the Enlightenment. Section One deals with the eighteenth century and the topics of truth, falsehood and madness. Section Two focuses on two film adaptations of Gulliver’s Travels as well as on allusions to Swiftian satire during the US Enlightenment and in post-racial America. Section Three looks at the politics of language, politeness, and satire within translation, and Section Four dwells upon the process of reading Swift in the age of post-truth and Brexit. It will be of interest to students and scholars of eighteenth-century literature and culture, modern-day politics as well as to those interested in satire, science fiction, and film adaptations of literary works.
Ireland - Europe: Cultural and Literary Encounters, 2017
The majority of characters in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake are multilingual, which is one of the ... more The majority of characters in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake are multilingual, which is one of the reasons why an estimated total of 50 distinct languages (not counting regional variants of English) feature in the novel. Finnegans Wake on the whole is written in English, or as it has been said 'a kind of English': the omniscient narrators and all characters possessing English as their L1 language, so to speak. However, within the space of a sentence (or even within a single word), speakers regularly include lexis from a variety of different languages: from one or two, to seven in total, together with English. Code-switching is the reason why Finnegans Wake is so difficult: obviously the majority, or indeed every conceivable reader of the novel, is not going to be multilingual to the extent of knowing 50 specific languages. Therefore, language barriers exist copiously on every page. I have decided to study Irish and Bulgarian code-switching (more or less exclusively) in the section of Finnegans Wake known as "Buckley and the Russian General" in Book 2 chapter 3 of the novel. This 15 paged section contains the most diverse variety of languages in the book, with 35 distinct codes being spoken in the text. There are multiple motives for code-switching in Finnegans Wake: all of which we will analyse within a lengthy dialogue between two men called Butt and Taff. It is difficult to definitively determine their level of competence in each language; however, it is possible to surmise why they use them in each instance of code-switching. I conclude that (amongst other reasons) Butt and Taff's choice knowledge of both languages is dictated by their social identities as soldiers, (well experienced with foreign language having had many international tours of duty), as well their national identities as Irishmen living in Dublin in the 1940's (with reference to the 'politicisation' of the Irish language at this time).
This paper concerns the usage of Irish English (a variety of English) in James Joyce’s Finnegans ... more This paper concerns the usage of Irish English (a variety of English) in James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake; my research being inspired by sociolinguistic styles of analysis - a rarity within Joyce academic criticism. Raymond Hickey proposes an argument that in lieu of sociolinguistic data, extracts from Irish literature can be considered a valid and accurate means of language research. In lieu of stated linguistic data from the first part of the 20th century, I choose to individually study Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (1941) owing to its noted encyclopaedic documentation of Irish English from this era, closely following Hickey’s scholarly and research approach. Topics for discussion include Joyce’s affixation of regional dialects to sets of characters, and the subsequent creation of an “atlas” of Irish regions from north to south of the island, in the novel – for example, the Galway born Kate (whose words are phonetically transcribed since Irish English is in essence not a “written language”). Overall, I intend to draw attention to the benefits of applying varied topics within the field of sociolinguistics to the novel; firstly, to encourage Joyce academics to use said texts as an integral contribution within their own literary criticism (because it can unlock previously inaccessible avenues for debate), and secondly to demonstrate to linguists that Finnegans Wake is a veritable database worthy of the status as an individual case study of early 20th century Irish English usage. Such a scholarly crossover may benefit an improved overall collective comprehension of Finnegans Wake; the preconceived (and arguably false) academic boundary which exists between the two disciplines will also be challenged as a result of this research.
In Finnegans Wake, Joyce develops his interest in the secret organisation Freemasonry in two resp... more In Finnegans Wake, Joyce develops his interest in the secret organisation Freemasonry in two respects – in accordance to how moral instructions are taught using two tenets: firstly, by studying allegories taken from a vast range of world religions, ancient and modern. Secondly, using the “ancient method of [studying] symbolism” (Albert G. Mackey in The Symbolism of Freemasonry). Both Freemasonic and Finnegans Wake symbols derive from a tradition of symbols dating back to time immemorial: originating in paganism and progressing through to the present incorporating ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Judaic, Hindu, and Christian cultural and allegorical meanings. My paper researches how the symbolic system of Freemasonry is alluded to and imitated in Finnegans Wake owing to its all-inclusive symbolic system. An encyclopaedic corpus of religious and mythical allegories exists in the novel, and Masonic symbols and traditions assist immeasurably in forming its architectonic structure. Additionally, Joyce's personal “numerological” system in Finnegans Wake functions parallel to Freemasonic concerns involving ancient Greek (specifically) Pythagorean “sacred geometry”: imitated in Book II chapter 2's mathematical “lesson” and parodistic transcription of a Euclidian proposition on page 293. The accompanying “meditation” on ancient symbolic designs including the Judaic “Seal of Solomon”, and the Christian 'Vesica Piscis' links together yet more cultures through visuals and associative allegories and myth.
