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How to Read Ulysses by James Joyce (Patreon)

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2022-07-11 18:29:31
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2026-06
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Content

James Joyce's Ulysses is one of the most astonishing literary achievements of the twentieth century.

The work is a modern classic that has earned its reputation for being incredibly difficult.

But today we're discussing some approaches that will make our reading of this masterpiece a joyful, playful, and exhilarating experience.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 how to read Ulysses by James Joyce
  • 2:00 Ulysses is a reflection of your reading
  • 4:00 on the importance of taking your time
  • 6:00 Homer, Shakespeare & Joyce
  • 7:00 passive reading & single meanings
  • 9:00 allusion hunting assignment
  • 9:40 “Ineluctable modality of the visible”
  • 11:00 Proteus & stream-of-consciousness
  • 12:00 read Ulysses for Joyce’s language
  • 13:37 listening and reading aloud
  • 14:30 the musicality of Ulysses
  • 16:30 the Sirens episode of Ulysses
  • 18:30 reading Ulysses like a poem
  • 19:20 mythic and aesthetic crib notes
  • 20:00 collect your favourite sections
  • 20:40 the Homeric parallels in Ulysses
  • 22:00 my first experience with Ulysses
  • 22:20 the opening episode (Telemachus)
  • 23:44 one of my personal favourite sections
  • 24:26 Stephen’s theory of Hamlet
  • 26:10 experiencing otherness in literature
  • 26:51 the oxen of the sun episode 
  • 27:48 Marilyn Monroe’s reading of ‘Penelope’
  • 29:09 the story and characters of Ulysses
  • 30:00 June 16th 1904, Bloomsday
  • 31:31 Trieste-Zürich-Paris, 1914-1921
  • 32:10 Dubliners, and Joyce's Portrait
  • 33:02 irony in the micro becoming the epic
  • 33:57 the name Stephen Dedalus
  • 34:54 meeting Leopold ‘Poldy’ Bloom
  • 35:50 what Joyce’s characters represent
  • 36:26 approach Ulysses with a sense of joy
  • 37:12 celebrating Irish humour
  • 37:53 using Joyce’s other works as entrance
  • 38:10 James Joyce’s Dubliners
  • 38:40 my favourite stories from Dubliners
  • 40:00 read Joyce to understand Modernism
  • 40:20 what is Modernism in literature?
  • 44:18 T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf & James Joyce
  • 45:00 content vs form, or style vs substance
  • 45:30 the censorship of Joyce’s Ulysses
  • 47:52 Joyce’s love letters to Nora Barnacle
  • 48:18 the controversial Nausicaa episode
  • 50:22 which edition of Ulysses is the best?
  • 50:59 Ulysses serialisation in the Little Review
  • 52:40 the 1922 edition of Ulysses
  • 54:00 Eduardo Arroyo’s illustrated Ulysses
  • 55:25 reading Joyce’s Ulysses with the club
  • 57:45 well wishes for your Joyce Journey
  • 58:06 some questions for you

Questions for you:

1) What has been your experience with James Joyce? Have you attempted to read Ulysses before? Or is this a first reading for you? 

2) What obstacles are you expecting on your journey into Joyce?

3) What are you hoping to get out of your reading of Ulysses? 

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

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How to Read Ulysses by James Joyce (10 Tips)

