Computers, Writing, Rhetoric and Literature

Toward a Proposal for a Ulysses Hypertext

Considering that no definitive version of this text exists, that all attempts have gone hopelessly awry, that Joyce was in a perpetual process of rewriting and revising the work, that the work itself calls for multiple readings, that the work cybernetically works against the privileging of linear narrative frames, etc., it seems foolish to ask for a definitive version now.

The ideal Ulysses hypertext, then, would offer all legitimate (and possibly illegitimate) variations of the text, in both manuscript, proof, and published form, allowing readers to choose the version they like the best. Sources for texts might include:

Rosenbach Manuscript
Texas Proofs
1922 Paris Edition
1934 New York Edition
1935 Matisse Edition
1961 Random House Edition
1984 Gabler Edition
1986 Corrected Text

Such a hypertext would also include an editable version, so that readers could create, save, and analyze their own version of the novel.

Inter-textual variations would be noted with some form of highlighting, allowing the reader to scan variations while reading any single version. The key to such a process will be the use of frames. As the reader reads a particular text, she will be able to click on passages with variant readings. Doing so will open a separate document within a separate frame, so as not to interrupt the reading flow. Ideally, one could have up to two or three documents in separate frames which would flow together as the reader went along. (HTML currently offers no way to do this.) A synoptic edition could be created, but this seems less readable than making live links of places in the texts where variations occur.

The next step for an on-line hypertext would be to allow readers to vote on the variations they like the best. (Why should Kidd and Gabler have all the fun?) Jorn Barger has already made a start toward this by creating a Gabler fixit kit that grades Gabler's corrections and places them into various categories, such as Good, Bad, Doubtful, etc.

For annotations, the same thing should occur. Allow readers to submit annotations which could then be added to the site, as was done with the Finnegans Wake annotation. This would empower readers and give them some stake in the interpretive act.

In addition to the linking (and perhaps indexing) of textual variants, other information should be included. Glossary items and annotations can also be handled in separate frames, providing a balance between readability and information depth.

To avoid confusion within the main body of the text, the hypertext should provide some means of turning links off and on, or a color coding system could be enacted as follows.

Red: glossary items
Blue: annotations
Green: textual variations

Of course, such a color-coded schema is limited, especially if one wishes in the text to distinguish between different classes of variants or annotations, but it is a start toward taking advantage of the powers of the medium.

Links to critical articles and web resources should of course be provided, as well as an organizing guide and helpful extra-textual material. For Ulysses this might include links to Chapman's Homer, a clickable map of Dublin, a facsimile of the Telegraph for June 16, 1904, music, etc. These would not be primary, but would certainly enhance the hypertext experience.

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