This article adopts a sociolinguistic approach to multilingualism within James Joyce’s Finnegans ... more This article adopts a sociolinguistic approach to multilingualism within James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (1939), paying attention to how, in Book 2, Chapter 3, two Irish soldiers called Butt and Taff extensively code-switch into numerous Slavonic languages (for which Bulgarian serves as the focus of this study), and how they do so for the purposes of bonding (through humour) and expressing their complex identities as ‘Slavic Irishmen’. The study looks in depth at the Wake’s extreme levels of multilingualism (with more than 70 languages present within the work) and how a sociolinguistic approach to reading it – one which specifically employs terminology and research drawn from the academic field of sociolinguistics – can provide fresh and intriguing academic perspectives on it. Within this article, I argue that this unique approach may ‘humanize’ Butt and Taff for the reader and that these figures may even be seen to acquire identities akin to ‘real-life’ personas through their use of code-switching. This makes them unlike the ‘avatars’ or ‘siglas’ that critics in Wake studies normally identify in the work. (AUTHOR'S COPY. SEE JOURNAL FOR FINAL VERSION)
https://academic.oup.com/fmls/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/fmls/cqae004/7638814?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
ESIDRP Proceedings (English Studies at the Interface of Disciplines: Research and Practice), 2022
This article is an interdisciplinary study of David Fincher's 1995 psychological horror film Se7e... more This article is an interdisciplinary study of David Fincher's 1995 psychological horror film Se7en whose narrative retells how a diabolical serial killer, named John Doe, tortures and kills his victims according to the "deadly" sin that they have committed. My analysis focuses on the literary and discursive presence of the libertine philosopher the Marquis de Sade in the film as well as within its original and early production drafts which incorporate him differently. This text attempts to challenge current research on Se7en that does not investigate to any degree the inclusion of Sade within the plot of the film and which essentially presents Doe as an asexual monk whose homicidal motivations do not involve a need for physical gratification. I contest contrarily that each murder is erotically charged on both disturbing psychoanalytical and extreme physical levels and furthermore they individually match up with deaths within Sade's works committed by Sadian heroes during their quests for transcendence. The text provides throughout, therefore, a new and more expansive reading of Doe's character and his motivations for committing his despicable crimes. This, in addition, highlights the importance of Sade's oeuvre within the killer's literary "research" of the deadly sins within Se7en as a whole, and demonstrates that these killings are even more hideously evil and philosophically complex than generally assumed by viewers. The full 2020 EFACIS conference proceedings can be found at this link: https://coda.io/@esidrp-conference/esidrp-conference-2022/conference-proceedings-7 ISBN 978-608-234-099-9
In the following essay, I will focus upon determining whether or not the opening section of “Sire... more In the following essay, I will focus upon determining whether or not the opening section of “Sirens” (from lines 1 to 63) in James Joyce's "Ulysses" (1922) contains musical aesthetics that can be defined as being similar to experimental compositional ideas from the period and even, speculatively, anachronistic ones belonging to future decades. I hinge my argument on the biographical fact that, whilst writing “Sirens”, Joyce was living in Zurich, which at the time was a city especially rich in radical musical experimentation and “free” compositional thinking, spearheaded by the pedagogic influence of Ferruccio Busoni. I build my overall text around critical research in regard to the historical study of the musicological structure of “Sirens”, which arguably today, in certain respects, has reached a point of necessary refocus. I argue that today we are faced with a new interpretive structural problem in connection to “Sirens” which concerns its opening section and the question of its musical identity for which currently there is no similar critical agreement or definitive genetic “proof” that ties it down to a specific musicological form or concept. I will present an overall introduction to the research issue of this question, its critical history and my own approach, which owes its musical structure greatly to highly experimental modern concepts, primarily focusing on early 20th century harmonic series theory and anachronistic ideas involving 1950s serialism.
This essay will provide a study of the “Nightletter” text which appears at the very end of Book I... more This essay will provide a study of the “Nightletter” text which appears at the very end of Book II Chapter 2 of Joyce's Finnegans Wake. There is, however, a second version available to readers that looks considerably different which was lost because of editorial difficulties that Joyce faced during the final year of preparing the novel for publication. This essay will primarily focus on this relatively unknown “Nightletter” and I will study how it was created and how it evolved. My study will investigate in particular its impressive, single paged design and how its layout interacts with the Nightletter’s text, enriching it on many aesthetic levels. This research determines that Joyce’s original artistic vision for his own night letter was regrettably spoiled due to an editorial mistake in the galley proofs of II.2, an error that was never corrected. I shall conclude by giving an overview of the position of Joyce’s original night letter in terms of its readership and the possibilities of it emerging as a version that could in the future become more accepted and legitimised as the “true” design for the telegram from the Earwicker siblings to their parents at “youlldied” (FW 308.17).
The article can also be located at the Genetic Joyce Studies website: https://www.geneticjoycestudies.org/
Joyce Studies in Italy 23: JOYSPACE: JAMES JOYCE AND SPACE, 2022
In this essay, I plan to analyse the phenomenon whereupon Finnegans Wake demonstrates the apparen... more In this essay, I plan to analyse the phenomenon whereupon Finnegans Wake demonstrates the apparent ability to "foretell" future events outside of the book's compositional timeframe. This is research prompted by contemporary online interest by Joyce scholars upon how references to contemporary events seem to appear throughout the book in a rather "spooky" manner. This firstly requires analysis of how different approaches to reading Finnegans Wake facilitate such interpretations. This text is, therefore, a study of attitudes regarding what may be considered a "right" or "wrong" way of reading the novel within the wider Joycean community. The reading approaches are categorised into "types" which each have idiosyncratic characteristics and even subtypes that split them up even further. It is important to note the distinctions between all of these if we are to evaluate successfully the multiple ways in which readers may search for "prophecies" in Finnegans Wake. Information will be gathered from the respective reading "types" and the "prophetic" findings which they have collectively made ranging from interpretations that are actually considered "true"-by conspiracy theorists, for instance-to those that are knowingly "false" but are enjoyed and employed by their readers for multiple reasons and purposes. The figure of Donald J. Trump is used throughout this essay since in recent years he has attained focused, collective attention by the "prophetic" readers of Finnegans Wake throughout his term as U.S President. This phenomenon of "Trump watching" in Finnegans Wake reached its apex in November 2020 when readers, who mainly congregated online, began finding remarkable "allusions" to Trump and the Presidential election which were added to on a daily basis as the events played out, all the way through to his eventual defeat and subsequent efforts to fight the results in court. The COVID-19 outbreak, the spread of fake news though social media, and the growing mistrust of science were 2020-centered topics that "prophetic" readers also detected throughout this year, demonstrating that Finnegans Wake has a continually renewing list of so-called "references" within it to fit the timeframe of whatever is current.
University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series, 2021
University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series VOLUME XI, NUMBER 2 (new ser... more University of Bucharest Review. Literary and Cultural Studies Series VOLUME XI, NUMBER 2 (new series) The text is available online here: https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JonathanMcCreedy.pdf In the following text, I will discuss the gradual erosion of historical accuracy in connection to a series of hagiographic texts concerning the biography of Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. I will outline each one against a wide historical and cultural backdrop and subsequently ascertain whether or not the changes that hagiographers introduced over the centuries have been detrimental to his legacy. The texts I have chosen to analyse can be separated into two major time periods: the first being the trio of works that construct the absolute basics of the Saint Patrick legend, all originating from the 5th to 7th centuries, which are the autobiographical Confessio, with its heavy focus on relaying a Christian moral about sin, and the historical sources Bishop Tírechán's Account of St. Patrick's Journey and Muirchú's Life of St. Patrick. With these early hagiographic texts serving as reference points, I will, however, primarily study two Spanish Patrician works from the 17th Century: Pérez de Montalbán’s 1627 work Vida y Purgatorio de San Patricio and Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play El purgatorio de San Patricio, or The Purgatory of Saint Patrick in its English translation. Within my analysis I will determine whether or not the changes integrated into his story by Montalbán and Calderón in fact matter to the overall legacy of Saint Patrick in the modern-day and if they had any lasting impact to readers, bearing in mind that both texts, more or less, retain the essentials of his Christian message and promote him as an exemplary spiritual figure within history.
