Accomplished Quote by Raymond Queneau
“After the magical act accomplished by Joyce with Ulysses, perhaps we are getting away from it.”
About This Quote
Source Literary Essay on Joyce, 1950s
Joyce's groundbreaking work in Ulysses set a high bar, and contemporary literature may be moving away from that level of innovation.
In simple terms: Joyce set a high literary standard.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and build upon literary innovation.
Themes
literature
innovation
modernism
Mood
analytical
reflective
Type
critical
historical
When to use this quote
- academic curricula
- writing workshops
- literary criticism
- publishing
Key Concepts
narrative technique
postmodernism
creative writing
Questions to Reflect On
- How does current literature differ from modern's?
- What new forms are emerging today?
A Different Perspective
Not all modern works aim to match Joyce's style; diversity matters.
![“The book [Joyce's "Ulysses"] can just as well be read backwards, for it has no back and no front, no top and no bottom. Everything could easily have happened before, or might have happened afterwards. You can read any of the conversations just as pleasurably backwards, for you don't miss the point…” quote by C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2b3/c-g-jung-2163_books_the-book-joyce-s-ulysses-can-just-as-wel_2541350.jpg)
![“I've been working hard on [Ulysses] all day," said Joyce. Does that mean that you have written a great deal?" I said. Two sentences," said Joyce. I looked sideways but Joyce was not smiling. I thought of [French novelist Gustave] Flaubert. "You've been seeking the mot juste?" I said. No," said…” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/275/james-joyce-281_deals_i-ve-been-working-hard-on-ulysses-all-da_1018148.jpg)
![“A man [Joyce] whose earliest stories appeared next to the manure prices in the Irish Homestead knew that columns of prose, like columns of shit, could both recultivate the earth.” quote by Declan Kiberd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cfe/declan-kiberd-65721_fiction_a-man-joyce-whose-earliest-stories-appea_615934.jpg)
![“[U]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle the apparatus of oppression.” quote by Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d7b/shulamith-firestone-12980_accomplished_u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together_5485.jpg)
