Discuss the use of allusion in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Students are often confronted with the choice between a thematic based and a formal based question in examinations. In my experience of tutoring, students often prefer to tackle the thematic question, believing it offers a greater scope for analysis, and thus tend to avoid the formal based question. However, confidence in this type of question is invaluable in both exam technique and in your study of English Literature as a whole. It gives the student the opportunity to explore the larger context of the play as a whole, rather than being limited to a strict, thematic focus which requires more specific revision and preparation. I would begin my response by exploring the examples biblical allusion that are woven throughout the text, and discuss how allusion is both constructed and can be interpreted in the view of the influence of Joyce’s Catholic upbringing in Ireland, and his move away from his faith. I would also explore to what extent does his use of biblical allusion address specifically an audience with a religious upbringing akin to his own. Moving away from biblical allusion, I would then present the overarching allusion to the mythical characters of Daedalus and Icarus, specifically sourced from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It has been argued by some, including literary critic Christine van Boheemen-Saaf, that Metamorphoses functions as a shadow text. I would then go on to discuss the significance of reading the text with this in mind and assess what impact it has on interpretation. In this way, I would address the necessary assessment objectives which require responses to how meaning is shaped, the importance of cultural context, literary connections and the use of different interpretations to expand your own analysis.