The Journal of Popular Television, Volume 9, Number 2. pp. 233-250 , 2021
This article will study the world of American professional wrestling in connection to the recepti... more This article will study the world of American professional wrestling in connection to the reception of masculine tropes by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) fans. Wrestling fans, who are in majority male and traditionally come from the American working class, are in the unique position to voice, or scream, their opinions of positive or negative masculine behaviours that they see live in the ring. Since it is a scripted show (or in wrestling jargon, a ‘work’), it offers us a fascinating insight into how men view masculine behaviour as they view the action from a fictional distance. As unlikely at it may seem, I will argue that based upon their live reception of positive and negative masculine traits, modern WWE fans are surprisingly liberal in their condemnation of masculinist beliefs such as misogyny, having a hatred of oppressive patriarchal systems and, mostly recently, opposing the sleazy objectification of women. I will additionally challenge accusations that wrestling is a fundamentally misogynistic industry, with particular reference to the modern reception of female wrestlers as serious athletes, rather than erotic valets leading males to the ring, or as sex objects in general, with reference to the successful 2015 ‘Divas revolution’ and the company’s decision to rename them ‘superstars’ in all broadcasts ‐ giving them equal status to their male counterparts.
JOYCE’S OTHERS / THE OTHERS AND JOYCE (Joyce Studies in Italy 22), 2020
This essay will research what I shall call “James Joyce” literature,
which is a specific type of ... more This essay will research what I shall call “James Joyce” literature, which is a specific type of speculative fiction. To qualify as such a work, James Joyce must function as a character within the text and the story must be told within some kind of alternate history. This can be a conveniently changed timeline to allow for new biographical occurrences, or else the author can create fantastical “New Joyces” who act in ways completely foreign to his real-life personality. It is my objective to evaluate “James Joyce” literature as an oeuvre, to determine why authors continue to be compelled to retell Joyce’s life story in new and radical ways. Joyce is one of only a few writers who has received this treatment, (with Shakespeare and his “Shakespeare” literature a notable comparison), so I will study why authors have deemed it important to recreate his character fictionally, in multifaceted forms. His role as an artistic innovator is deserving of homage, but his reinvention as a pop-culture icon today is also of importance. I carry out close readings of these “James Joyce” literary works, especially in connection to their usage of intertextual references to Joyce’s works, and how these quotes and stylistic imitations carry out literary homage, parody, pastiche and burlesque concepts. Finally, I will discuss how the works share an overarching stylistic kinship concerning the style of juxtaposing of high artistic culture (intertextual referencing from Ulysses and Finnegans Wake say) with those from popular culture (such as the Da Vinci Code and Back to the Future).
The paper intends to explicate the reasons why the 2018 British-Irish television series Derry Gir... more The paper intends to explicate the reasons why the 2018 British-Irish television series Derry Girls seemingly succeeded against all odds to become one of Channel 4's most successful ever shows. Derry Girls uses unadulterated Derry/Londonderry English dialogue with highly specific 1990s and native references. I argue that its writer Lisa McGee wrote it in this way so as to make Derry Girls as organic and culturally alive as possible. Without the usage of Derry/Londonderry English dialogue, the unique character of Derry Girls would arguably become subject to artistic compromise and erosion. I argue that copious layers of nuanced meaning would become lost from the show if its usage of Derry/Londonderry English became softened or even "translated" slightly into Standard English. This is because it is a core element of Derry Girls idiosyncratic style which celebrates Irish English and revels in its remarkable linguistic elasticity. In short, without Derry/Londonderry English, Derry Girls would cease to be as successful as it is. This paper is a study of the linguistic and cultural content of the 2018-2019 Channel 4 television series Derry Girls, which is now in its second series. The show is set in the city of Derry/Londonderry in the early 1990s in the midst of the Northern Ireland "Troubles" and the Derry Girls themselves are a group of four 15 year olds growing up in a working class, and dangerous, Irish Republican estate near the city walls called the Bogside. However, the show is a comedy and the characters live by and large mundane lives where the political events going on around
Swiftian Inspirations: The Legacy of Jonathan Swift from the Enlightenment to the Age of Post-Truth pp. 225-246, 2020
My chapter will take the stance that Ireland’s economic uncertainty as a
result of Brexit is comp... more My chapter will take the stance that Ireland’s economic uncertainty as a result of Brexit is comparable to historical incidents into which Jonathan Swift involved himself from 1724 onwards, concerning a coin (a halfpence) patented by the English ironmaster William Wood, who intended to introduce it into the circulation of Ireland’s currency. Swift’s The Drapier’s Letters (1724-5) was a seven part pamphlet series written with the sole intention of preventing the halfpence from being officially adopted due to legitimate fears that it would instigate hyperinflation in Ireland and trigger subsequent nationwide disasters. Swift warned the Irish people about this impending catastrophe by providing them with economic facts and figures in accessible terms, and he also ignited fury among the populace by exposing political corruption and scandal in connection to the affair. Due to genuine fears of revolt in Ireland, and a united boycott of the new currency, the British government withdrew Wood’s patent and the coin was never used. Therefore, The Drapier’s Letters stand as being one of Swift’s greatest writing achievements, largely because they almost singlehandedly prevented Ireland falling into devastating economic ruin, and he undoubtedly saved lives in the process.
