James Joyce Quotation

sheahanmick | 14:41 Mon 09th Dec 2013 | Phrases & Sayings

4 Answers

Can anyone help please. I am trying to find the source, and correct form, of a quotation, apparently from James Joyce, in which he says something to the effect " I can do anything with words" or " I can make words do anything". Any assistance would be gratefully appreciated.

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Calibax

Best Answer

He is alleged to have boasted to Samuel Beckett, 'I have discovered that I can do anything with language that I want'. I can't find a reliable source though, so it may be apocryphal.

20:21 Mon 09th Dec 2013

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Calibax

He is alleged to have boasted to Samuel Beckett, 'I have discovered that I can do anything with language that I want'.
I can't find a reliable source though, so it may be apocryphal.

factor-fiction

The one that sprang to my mind was Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty:

When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."

sheahanmick

Question Author

Thank you Calibax. That sounds promising. It is definitely a quote from Joyce I am looking for