📚 Read James Joyce's Ulysses with Hardcore Literature: https://www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature ———————————— 🎙️ https://open.spotify.com/show/70IZA24... (Subscribe to the Hardcore Literature Podcast on iTunes & Spotify) 🏫 https://hardcore-university.teachable... (Hardcore University, Exam Preparation Courses) ✍🏼 https://benjaminmcevoy.com My Personal Website ———————————— Hardcore Literature Lecture Series ———————————— 📔Contents Page: https://cutt.ly/CmNhRY3 🎖️ War and Peace: https://cutt.ly/U3nzGma 🎭 Shakespeare Project: https://cutt.ly/B3nxHH7 🐳 Moby Dick: https://cutt.ly/K3nzVKf ☄️ Blood Meridian: https://cutt.ly/P3nz6Qp 🍂 Wuthering Heights: https://cutt.ly/N3nxxYt 🇮🇪 Ulysses: https://cutt.ly/x3nxQmN 🚂 Anna Karenina: https://cutt.ly/vmNhAWv 💀 Crime and Punishment: https://cutt.ly/rmNhFt5 ⚓ Persuasion: https://cutt.ly/amNhX7b ☕ In Search of Lost Time: https://cutt.ly/5mNh8oD ⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: https://cutt.ly/UmNjrE3 🌸 Siddharta: https://cutt.ly/YmNjuzi 🎠 Don Quixote: https://cutt.ly/cmNjoK4 ❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: https://cutt.ly/nmNlW7V 🇫🇷 Les Misérables: https://cutt.ly/J3YixoA 🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: https://cutt.ly/nToAQQ3 🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: https://cutt.ly/9ToAybt 📖 Middlemarch Serial Reading: https://tinyurl.com/45rv965c ———————————— 0:00 how to read Ulysses by James Joyce 2:00 Ulysses is a reflection of your reading 4:00 on the importance of taking your time 6:00 Homer, Shakespeare & Joyce 7:00 passive reading & single meanings 9:00 allusion hunting assignment 9:40 “Ineluctable modality of the visible” 11:00 Proteus & stream-of-consciousness 12:00 read Ulysses for Joyce’s language 13:37 listening and reading aloud 14:30 the musicality of Ulysses 16:30 the Sirens episode of Ulysses 18:30 reading Ulysses like a poem 19:20 mythic and aesthetic crib notes 20:00 collect your favourite sections 20:40 the Homeric parallels in Ulysses 22:00 my first experience with Ulysses 22:20 the opening episode (Telemachus) 23:44 one of my personal favourite sections 24:26 Stephen’s theory of Hamlet 26:10 experiencing otherness in literature 26:51 the oxen of the sun 27:48 Marilyn Monroe’s reading of ‘Penelope’ 29:09 the story and characters of Ulysses 30:00 June 16th 1904, Bloomsday 31:31 Trieste-Zürich-Paris, 1914-1921 32:10 Dubliners, and Joyce's Portrait 33:02 irony in the micro becoming the epic 33:57 the name Stephen Daedalus 34:54 meeting Leopold ‘Poldy’ Bloom 35:50 what Joyce’s characters represent 36:26 approach Ulysses with a sense of joy 37:12 celebrating Irish humour 37:53 using Joyce’s other works as entrance 38:10 James Joyce’s Dubliners 38:40 my favourite stories from Dubliners 40:00 read Joyce to understand Modernism 40:20 what is Modernism in literature? 44:18 T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf & James Joyce 45:00 content vs form, or style vs substance 45:30 the censorship of Joyce’s Ulysses 47:52 Joyce’s love letters to Nora Barnacle 48:18 the controversial Nausicaa episode 50:22 which edition of Ulysses is the best? 50:59 Ulysses serialisation in the Little Review 52:40 the 1922 edition of Ulysses 54:00 Eduardo Arroyo’s illustrated Ulysses 55:25 read Joyce’s Ulysses with a group 57:45 well wishes for your Joyce Journey 58:06 some questions for you

Comments

John de Vignolles

If you are a member of Audible, you get the Jim Norton narration of Ulysses mentioned by Ben free, you don't even have to use one of your credits on it! Be sure you get the complete one, not the abridged, or spit-into-parts audiobooks.

Elizabeth Madden

Hi, John- are you joining in with the mini-Ulysses Group discussions?

Laura Smith
>>109942529

Thanks Tanya, I had missed that comment. I actually just finished reading Portrait today and I agree, it’s incredible useful for understanding Joyce as well. Also - it’s a very short read so that helps!

Laura Smith
>>110137782

I am just about to start Odyssey. Would love to be able to discuss it here if anyone is interested

Elizabeth Madden

I would be very interested to know how many members of the group will be revisiting Ulysses, as I am, and how many of you are 'newbies' to this Epic?

Laura Smith
>>110315906

I had read the first few episodes but that’s all. Until 2 months ago I lived right near the Tower, so I’m familiar with the locations and cultural references, which helps a bit.

Matthew Annable

Having followed the link Tanya posted in the new ‘Tavern’ thread I’m essentially just repeating what I posted there which is to say that I’d love to join you on this journey. I’ve never read Ulysses but gave been meaning to for ages and July 1 is a perfect start date for me. Should just about have time to follow Elizabeth’s recommendation to read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man before embarking.

