A "momentum without pretence": "Ulysses" according to Celati between parody and orality

Abstract

The essay analyzes the relationship between Celati and Joyce’s Ulysses, stressing on two focal points: the use of parody and the orality of Joyce’s language. These are two features which are central in Celati’s career as a writer, theorist, and translator. Therefore, this essay reconstructs the interest of Celati towards Joyce’s novel with references to his interviews at the time of his translation of Ulysses (2013). Also, it is explained the relationship between Celati as a young student of English literature and the cultural context of the 60’s in Italy. The essay focuses on how Ulysses played a major role in Celati’s building of his own theory of literature, through the analysis of his dissertation about the novel and other essays dating back to the same period. All these writings deal with the concepts of parody and orality, and it is demonstrated how they represent major points in Celati’s thinking, especially in the early stage of his career during the late 60’s and early 70’s.