Forget that CAPT "Good Literature" question ....

... when dealing with James Joyce, we're dealing with GREAT literature. Granted, Joyce is difficult. While Dubliners is certainly accessible, even in these early stories it will become clear that Joyce demands more of his readers than most writers do. His first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is readable, though tough going at times. As for his two epic works, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, Joyce seems to make good on his famous challenge: "The only demand I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to reading my works."

I am curious as to your thoughts on the connection between the difficulty of a text and the value of that text. Does a work have to be complex and difficult to be considered "great"? Can "easy" works of literature that require little effort provide readers with the full, rich experiences we expect from "great" works of literature? If possible, please refer to specific texts in your comments.

"Words, words, words" (II, ii, 210)

OK, so here's your chance to have the "last word" on Hamlet. (Well, not really, but I like the way that sounds.) Since Hamlet is arguably the most quotable and oft-quoted play of the most quotable and oft-quoted writer in the English language, I'd like to hear your favorite quote from the play. That is, what's the play's most meaningful or most memorable passage to you and why? (Note: If you say "To be or not to be," you will be automatically barred from further participation on this blog due to lameness of response.)

Just a Memento Mori

Just how useful is it to meditate on death? In her Hamlet and Revenge, critic Eleanor Prosser posits that Chrisitan tradition views "meditating on the death of the body [as] but a preparation for meditating on the more important truth: the eternal life of the soul" (225). Do you agree? To what extent must we be always conscious of our physical mortality in order to live rich, productive lives?

The "F" Word

Forget for a second the feminist literary approaches. I'm curious as to how you understand the feminist movement itself. Is feminism merely a topic to be studied in a history course, its aims already having been achieved? Or is feminism still a vital and relevant cultural and sociological movement?

Oedipus Wreckage

According to Bernard Knox, Sophocles's play "presents us with a terrible affirmation of man's subordinate position in the universe, and at the same time with a heroic vision of man's victory in defeat." Is this apparent paradox resolvable? Also, you might wish to explore the ramifications of Knox's comments on Hamlet, or, for that matter, on life itself.