Elizabeth Madden

Just a few words as an introduction to A Portrait, which will be SO helpful in helping readers to get to grips with Joycean style and with the character and backstory of Stephen Dedalus, whom we will encounter as a principal protagonist (the other being Leopold Bloom) while reading Ulysses. The full title of the book is, of course, A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. There is a lot of Joyce in Stephen- though it's important to be aware that A Portrait is not a simple autobiography of the man, and that the Stephen Dedalus he portrays, both there and in Ulysses, is a character whom he presents objectively, and frequently ironically, showing all his flaws, as well as his positive characteristics. Stylistically, too, reading A Portrait is a great preparation for some of the stylistic effects we will encounter in Ulysses. A deep reading of certain key passages, which I intend to present over the next few days, will be helpful in exploring the personality of the character Stephen Dedalus whom we will encounter in Ulysses, and will also give us a good idea of how to read Joyce's writing effectively. Consequently, I would request that everyone planning to read and discuss Ulysses in the coming months will have a look at these passages, and the commentaries I will add.

Laura Smith
>>110773455

Thank you for taking the time to do this Elizabeth! I’m looking forward to reading your posts.

Elizabeth Madden

HAPPY BLOOMSDAY! On June 16th, we Joyceans celebrate the day, in 1904, during which the entire action of Joyce's epic is set. In this post, I would like to present to you a brief summary of the backstory of Stephen Dedalus, one of the two principal protagonists of Ulysses, based on 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'. This will be particularly helpful for anyone who has not yet read 'A Portrait'.

Elizabeth Madden

STEPHEN DEDALUS: Stephen is the eldest son of Simon and May (Goulding) Dedalus. Twelve more children will follow before the family is complete. His middle-class family is, initially, relatively prosperous, but his father is profligate and unable to hold down a permanent job, preferring to spend his days drinking and blarneying with his friends in the many Dublin public houses. While gregarious and affable outside the home, Simon becomes more and more frustrated with his home life and the demands of a large family and is frequently abusive and sometimes violent towards his children. Stephen, during his family's years of prosperity, attends the prestigious Roman Catholic boarding school, Clongowes Wood, where he is taught by Jesuit priests and becomes extremely pious. However, when the family fortunes decline, he is removed from Clongowes and briefly attends the much rougher Christian Brothers school in Dublin before winning a scholarship to another prestigious Jesuit establishment, Belvedere College. Highly intelligent and, initially, very devout, it seems he is destined to become a Jesuit Priest himself. However, as an adolescent, he begins to question the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and its suffocating grip on the Irish people: he blames his mother's almost yearly child-bearing and the consequent decline in the family fortunes on this. After a harrowing experience during a 3 Day Church Retreat, Stephen confesses that he has visited prostitutes and renounces his vocation to the Church. Instead, he resolves to pursue an alternative vocation, that of the Artist/Writer. The final part of the book is concerned with his early attempts to pursue that path and it ends after he has completed a degree at the Catholic University, with him leaving Dublin for Paris intent on 'Forging the Conscience of my Race' as a successful writer.

Elizabeth Madden

STEPHEN'S CHARACTER: He is highly intelligent, extremely sensitive, and perceptive. He is also very imaginative, with a particularly acute sensitivity to the sounds and rhythms of words. All very appropriate to his Artistic vocation. However, he is also rather arrogant and conceited, with a somewhat overinflated belief in his abilities: something which Joyce presents to us with a delicious sense of irony in the latter section of A Portrait and also in Ulysses. Stephen feels isolated, as well as exceptional, and beneath his outward display of arrogance, he has feelings of deep insecurity and is frequently fearful. Extremely egotistic, he often shows very little empathy with other people, whom he generally mistrusts, and he is frequently combative/argumentative. He could even be regarded as somewhat heartless. Although he renounces his vocation to the Church, his training under the Jesuits continues to exercise a strong hold on his thinking. Although he is strongly attracted to women, he is shy with those who are not prostitutes. He also harbors a slight feeling of insecurity regarding his relationships with other young men. We shall see all of these aspects of his personality equally evident in Ulysses.