Proceedings of the ESIDRP Conference pp. 159 - 175, 2020
This essay presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable about — and appreciated — moderni... more This essay presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable about — and appreciated — modernist classical music. It provides an exposition of his musical life in Zurich and Paris, from 1915 onwards, with connection to his acquaintances with the composers Phillipe Jarnach, Otto Luening, and Georges Antheil; the modern musicological theory he learned in both cities; the concerts he attended; and how this lengthy collective experience realized itself artistically during the writing of episode 11 of Ulysses (titled “Sirens”) and throughout Finnegans Wake. This research into 20th century classical music in the works of Joyce stems largely from my dissatisfaction with contemporary critical summaries of his personal taste in music. I have concerns in regard to the general critical consensus that Joyce was traditional, non-eclectic and disliked the contemporary musical avant-garde despite being an experimental modernist himself. I feel that the current evidence supporting his apparent aversion to modernist classical music is inconclusive. The writing of this essay was also instigated by the considerable shortage of biographical and critical information available on the subject. ISBN 978-608-234-073-9
In genetic Joyce studies the “battle diagram” refers to an image in the drafts of the first chapt... more In genetic Joyce studies the “battle diagram” refers to an image in the drafts of the first chapter of Finnegans Wake in connection to a passage of the text known as the “Museyroom” (FW 8.9 – 10.23). Most scholars know it, of course, through its facsimile reproduction in David Hayman’s The First Draft of Finnegans Wake (50) and its partial representation in Roland McHugh’s The Sigla of Finnegans Wake (82).This study attempts to establish whether it can help us understand this difficult section of Finnegans Wake. The “Museyroom” plotline may be straightforward, but its overall setting presents the reader with considerable challenges owing to the conflation of images. Locations and individuals shapeshift and hold no fixed visual identity, in addition to them being avatars for Finnegans Wake characters. The complex expository framework situates the action within a waxwork museum and readers hear the story, as well as view it, in the context of a tour led by a figure called Kate, a “janitrix” (FW 8.8). The museum, or “museyroom” (FW 8.9) itself holds multiple fluid identities, so by design, this section is hard to comprehend and its overall visualisation is interpreted different by critics. I believe that the images in the “Museyroom” can be stabilised and made largely comprehensible if one develops a full understanding of the battle diagram in terms of how it is an authoritative visual conception and that its siglic components connect with the section’s narrative. This essay first looks at its speculative origins in notebook VI.B.15, which Joyce began in September 1926, shortly after returning from a holiday in Belgium. I argue that biographical information concerning Joyce’s visit to Waterloo is important in regards to the diagram’s design and how it connects to the “Museyroom” text. Then I’ll study two early drafts of Book I chapter 1 with table layouts, for ease of comprehension. The diagram’s sigla, dashed lines and other shapes are presented beside annotations to show their tight links with specific passages.
In Google Books: https://books.google.bg/books?id=AGDNDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspiration... more This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspirational cultural legacy which generations of writers, thinkers, and satirists have recurrently relied upon since the Enlightenment. Section One deals with the eighteenth century and the topics of truth, falsehood and madness. Section Two focuses on two film adaptations of Gulliver’s Travels as well as on allusions to Swiftian satire during the US Enlightenment and in post-racial America. Section Three looks at the politics of language, politeness, and satire within translation, and Section Four dwells upon the process of reading Swift in the age of post-truth and Brexit. It will be of interest to students and scholars of eighteenth-century literature and culture, modern-day politics as well as to those interested in satire, science fiction, and film adaptations of literary works.
Ireland - Europe: Cultural and Literary Encounters, 2017
The majority of characters in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake are multilingual, which is one of the ... more The majority of characters in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake are multilingual, which is one of the reasons why an estimated total of 50 distinct languages (not counting regional variants of English) feature in the novel. Finnegans Wake on the whole is written in English, or as it has been said 'a kind of English': the omniscient narrators and all characters possessing English as their L1 language, so to speak. However, within the space of a sentence (or even within a single word), speakers regularly include lexis from a variety of different languages: from one or two, to seven in total, together with English. Code-switching is the reason why Finnegans Wake is so difficult: obviously the majority, or indeed every conceivable reader of the novel, is not going to be multilingual to the extent of knowing 50 specific languages. Therefore, language barriers exist copiously on every page. I have decided to study Irish and Bulgarian code-switching (more or less exclusively) in the section of Finnegans Wake known as "Buckley and the Russian General" in Book 2 chapter 3 of the novel. This 15 paged section contains the most diverse variety of languages in the book, with 35 distinct codes being spoken in the text. There are multiple motives for code-switching in Finnegans Wake: all of which we will analyse within a lengthy dialogue between two men called Butt and Taff. It is difficult to definitively determine their level of competence in each language; however, it is possible to surmise why they use them in each instance of code-switching. I conclude that (amongst other reasons) Butt and Taff's choice knowledge of both languages is dictated by their social identities as soldiers, (well experienced with foreign language having had many international tours of duty), as well their national identities as Irishmen living in Dublin in the 1940's (with reference to the 'politicisation' of the Irish language at this time).
This paper concerns the usage of Irish English (a variety of English) in James Joyce’s Finnegans ... more This paper concerns the usage of Irish English (a variety of English) in James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake; my research being inspired by sociolinguistic styles of analysis - a rarity within Joyce academic criticism. Raymond Hickey proposes an argument that in lieu of sociolinguistic data, extracts from Irish literature can be considered a valid and accurate means of language research. In lieu of stated linguistic data from the first part of the 20th century, I choose to individually study Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (1941) owing to its noted encyclopaedic documentation of Irish English from this era, closely following Hickey’s scholarly and research approach. Topics for discussion include Joyce’s affixation of regional dialects to sets of characters, and the subsequent creation of an “atlas” of Irish regions from north to south of the island, in the novel – for example, the Galway born Kate (whose words are phonetically transcribed since Irish English is in essence not a “written language”). Overall, I intend to draw attention to the benefits of applying varied topics within the field of sociolinguistics to the novel; firstly, to encourage Joyce academics to use said texts as an integral contribution within their own literary criticism (because it can unlock previously inaccessible avenues for debate), and secondly to demonstrate to linguists that Finnegans Wake is a veritable database worthy of the status as an individual case study of early 20th century Irish English usage. Such a scholarly crossover may benefit an improved overall collective comprehension of Finnegans Wake; the preconceived (and arguably false) academic boundary which exists between the two disciplines will also be challenged as a result of this research.
