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Reading, Smashing, and Playing Ulysses
Ordway, Scott J. "A Dominant Boylan: Music, Meaning, and Sonata Form in the ‘Sirens’ Episode of Ulysses." James Joyce Quarterly 45, no. 1 (2007): 85–96. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jjq/summary/v045/45.1.ordway.html.
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Ordway begins by criticizing the common argument that "Sirens" (U 11) takes the form of a fugue. Although Ordway is quick to point out that this is argument is "understandably derived from Joyce's descriptions," he finds it "problematic for many reasons" (85). Ordway goes on to point out the technical differences between a fugue and "Sirens," emphasizing that the prelude of a fugue does not relate to the fugue in same way that the overture to "Sirens" relates to the rest of it. Although Ordway accepts that "Sirens" has multiple voices, he argues that three independent do not necessarily establish a fugual structure; to mimic a fugue they must interact in a specific way that is impossible in literature. Rather, he argues that considering the episode in a sonata form is not only a more accurate musical analogy, but also gives us insight into character dynamics. Instead of relying on polyphonic voices, the sonata has a more narrative-like form divisible into three parts: the exposition, the development, and the recapitulation. Ordway establishes Bloom's "Bloo" as a the tonic key and Boylan's "jingle" as the dominant key, and shows us how these interact in ways that parallel the sonata form. Ordway highlights these interactions between the two with examples such as "Bloom heard a jing. A little sound. He's off. Light sob of breath Bloom sighed on the silent bluehued flowers. Jingling. He's gone. Jingle. Hear" (U 11.457-58). The wordplay suggests that these two voices are the most important ones in the episode. Looking at the episode through the sonata form allows us to concentrate on Boylan and Bloom's interactions as the most important in the episode, rather than considering the less-important barmaids as their own fugal voice. Although Ordway contends that Joyce may have come as close as possible to writing literature in a fugal form, he concludes that that this reading is simply not the most useful way of reading the episode. We derive more from the episode if we look at it through the lens of a sonata, rather than through the lens of a fugue.
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