Elizabeth Madden

HOW TO READ ULYSSES: as a seasoned reader of Joyce's work, an ardent Joycean scholar and teacher, I would emphasize to everyone that Joyce's work really needs to be read very slowly and closely, with the reader paying attention to nearly every single word, the placement of punctuation (the placement of the comma, in the very first sentence of the opening episode, Telemachus, is significant, though it is so often missed by readers who are scanning and even by people doing a 'close' reading!) the structure of sentences, paragraphs, etc., etc. I would suggest that those interested in undertaking any reading of Ulysses begin by learning how to close read effectively, using, for example, I. A Richards book Practical Criticism: A Study in Literary Judgement or, since that one is very expensive, one of the other excellent books on practical criticism/close reading that are readily available. DENIS KILLEEN'S short, and very accessible book, HOW TO READ JOYCE is also enormously valuable, as Killeen extracts important excerpts from Joyce's books, including Ulysses, and conducts a detailed analysis of them which is of great value to readers. I have used a couple of examples, taken from Killeen's book, How To Read Joyce, which relate to A Portrait. Not only will these give readers a great insight into the character of Stephen Dedalus which will be incredibly useful when we start to read Ulysses, but they will also give helpful insights into Joyce's writing methods and will prepare anyone new to Joyce for the adventure to come.

Elizabeth Madden

p.s. To emphasize how much consideration Joyce put into the right choice of word and its placement in a sentence: his wife Nora, told a story about how 'Jim' told her, when he had spent an entire morning working assiduously on Ulysses, that he was pleased to have written an entire sentence. Nora was not impressed!

GertyMae
>>110846439

Thank you for these posts Elizabeth. I have just finished reading A Portrait. For all his faults, I am feeling rather protective of young Stephen.

Elizabeth Madden

ULYSSES: I have just been listening to Ben's latest Coffee Discussion: Of course, ULYSSES was one of the books which had got a one-star review! Have you noticed how many of the people who say how awful the book is, go on to confess that they have only read a few pages or a few episodes before voicing or posting their 'learned' critiques? Having wasted much time getting irritated by and trying to challenge such individuals, I have heard Ulysses being disparaged so often that I now find it laughable, rather than offensive to my sensibilities as a Joycean. I think that Joyce himself would have referred to such readers as part of the 'rabblement' anyhow and dismissed their opinions as not worth listening to. That is not to say that Joyce was either a social or an intellectual snob, and I have known many readers who love this book and read it again and again for pleasure, without possessing degrees in English Literature or, indeed, being enormously well read. All that is needed to read Ulysses is the willingness to put some effort into the practice of reading. I think the reason many people don't enjoy reading this extremely wise, perceptive, and incredibly humorous book is, they don't like having to exercise any brainpower while they read: instead, they enjoy being spoonfed and 'entertained' by an author, as opposed to being asked to fully engage, at all level of perception, with a work by an artist who is actually assuming that his readers possess the capacity to do this.

Elizabeth Madden

Another pithy comment about her husband's works by the redoubtable Nora Joyce: 'Now the only other person he has to outdo is Shakespeare.' When we've finished, maybe we could discuss this?

Elizabeth Madden

Some helpful books about ULYSSES: There are so many, but as a starting point, I really do recommend STUART GILBERT'S excellent study JAMES JOYCE'S ULYSSES. Also, ULYSSES UNBOUND, a Reader's Companion to James Joyce's Ulysses by TERENCE KILLEEN. While I can understand the sentiment of some readers that they prefer to encounter Joyce without the perceived 'burden' of extra-textual intervention and explication, I have certainly found, both for myself and while teaching the text, that the multifarious correspondences and complexities of this great Epic are made much simpler to understand and appreciate if one has some helpful guidance on hand from knowledgeable sources to ease one's passage. I will add some further suggestions on useful books that readers will find available during the course of our reading together.

Elizabeth Madden

ULYSSES: I have been thinking about how 'difficult' many readers find it to 'get into' Ulysses for the very first time, and I would like to suggest a couple of ideas I have used in my own teaching of ULYSSES which may be worth discussing. Firstly, since often readers find it very difficult to access the first 3 Episodes, the 'TELEMACHIAD', especially the third one, because Stephen Dedalus's mind is so intellectual, steeped in various types of knowledge: spiritual/theological; literary; historical; philosophical; I have frequently begun with Episode 4 ('CALYPSO') which is the first of three Leopold Bloom Chapters. Bloom's interior monologue is much easier for readers to access, on a first reading, and so it provides a good way of getting to grips with the complex density of Joyce's writing style. The two groups of Episodes- 1-3 and 4-6, occur at parallel times in the day on which the novel is set, so no issues about missing information will arise for readers. My second suggestion, again going on my experience and in relation to the complexity and density of the novel, in order to enable readers to fully appreciate its comic brilliance combined with its deep pathos, is to leave two weeks between lectures rather than one, to allow for reading/re-reading and reflection, and more time in which to discuss issues arising from reading and to assimilate individuals' responses. I appreciate that this isn't how Ben structured his approach to Ulysses, but I do think that the ideas are worthy of discussion by the group