In Finnegans Wake, Joyce develops his interest in the secret organisation Freemasonry in two resp... more In Finnegans Wake, Joyce develops his interest in the secret organisation Freemasonry in two respects – in accordance to how moral instructions are taught using two tenets: firstly, by studying allegories taken from a vast range of world religions, ancient and modern. Secondly, using the “ancient method of [studying] symbolism” (Albert G. Mackey in The Symbolism of Freemasonry). Both Freemasonic and Finnegans Wake symbols derive from a tradition of symbols dating back to time immemorial: originating in paganism and progressing through to the present incorporating ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Judaic, Hindu, and Christian cultural and allegorical meanings. My paper researches how the symbolic system of Freemasonry is alluded to and imitated in Finnegans Wake owing to its all-inclusive symbolic system. An encyclopaedic corpus of religious and mythical allegories exists in the novel, and Masonic symbols and traditions assist immeasurably in forming its architectonic structure. Additionally, Joyce's personal “numerological” system in Finnegans Wake functions parallel to Freemasonic concerns involving ancient Greek (specifically) Pythagorean “sacred geometry”: imitated in Book II chapter 2's mathematical “lesson” and parodistic transcription of a Euclidian proposition on page 293. The accompanying “meditation” on ancient symbolic designs including the Judaic “Seal of Solomon”, and the Christian 'Vesica Piscis' links together yet more cultures through visuals and associative allegories and myth.
CALL FOR PAPERS:
"Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects"
18 – 19 November 2023
St... more CALL FOR PAPERS:
"Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects"
18 – 19 November 2023
St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
A forum dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Department of English and American Studies at Sofia University & the 135th anniversary of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Applied Linguistics has long ceased to lend itself easily to definition. Ever since its inception in the late 1950s, the field has become increasingly varied and far-reaching. It represents a constantly evolving discipline which mirrors the evolutionary and adaptive processes of language itself.
The forum we are inviting you to is titled Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects and celebrates present-day Applied Linguistics no longer being targeted at studying teaching practices only, but aiming to present solutions to any social problem that results from language-related causes. Here we invite scholars and students to seek out, identify, investigate, and offer solutions to social, cultural, educational, and, generally, communicative issues. We aim to celebrate research initiatives which approach language in an empirical manner and which examine the relationship between language and social-issue solutions.
We welcome proposals for presentations of original work related to any aspect of Applied Linguistics which explores the field’s present or looks at its future by discussing innovative topics, approaches and practices.
Working language of the forum: English
Extended deadline for submission of proposals: 10 October 2023
Confirmation of acceptance: 15 October 2023
Proposals must include: 1) first name and family name of the presenter 2) institutional affiliation of the presenter 3) presenter’s email address 4) the title of the proposed presentation 5) a 250 words’ abstract of the proposal 6) a 100 words’ biographical note of the author
A call for a forum in applied linguistics titled 'Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospec... more A call for a forum in applied linguistics titled 'Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects'. The forum will be held on 18-19 November 2023 at Sofia University, Bulgaria. It is dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Department of English and American Studies and the 135th anniversary of Sofia University.
Department of English and American Studies (http://eas.uni-sofia.bg/) The conference aims to brin... more Department of English and American Studies (http://eas.uni-sofia.bg/) The conference aims to bring together young and established scholars working in Bulgarian and European higher education, giving them a venue for reexamining the focus, content, boundaries and interconnections between disciplines within the broad area of English Studies. Globalization, European integration, mobility, migration and superdiversity, coupled with fast-paced developments in communication technology, social networks, and new media, have led to the unprecedented transformation of the English language and the academic disciplines related to it. Old paradigms have been shattered and new innovative approaches have emerged, embracing the plurality of English and the polycentricity of its norms. While looking forward to what's new, the conference also invites contributions on the history of English Studies, as it is in the dialogue between old traditions and new paradigms that academic vigor flourishes best.
Colm Herron's The Wake (And What Jeremiah Did Next) - (a nod to the nickname for James Joyce's fi... more Colm Herron's The Wake (And What Jeremiah Did Next) - (a nod to the nickname for James Joyce's final bewildering novel Finnegans Wake) - is yet another exciting Irish comic work, packed with psychosexual and historicocritical detail, by the critically acclaimed, constantly inventive and forward thinking Derry author. Boldly revamping his style, (a welcome 'tradition' within his oeuvre), The Wake, is by far his most accessible and light read. (His previous works adopt more complex academic techniques: autobiografiction in For I Have Sinned; and metatextuality in The Further Adventures of James Joyce). The Wake's title states tersely, and wittily, its two part structure. Part 1: 'The Wake' (the hero attends, and organises a Wake) and part 2: 'What Jeremiah Did Next' (which is, amusingly, precisely that: namely, what he did after the 'Wake'.). Within the first section, Herron contributes to the Irish literary tradition of 'Wake' writing but his work is unique, and defines and details the unique 'Derry' Wake. The dialect is heavy, (and an effective Irish slang 'translator' is useful to have at hand whilst reading) but Herron writes in a style not intended to confuse but to make his text as authentic and realistic as possible. The Hiberno-English in J.M Synge's work is identical in style; the aesthetic aim being to make Irish speech poetic. The second section (in a brave authorial step by Herron) involves a complete retelling of the 'Long March' section of his 2012 historical novel The Fabricator; an ambitious, and well executed plotline that reveals itself to us slowly; and the experimental stylistic concept (a 'retread', dare I say it) lends itself well to Herron's highly amusing dialogue and dark "Troubles Literature" subject matter. Overall, it's highly commendable (like all of his novels) on both of its reading levels: swift accessible pure comic fiction and academic literature that deserves inclusion into the Irish contemporary 'canon'.
Throughout his life, W.B Yeats believed that that his innate 'timid and sensitive nature' needed ... more Throughout his life, W.B Yeats believed that that his innate 'timid and sensitive nature' needed to be hidden from society. Few, save those in his immediate family, knew his true character and to this day it remains well concealed and mysterious. Ellmann writes in "Yeats: The Man and the Masks" that Yeats's image was 'enveloped for the world's view in the habiliments of arrogance and power' (174). His volatile nature shall be analysed in depth in this article, with reference to Yeats's autobiography and other biographical sources. This will support an academic case study I will make involving Joseph O'Connor's contemporary Irish novel "Ghost Light". Yeats is a character in Ghost Light; however, in contrast to Joyce's Ulysses, he is an active participant in the main narrative and his unreasonable behaviour is given close scrutiny. I argue that Yeats is wearing one of his conceptual 'Masks' during the dark and unpleasant period of his life detailed in Ghost Light. From his play The Player Queen (1910) onwards, the 'Mask' would develop into a significant aesthetic concept which would permeate his prose writings (including A Vision) and late poems. Yeats's 'Mask' is a concept similar to a 'pose' which artists assume and project. In his case, this involved living in a desolate tower in the West of Ireland, wearing a monocle (O'Connor 2010: 79), a sweeping cape and walking with a stride like Hamlet.
