A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce that was published in 1916 after having appeared in serial form in 1914–1915. The novel draws on many details from Joyce’s early life, and its protagonist, Stephen Dedalus is in many ways Joyce’s fictional alter ego. Like Joyce himself, Stephen is the son of an impoverished father and a highly devout Catholic mother who struggles with questions of faith and nationality before leaving Ireland to make his own way as an artist.

Summary

Read our detailed chapter-by-chapter Summary & Analysis or the Full Book Summary of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Also reference a glossary of colloquial and Latin words and phrases that appear in the work.

Characters

See a complete list of the characters in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and in-depth analysis of Stephen Dedalus, Simon Dedalus, Emma Clery, Charles Stewart Parnell, and Cranly.

Literary Devices

Here is where you will find analysis of the main themes, symbols, and motifs in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as well as a listing of other important literary devices such as genre, point of view, and foreshadowing.

Quotes

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Deeper Study

Increase your understanding of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by reading background information about James Joyce and on literary and historical context for the novel.