Elizabeth Madden

Copied from a post by Colin Ellesmere: I would recommend three sites to help readers. 1. The Joyce Project which gives details about everything could want to know although a little cumbersum to navigate. 2. These talk by Chris Reich. Chapter by Chapter. https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxlGs_Xj2HYA8P6E2Jy6Ub9m7eqs-9lcU2. 3. This youtube reading of the book which is magnificent - Bishop Brennon from Father Ted fame no less. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnIVcWYe2b8&t=2111s&pp=ygUYdWx5c3NlcyBhdWRpb2Jvb2sgcGFydCA0 3

Elizabeth Madden

I have just been listening again to this lecture, and one of Ben's opening remarks, concerning the connection between wide reading and understanding and appreciating Ulysses, gave me pause for thought. As he says, the more widely read initially one is, the more quickly and easily one will understand and appreciate Joyce's allusions, not just to Literature, but also to Irish History, Philosophy, Theology, etc . However, if a reader doesn't happen to be very widely read before beginning to read this book, it should not be regarded as an unbridgeable obstacle. There are plenty of Guidebooks and Podcasts, as well as learned academic essays, which will help. Furthermore, one of the greatest joys I and many other readers have found is developing my own reading scope based on various allusions which come up while reading Ulysses. Reading Ulysses may encourage one to read Dante, Aquinas, or Aristotle; it may encourage a reader to delve further into Irish History, Modernism, or Linguistics. It has the potential to be very educational, in other words. Ben has suggested reading certain writers in tandem with one's reading of Ulysses. My own instinct and experience suggest that it is difficult to tackle everything one will want to know about in detail or to have read, at the same time as reading U. for the first time. This would, I think, make far too slow what should already be a very slow process of reading the text on the page, assimilating, reading, and assimilating some more. However, it is very worthwhile to take the time to read these additional works prior to a second or third reading. That was what I did, and it enriched my experience enormously, as Ben suggests in his lecture.

Elizabeth Madden

On ALLUSIONS in Joyce's works: As Ben rightly says, reading Ulysses requires the reader to be highly attentive and receptive to everything he/she sees or hears in the course of doing so. In 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' Stephen Dedalus, the book's intellectual young, aspiring Artist/Writer protagonist, who is also one of the main characters in Ulysses, explains his theory of The Rhythm of Art to a fellow undergraduate: 'Rhythm,' Stephen said, 'Is the first formal aesthetic relation of part to part in any formal whole, or of any part of an aesthetic whole to its part or parts'. Aside from demonstrating, through Stephen's use of language, that this young fellow is not only very erudite and philosophical but also something of a show-off, Joyce is, here, stating the purpose of the multiple ALLUSIONS in his characters' Interior Monologues. 'Accumulated facts, lying in disorder, assume some order when a hypothesis is thrown among them.' (Herbert Spencer) Joyce, was, like the eponymous Greek Daedalus, a 'great Artificer' who carefully places, but skilfully half conceals such facts/ideas/allusions amongst the multiple other accumulated facts in Ulysses, and it is up to the very attentive reader to 'spot' them as they occur, remember them, then finally put them together to discover a complete whole. When one does this things which have seemed entirely random and nonsensical make sense when they come together. What seems, perhaps, to be a joke or a cruel trick on the reader will turn out to have been part of a very artfully and carefully constructed whole, when they will make complete sense: or, at least, begin to do so. It may be on the next reading, or a subsequent one but eventually, the moment will come and a light will dawn in the reader's mind: one that will bring all the more satisfaction for having been worked for. ALLUSIONS #2: Readers will find that when reading the interior monologues of Bloom, which begin in Episode 3 (Calypso) there are few allusions to what one may describe as 'High' Literature, Philosophy, Theology, etc., and more to the popular culture of the time (1904) as well as popular science, fiction, music and fragmentary memories and the thoughts about the past, present and the future which also occur in the Interior Monolgues of Stephen. Consequently, most readers find chapters 3-5 much more accessible than 1-3.