Ireland - Europe: Cultural and Literary Encounters, 2017
The following collection explores Ireland's complex relationship with Britain and continental Eur... more The following collection explores Ireland's complex relationship with Britain and continental Europe. From varied perspectives, gathered from the "Ireland - Europe: Cultural and Literary Encounters" conference - hosted by Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - literary criticism and linguistic studies are combined to approach this broad topic, resulting in an eclectic body of work: including essays on William Makepeace Thackerary, Flann O'Brien, Tom Greer, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, multilingualism, and the European Union. There is also a special series of articles devoted to W.B Yeats to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birthday.
James Joyce Literary Supplement 28, i (Spring 2014), 2014
Stephen Bond
Ulysses 2: Death in Paris
Stephen Bond: 2013.
$2.99 on Kindle, free on Bloomsday wee... more Stephen Bond Ulysses 2: Death in Paris Stephen Bond: 2013. $2.99 on Kindle, free on Bloomsday week.
Review by Jonathan McCreedy. University of Ulster.
James Joyce Literary Supplement 28, i (Spring 2014):
This dissertation presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable, and appreciated, modernis... more This dissertation presents evidence that James Joyce was knowledgeable, and appreciated, modernist classical music. The research was instigated by the considerable shortage of biographical and critical information available on the subject. This study adopts the focus of searching the text of Finnegans Wake for references to 20th Century classical music. This critical approach turned out to be very successful and productive, since frequent allusions to the modernist composers Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Bartόk, Busoni, Milhaud, Debussy, Antheil, Luening, Pisk, Krenek and Satie were discovered. The indexing of these references, with accompanying critical commentary, makes up the majority of this dissertation. Chapter 1 reveals Joyce’s wide knowledge of East European musical modernism. It also details how Joyce learnt contemporary musicology from composers he personally knew, which helped him become a fan of difficult 20th Century modernist works. Chapter 2 primarily details the nature of Joyce’s friendship with avant-garde composer George Antheil, and the social interactions he had with Paris’s musical modernist community. Additional references to contemporary Parisienne composers in Finnegans Wake are recorded also. Chapter 3 focuses entirely on Joyce’s artistic relationship with Paris’s premiere composer, Igor Stravinsky. Research has determined that Joyce was well acquainted with Stravinsky’s ballets, and that he attended performances of the works. There is little biographical evidence linking Joyce with the ballet form so the findings of this chapter prompt further research into this area. The dissertation concludes that a comprehensive index of references to modernist composers in Finnegans Wake must be collated in the future so that Joyce’s relationship with 20th Century classical music may be fully evaluated. This study hopes to promote awareness of Joyce’s love of 20th Century classical music within Joyce studies.
Narrating Sigla: A Genetic Study of Finnegans Wake, 2013
The following is a 2013 PhD thesis, successfully defended at the University of Ulster, 2013.
"Cur... more The following is a 2013 PhD thesis, successfully defended at the University of Ulster, 2013. "Current textual studies of Finnegans Wake have identified sigla chiefly as notebook shorthand, but this thesis argues that this interpretation has enforced limitations on future research, owing to the lack of significance mere abbreviation has within literary analysis. The thesis aims to free sigla research from this restrictive critical viewpoint and overturn its present state of neglect in Joyce studies. The research studies the James Joyce Archive and uses a genetic approach. However, instead of its analytical focus being on the notebooks (where the majority of sigla are located), it contains case studies of diagrams from the chapter drafts which are designed using sigla shapes. I have shown the functions of three types of sigla: the first are ‘static’ (which are shown isolated and not in a relationship to any other characters, which would imply movement); the ‘kinetic’ status of sigla is a different actualisation of static sigla wherein they are presented in relationships with other sigla or in diagrams which imply their movement within a certain space; and finally the ‘three dimensional’ sigla are sigla which are brought to the status of a diagram on the basis of parallels between the siglum and meanings of the same shape in the tradition of knowledge. To analyse the narrating quality of a siglum, the minimal condition is that at least one character is in the final version of Finnegans Wake and in a draft drawing. This is the starting point wherein comparisons can be made or symmetries can be established. This process of analysis reveals plotlines and shows how sigla can move within the drawing’s space. In conclusion, sigla function as elementary plot units, which develop the plot of Finnegans Wake".
Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020. pp. i-xxii,1-250. ISBN-13:978-1527541764, ISBN-10:1527541762., 2020
This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspiration... more This book addresses key problems regarding Swiftian thought and satire, analyzing the inspirational cultural legacy which generations of writers, thinkers, and satirists have recurrently relied upon since the Enlightenment. Section One deals with the eighteenth century and the topics of truth, falsehood and madness. Section Two focuses on two film adaptations of Gulliver’s Travels as well as on allusions to Swiftian satire during the US Enlightenment and in post-racial America. Section Three looks at the politics of language, politeness, and satire within translation, and Section Four dwells upon the process of reading Swift in the age of post-truth and Brexit. It will be of interest to students and scholars of eighteenth-century literature and culture, modern-day politics as well as to those interested in satire, science fiction, and film adaptations of literary works.
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Papers by Jonathan McCreedy
https://academic.oup.com/fmls/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/fmls/cqae004/7638814?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
The full 2020 EFACIS conference proceedings can be found at this link: https://coda.io/@esidrp-conference/esidrp-conference-2022/conference-proceedings-7
ISBN 978-608-234-099-9
The article can also be located at the Genetic Joyce Studies website: https://www.geneticjoycestudies.org/
The text is available online here: https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JonathanMcCreedy.pdf
In the following text, I will discuss the gradual erosion of historical accuracy in connection to a series of hagiographic texts concerning the biography of Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. I will outline each one against a wide historical and cultural backdrop and subsequently ascertain whether or not the changes that hagiographers introduced over the centuries have been detrimental to his legacy. The texts I have chosen to analyse can be separated into two major time periods: the first being the trio of works that construct the absolute basics of the Saint Patrick legend, all originating from the 5th to 7th centuries, which are the autobiographical Confessio, with its heavy focus on relaying a Christian moral about sin, and the historical sources Bishop Tírechán's Account of St. Patrick's Journey and Muirchú's Life of St. Patrick. With these early hagiographic texts serving as reference points, I will, however, primarily study two Spanish Patrician works from the 17th Century: Pérez de Montalbán’s 1627 work Vida y Purgatorio de San Patricio and Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play El purgatorio de San Patricio, or The Purgatory of Saint Patrick in its English translation. Within my analysis I will determine whether or not the changes integrated into his story by Montalbán and Calderón in fact matter to the overall legacy of Saint Patrick in the modern-day and if they had any lasting impact to readers, bearing in mind that both texts, more or less, retain the essentials of his Christian message and promote him as an exemplary spiritual figure within history.
