Original artwork, not a still
Here Comes Everybody: An Introduction to James Joyce for the Ordinary Reader · 1965
Men are influenced by big loud empty words, styes which swell the eyelids and impede vision of the truth.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Words can have force without having substance, the passage warns. Their size and loudness are compared to swellings that obstruct sight. The metaphor suggests that impressive language may influence people precisely while making it harder for them to recognise what is true.
Context reviewed
