The Linden Tree in 'The Dead' by James Joyce

Abstract: James Joyce uses in his short story ‘The Dead’, included in the collection Dubliners (1914), different literary motives that contribute to construct the subject of the story, which is not other than the fragility that exists between death and life. Among these motives there is the Linden tree that Joyce probably adapted from the song ‘Lindenbaum’ written by Franz Schubert and included in the song cycle Winterreise (1828). This article attempts to investigate the parallelisms that exist between both works of art and to explain how Joyce succeeds in creating the necessary atmosphere that masterly illustrates the subject of the story.

© Iciar Álvarez Pérez 2011

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