which is a specific type of speculative fiction. To qualify as such a work, James Joyce must function as a character within the text and the story must be told within some kind of alternate history. This can be a conveniently changed timeline to allow for new biographical occurrences, or else the author can create fantastical “New Joyces” who act in ways completely foreign to his real-life personality. It is my objective to evaluate “James Joyce” literature as an oeuvre, to determine why authors continue to be compelled to retell Joyce’s life story in new and radical ways. Joyce is one of only a few writers who has received this treatment, (with Shakespeare and his “Shakespeare” literature a notable comparison), so I will study why authors have deemed it important to recreate his character fictionally, in multifaceted forms. His role as an artistic innovator is deserving of homage, but his reinvention as a pop-culture icon today is also of importance. I carry out close readings of these “James Joyce” literary works, especially in connection to their usage of intertextual references to Joyce’s works, and how these
quotes and stylistic imitations carry out literary homage, parody, pastiche and burlesque concepts. Finally, I will discuss how the works share an overarching stylistic kinship concerning the style of juxtaposing of high artistic culture (intertextual referencing from Ulysses and Finnegans Wake say) with those from popular culture (such as the Da Vinci Code and Back to the Future).
result of Brexit is comparable to historical incidents into which Jonathan
Swift involved himself from 1724 onwards, concerning a coin (a halfpence) patented by the English ironmaster William Wood, who intended to introduce it into the circulation of Ireland’s currency. Swift’s The Drapier’s Letters (1724-5) was a seven part pamphlet series written with the sole intention of preventing the halfpence from being officially adopted due to legitimate fears that it would instigate hyperinflation in Ireland and trigger subsequent nationwide disasters. Swift warned the Irish people about this impending catastrophe by providing them with economic facts and figures in accessible terms, and he also ignited fury among the populace by exposing political corruption and scandal in connection to the affair. Due to genuine fears of revolt in Ireland, and a united boycott of the new currency, the British government withdrew Wood’s patent and the coin was never used. Therefore, The Drapier’s Letters stand as being one of Swift’s greatest writing achievements, largely because they almost singlehandedly prevented Ireland falling into devastating economic ruin, and he undoubtedly saved lives in the process.
Belgium. I argue that biographical information concerning Joyce’s visit to Waterloo is important in regards to the diagram’s design and how it connects to the “Museyroom” text. Then I’ll study two early drafts of Book I chapter 1 with table layouts, for ease of comprehension. The diagram’s sigla, dashed lines and other shapes are presented beside annotations to show their tight links with specific passages.
Sample Chapter:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/65852
In Google Books:
https://books.google.bg/books?id=AGDNDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Publication Details:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/swiftian-inspirations
I have decided to study Irish and Bulgarian code-switching (more or less exclusively) in the section of Finnegans Wake known as "Buckley and the Russian General" in Book 2 chapter 3 of the novel. This 15 paged section contains the most diverse variety of languages in the book, with 35 distinct codes being spoken in the text.
There are multiple motives for code-switching in Finnegans Wake: all of which we will analyse within a lengthy dialogue between two men called Butt and Taff. It is difficult to definitively determine their level of competence in each language; however, it is possible to surmise why they use them in each instance of code-switching. I conclude that (amongst other reasons) Butt and Taff's choice knowledge of both languages is dictated by their social identities as soldiers, (well experienced with foreign language having had many international tours of duty), as well their national identities as Irishmen living in Dublin in the 1940's (with reference to the 'politicisation' of the Irish language at this time).
https://academic.oup.com/fmls/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/fmls/cqae004/7638814?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
The full 2020 EFACIS conference proceedings can be found at this link: https://coda.io/@esidrp-conference/esidrp-conference-2022/conference-proceedings-7
ISBN 978-608-234-099-9
The article can also be located at the Genetic Joyce Studies website: https://www.geneticjoycestudies.org/
The text is available online here: https://ubr.rev.unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/JonathanMcCreedy.pdf
In the following text, I will discuss the gradual erosion of historical accuracy in connection to a series of hagiographic texts concerning the biography of Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. I will outline each one against a wide historical and cultural backdrop and subsequently ascertain whether or not the changes that hagiographers introduced over the centuries have been detrimental to his legacy. The texts I have chosen to analyse can be separated into two major time periods: the first being the trio of works that construct the absolute basics of the Saint Patrick legend, all originating from the 5th to 7th centuries, which are the autobiographical Confessio, with its heavy focus on relaying a Christian moral about sin, and the historical sources Bishop Tírechán's Account of St. Patrick's Journey and Muirchú's Life of St. Patrick. With these early hagiographic texts serving as reference points, I will, however, primarily study two Spanish Patrician works from the 17th Century: Pérez de Montalbán’s 1627 work Vida y Purgatorio de San Patricio and Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play El purgatorio de San Patricio, or The Purgatory of Saint Patrick in its English translation. Within my analysis I will determine whether or not the changes integrated into his story by Montalbán and Calderón in fact matter to the overall legacy of Saint Patrick in the modern-day and if they had any lasting impact to readers, bearing in mind that both texts, more or less, retain the essentials of his Christian message and promote him as an exemplary spiritual figure within history.
which is a specific type of speculative fiction. To qualify as such a work, James Joyce must function as a character within the text and the story must be told within some kind of alternate history. This can be a conveniently changed timeline to allow for new biographical occurrences, or else the author can create fantastical “New Joyces” who act in ways completely foreign to his real-life personality. It is my objective to evaluate “James Joyce” literature as an oeuvre, to determine why authors continue to be compelled to retell Joyce’s life story in new and radical ways. Joyce is one of only a few writers who has received this treatment, (with Shakespeare and his “Shakespeare” literature a notable comparison), so I will study why authors have deemed it important to recreate his character fictionally, in multifaceted forms. His role as an artistic innovator is deserving of homage, but his reinvention as a pop-culture icon today is also of importance. I carry out close readings of these “James Joyce” literary works, especially in connection to their usage of intertextual references to Joyce’s works, and how these
quotes and stylistic imitations carry out literary homage, parody, pastiche and burlesque concepts. Finally, I will discuss how the works share an overarching stylistic kinship concerning the style of juxtaposing of high artistic culture (intertextual referencing from Ulysses and Finnegans Wake say) with those from popular culture (such as the Da Vinci Code and Back to the Future).
