Passage 044 · 1916
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Main effectThrough baby-talk vocabulary, paratactic accumulation, and run-on structure, Joyce creates syntax that IS child consciousness. The form doesn't describe developmental language—it PERFORMS it. We don't observe the child from outside; we experience language formation from inside. This is Tufte's principle radicalized: syntax as consciousness at its most fundamental—language itself being born.
Device index
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Tropes
Narrative presenting unfiltered thought flow.
No words highlightedUse of traditional story opening.
Invented or baby-talk words.
Schemes
Coordination without subordination.
Syntax
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was"—begins with formula then immediately interrupts it with child's embellishment ("and a very good time it was"). The syntax starts formal then becomes conversational.
"and a very good time...and this moocow"—the repeated "and" creates breathless, childlike narration. This is paratactic syntax—everything simply added, no subordination.
"moocow"—the compound noun isn't standard English but child's word for cow. The syntax embeds developmental language naturally, without quotation marks or explanation.
"was...coming down along"—the past progressive emphasizes ongoing action. To a child, this makes the action vivid, immediate. The syntax chooses aspectual verb form that creates presence.
"coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road"—repeats the same information. Standard writing would eliminate redundancy, but child's syntax repeats for emphasis, for the pleasure of saying it again.
"that was coming down along the road"—the restrictive relative clause identifies which moocow, though there's only one in the story. Child syntax doesn't know that this identification is unnecessary.
"met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo"—the syntax includes three identifiers: - article + adjective: "a nicens [nice + s]" (wrong morphology) - adjective: "little" - past participle: "named" Each adds information, accumulating detail as child would.
"nicens"—adds plural morpheme -s where it doesn't belong. "baby tuckoo"—probably Stephen's childhood nickname. The syntax incorporates language errors that reveal cognitive development.
The sentence is one long run-on, connected only by conjunctions. The syntax refuses standard pauses (periods, semicolons), creating the breathless quality of child narration.
No words highlightedClose reading
1Close Reading
Fairy Tale Opening
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was"—begins with formula then immediately interrupts it with child's embellishment ("and a very good time it was"). The syntax starts formal then becomes conversational.
Polysyndeton
"and a very good time...and this moocow"—the repeated "and" creates breathless, childlike narration. This is paratactic syntax—everything simply added, no subordination.
Compound Word
"moocow"—the compound noun isn't standard English but child's word for cow. The syntax embeds developmental language naturally, without quotation marks or explanation.
Present Participle
"was...coming down along"—the past progressive emphasizes ongoing action. To a child, this makes the action vivid, immediate. The syntax chooses aspectual verb form that creates presence.
Redundant Modification
"coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road"—repeats the same information. Standard writing would eliminate redundancy, but child's syntax repeats for emphasis, for the pleasure of saying it again.
Relative Clause
"that was coming down along the road"—the restrictive relative clause identifies which moocow, though there's only one in the story. Child syntax doesn't know that this identification is unnecessary.
Compound Subject
"met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo"—the syntax includes three identifiers:
- article + adjective: "a nicens [nice + s]" (wrong morphology)
- adjective: "little"
- past participle: "named"
Each adds information, accumulating detail as child would.
Baby Talk Morphology
"nicens"—adds plural morpheme -s where it doesn't belong. "baby tuckoo"—probably Stephen's childhood nickname. The syntax incorporates language errors that reveal cognitive development.
No Punctuation Pauses
The sentence is one long run-on, connected only by conjunctions. The syntax refuses standard pauses (periods, semicolons), creating the breathless quality of child narration.
Stylistic Effect
Through baby-talk vocabulary, paratactic accumulation, and run-on structure, Joyce creates syntax that IS child consciousness. The form doesn't describe developmental language—it PERFORMS it. We don't observe the child from outside; we experience language formation from inside. This is Tufte's principle radicalized: syntax as consciousness at its most fundamental—language itself being born.