Despite the presence of a wide variety of themes, locations, and characters in 19th century literature, the arrangement and appearance of the text on the page is uniform across works, authors, and cultures. Why was there so little variation in textual layout of 19th century literature? Did cost and available technology present an obstacle? Or, did such limitations stem from authors' cultural and artistic sensibilities? Nineteenth century attitudes concerned with textual appearance began to change in response to modernism's growth and influence. To better understand the impetus for and effects of 20th century textual revolution, Flynn will examine works by James Joyce (Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake), William Carlos Williams (Imaginations), and Stéphane Mallarmé (Un Coup De Dés).