result of Brexit is comparable to historical incidents into which Jonathan
Swift involved himself from 1724 onwards, concerning a coin (a halfpence) patented by the English ironmaster William Wood, who intended to introduce it into the circulation of Ireland’s currency. Swift’s The Drapier’s Letters (1724-5) was a seven part pamphlet series written with the sole intention of preventing the halfpence from being officially adopted due to legitimate fears that it would instigate hyperinflation in Ireland and trigger subsequent nationwide disasters. Swift warned the Irish people about this impending catastrophe by providing them with economic facts and figures in accessible terms, and he also ignited fury among the populace by exposing political corruption and scandal in connection to the affair. Due to genuine fears of revolt in Ireland, and a united boycott of the new currency, the British government withdrew Wood’s patent and the coin was never used. Therefore, The Drapier’s Letters stand as being one of Swift’s greatest writing achievements, largely because they almost singlehandedly prevented Ireland falling into devastating economic ruin, and he undoubtedly saved lives in the process.
Belgium. I argue that biographical information concerning Joyce’s visit to Waterloo is important in regards to the diagram’s design and how it connects to the “Museyroom” text. Then I’ll study two early drafts of Book I chapter 1 with table layouts, for ease of comprehension. The diagram’s sigla, dashed lines and other shapes are presented beside annotations to show their tight links with specific passages.
Sample Chapter:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/65852
In Google Books:
https://books.google.bg/books?id=AGDNDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Publication Details:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/swiftian-inspirations
I have decided to study Irish and Bulgarian code-switching (more or less exclusively) in the section of Finnegans Wake known as "Buckley and the Russian General" in Book 2 chapter 3 of the novel. This 15 paged section contains the most diverse variety of languages in the book, with 35 distinct codes being spoken in the text.
There are multiple motives for code-switching in Finnegans Wake: all of which we will analyse within a lengthy dialogue between two men called Butt and Taff. It is difficult to definitively determine their level of competence in each language; however, it is possible to surmise why they use them in each instance of code-switching. I conclude that (amongst other reasons) Butt and Taff's choice knowledge of both languages is dictated by their social identities as soldiers, (well experienced with foreign language having had many international tours of duty), as well their national identities as Irishmen living in Dublin in the 1940's (with reference to the 'politicisation' of the Irish language at this time).
"Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects"
18 – 19 November 2023
St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
A forum dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Department of English and American Studies at Sofia University & the 135th anniversary of St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Applied Linguistics has long ceased to lend itself easily to definition. Ever since its inception in the late 1950s, the field has become increasingly varied and far-reaching. It represents a constantly evolving discipline which mirrors the evolutionary and adaptive processes of language itself.
The forum we are inviting you to is titled Applied Linguistics: Current Trends and Prospects and celebrates present-day Applied Linguistics no longer being targeted at studying teaching practices only, but aiming to present solutions to any social problem that results from language-related causes. Here we invite scholars and students to seek out, identify, investigate, and offer solutions to social, cultural, educational, and, generally, communicative issues. We aim to celebrate research initiatives which approach language in an empirical manner and which examine the relationship between language and social-issue solutions.
We welcome proposals for presentations of original work related to any aspect of Applied Linguistics which explores the field’s present or looks at its future by discussing innovative topics, approaches and practices.
Working language of the forum: English
Extended deadline for submission of proposals: 10 October 2023
Confirmation of acceptance: 15 October 2023
Proposals must include:
1) first name and family name of the presenter
2) institutional affiliation of the presenter
3) presenter’s email address
4) the title of the proposed presentation
5) a 250 words’ abstract of the proposal
6) a 100 words’ biographical note of the author
Proposals are to be submitted to: alforumlp@gmail.com
Conference fees:
Regular fee: 40 EURO
Reduced fee (doctoral students): 20 EURO Students (at the BA or MA level): free
Organizers:
Irena Dimova, Ph.D.,
Maria Kolarova, Ph.D.,
Jonathan McCreedy, Ph.D.,
Georgi Georgiev
Ulysses 2: Death in Paris
Stephen Bond: 2013.
$2.99 on Kindle, free on Bloomsday week.
Review by Jonathan McCreedy.
University of Ulster.
James Joyce Literary Supplement 28, i (Spring 2014):
The dissertation concludes that a comprehensive index of references to modernist composers in Finnegans Wake must be collated in the future so that Joyce’s relationship with 20th Century classical music may be fully evaluated. This study hopes to promote awareness of Joyce’s love of 20th Century classical music within Joyce studies.
"Current textual studies of Finnegans Wake have identified sigla chiefly as notebook shorthand, but this thesis argues that this interpretation has enforced limitations on future research, owing to the lack of significance mere abbreviation has within literary analysis. The thesis aims to free sigla research from this restrictive critical viewpoint and overturn its present state of neglect in Joyce studies. The research studies the James Joyce Archive and uses a genetic approach. However, instead of its analytical focus being on the notebooks (where the majority of sigla are located), it contains case studies of diagrams from the chapter drafts which are designed using sigla shapes.
I have shown the functions of three types of sigla: the first are ‘static’ (which are shown isolated and not in a relationship to any other characters, which would imply movement); the ‘kinetic’ status of sigla is a different actualisation of static sigla wherein they are presented in relationships with other sigla or in diagrams which imply their movement within a certain space; and finally the ‘three dimensional’ sigla are sigla which are brought to the status of a diagram on the basis of parallels between the siglum and meanings of the same shape in the tradition of knowledge.
To analyse the narrating quality of a siglum, the minimal condition is that at least one character is in the final version of Finnegans Wake and in a draft drawing. This is the starting point wherein comparisons can be made or symmetries can be established. This process of analysis reveals plotlines and shows how sigla can move within the drawing’s space. In conclusion, sigla function as elementary plot units, which develop the plot of Finnegans Wake".
Sample Chapter:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/65852
In Google Books:
https://books.google.bg/books?id=AGDNDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Publication Details:
https://www.cambridgescholars.com/swiftian-inspirations