Words Quote by James Joyce
““Through this image he had a glimpse of a strange dark cavern of speculation but at once turned away from it, feeling that it was not yet the hour to enter it. But the nightshade of his friend's listlessness seemed to be diffusing in the air around him a tenuous and deadly exhalation and he found himself glancing from one casual word to another on his right or left in stolid wonder that they had been so silently emptied of instantaneous sense until every mean shop legend bound his mind like the words of a spell and his soul shrivelled up, sighing with age as he walked on in a lane among heaps of dead language. His own consciousness of language was ebbing from his brain and trickling into the very words themselves which set to band and disband themselves in wayward rhythms: The ivy whines upon the wall And whines and twines upon the wall The ivy whines upon the wall The yellow ivy on the wall Ivy, ivy up the wall. Did any one ever hear such drivel?””
About This Quote
Source Book: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce, 1916
The passage describes a writer’s crisis of language, feeling words become empty and oppressive, and the struggle to find meaning amid mental decay.
In simple terms: Words lose power, leaving the mind hollow.
Key Takeaway
Recognize when language feels hollow and seek fresh expression.
Themes
language decay
creative crisis
existential dread
literary introspection
Mood
melancholic
introspective
poetic
Type
literary
reflective
philosophical
When to use this quote
- writing burnout
- academic study
- personal reflection
- mental health
- creative workshops
Key Concepts
semantic emptiness
cognitive fatigue
artistic paralysis
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you revive stagnant language?
- What role does silence play in creative renewal?
A Different Perspective
The analysis may overlook the intentional stylistic experimentation that challenges readers.
