THEORY OF ART

As a self-proclaimed priest of art, Stephen needs his own dogma- a system of belief. He claims
to base his aesthetic views on those formulated by Aquinas.
Stephen's aesthetic discussions are among the most complex and intellectually demanding
sections in Portrait of the Artist. Many readers have debated their meaning, wondering whether
Joyce shared Stephen's theories or whether he wanted to show them to be inconsistent and
immature.
To make Stephen's long discussion easier to understand, Joyce has Stephen expound his theory
to Lynch, whose down-to-earth responses to Stephen's high-minded discourse provide comic
relief by poking fun at his friend's solemn literary pretensions. Some think that Lynch is really
the voice of Joyce taking the opportunity to mock his own youthful dependence on Jesuit modes
of philosophy, modes that give Stephen's theory "the true scholastic stink." (The word
"scholastic" refers not only to school in general, but in particular to medieval philosophy that
was based on the Church fathers and Aristotle, especially as the two were combined in the
writings of Aquinas.)
Stephen begins by saying that the feelings inspired by true art are static, unmoving, while the
feelings inspired by untrue, improper art are kinetic, or moving. Improper art excites the
emotions; it urges us to go out and do something. For example, art that is improper and didactic
(designed to morally instruct) might be intended to make us sign a petition, join a worthy cause.
At the other extreme, pornography is improper art because it seeks to inspire us to commit acts
of lust.
Proper art, however, doesn't inspire us to do anything: it raises the mind above desire and
loathing to a purer state. (Aristotle called this result catharsis.)
What do you think of Stephen's distinction between proper and improper art? Can you name
any works of art (literature, painting, or music) that Stephen might categorize as improper?
How would you defend them?
Stephen goes on to say that true art is beautiful and that beauty and truth are closely related.
Truth appeals to the intellect and beauty to the imagination.
Again quoting Aquinas, Stephen says that while people's taste in beauty may vary, all beautiful
objects must meet three requirements. They must possess wholeness, harmony, and radiance.
Wholeness (integritas) means that the object at first presents itself to the observer as a single
image, a complete whole. After that, the object is seen to possess harmony, consonantia. That is,
the complete whole is seen to be made up of many separate parts, but the parts are so wellbalanced and arranged that they form a unity. The third quality, radiance- claritas- is the most
difficult to define; it can be seen as the product of the first two qualities. A beautiful object
makes you see it as a single whole; then it makes you see it as a harmonious composition of

many parts. Finally it makes you understand that this wholeness and harmony could only
have been achieved in one way. The object is unique. It could not exist in any other form.
That's radiance, the "whatness" of a thing.
Goaded by the laughing Lynch, Stephen further refines his theory. Even among true works of
art one must make distinctions. Art can be categorized as lyric, epic, and dramatic. The lyric
form expresses the emotions of the artist only; it's a completely personal narrative. The epic
form expresses the emotions of characters other than the artist, but the presence of the artist
remains continually visible in the narrative. In the dramatic form the artist vanishes
completely. Only his characters appear. You can think of these three forms as proceeding from
the personal to the semi-personal to the impersonal. One work can contain more than one
form. Some readers have called Portrait of the Artist essentially lyric.
Stephen's speech on art is not a mere sideshow, as some readers contend. Even if Joyce doesn't
want you to agree with Stephen's theories, he wants to show that Stephen has a right to
some intellectual pretensions. His theory has already made his reputation on campus, and it's
one of the reasons Stephen's friends tolerate his aloofness.