Elizabeth Madden

The opening Chapter/Episode (Telemachus) is relatively 'traditional' in style, most of you will not have any problems reading and understanding it. However, as you read further, you may well find yourself wondering what is going on. Because Joyce employs a plethora of different literary styles and techniques not only for different episodes/chapters but also during a particular chapter, some readers find the 'switching around' difficult to handle. I think it's because most of us are used to a writer sticking to the same technique/style all through, or maybe varying it a little, as Tolstoy does, but not to the same extent as you will find in Joyce. I would encourage you to open your mind and try to remind yourself to be as flexible as the writer himself is.

LESLIE SCHIPPERT
>>111864594

Thank you for the suggestions, Elizabeth. I’m not an English major and my reading has been limited to young adult, education books, and American literature. When I listened to Ben’s podcast, I admit to being overwhelmed. I think he mentioned at least four other books to read alongside Ulysses. I have ordered three translations, the Odyssey, and Dubliners. Once school starts, I’m wondering how I’m going to keep up with this and the Count, Shakespeare etc. Maybe I will ditch grading papers! I’m doing this to challenge my 62 y/o mind, but I think I will get the added benefit of experiencing what close reading feels like for my second language learners! Thanks again! Your scholarship is admirable!

Susan Harrison

How do I change my monthly payment method?

Andre Faga

I loved this video, you can feel the excitement you have for reading and it is contagious... I have read Ulysses twice, in Spanish, in the translation of Costa Picasso and Zabaloy, I am Argentine and proudly an Argentine was the first to translate Ulysses into Spanish, in 1945 (Salas Subirat), which was used for many of the Latin American writers to approach Joyce's work, helping to boost our literature. Now I'm starting to read it in English, under your guidance and I'm very excited about this adventure! Thanks!!

Pierre Bolkonsky

Is Homer's Odyssey a prerequisite for Ulysses?

Dermot Dunne

Thanks Ben, I'm really excited to go on this reading Odyssey with Hardcore Literature club (I just joined recently and the main reason was this upcoming series on Ulysses) I love listening to the insights you have on literature and the passion with which you communicate them. After a few aborted attempts at reading Ulysses and, as a Dubliner, I felt I was missing out on something by not having read Ulysses, I finally took the plunge and read it through a couple of years ago and haven't really put it down since! It's the first book I've read where I realised (as you said) that this is not simply a book you read and put aside but rather it is a limitless well to be dipped into again and again. I found the 'New Bloomsday Book' by Harry Blamires invaluable in getting a foothold on Ulysses and I also listened to the audio book by Jim Norton which you recommend. (there is also an excellent reading by the Irish National broadcaster RTE available for free on Youtube for any club members who haven't subscribed to Audible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY1E-NqPcP0 This time round I'm using the heavier guide by Don Gifford to peel back another layer... Reading Ulysses the first time you feel a need to make serious progress towards the end (so you don't lose the plot - LOL) but on subsequent readings there's so much more time and leisure to enjoy the journey. In answer to your question - I'm not sure what I'm expecting to get out of this reading but I know I won't be disappointed! As a small aside for any club members in London, I happened to be at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith a few weeks ago and they have an incredible art exhibition by the artist Aidan Hickey which is 18 paintings representing each of the 18 episodes of Ulysses. Each painting is in a different artistic style and really captures the essence of each episode - I can't recommend it highly enough! https://irishculturalcentre.co.uk/event/painting-ulysses/

hardcoreliterature
>>87441164

A basic knowledge of the story and characters would definitely help your appreciation. But I’ll be pointing out the main parallels as we go through, so it’s completely up to you how deep you want to go into the story. Being aware of just a smattering of events will go a long way, but the joys of Ulysses go far beyond the Homeric parallels. The most important thing is diving in and steadily making your way through!

hardcoreliterature
>>87443153

Reading Odyssey! I love that way of phrasing it, Dermot. I also love your description of Ulysses as a limitless well. Beautifully put. It’s definitely one of those books that really rewards being taken down from the shelf consistently across the years. As you say, that first reading can be a challenge to reach the end, but those subsequent readings are such a wonderful experience. I’m jealous that you’re within a stone’s throw of so many scenes in the novel. It’s unfortunately been a while since I last visited Ireland, but I’m hoping I get to rectify that soon! Thank you for the amazing recommendation of the New Bloomsday Book, and that Aidan Hickey exhibition looks like an absolute must-see! And welcome to the book club! I’m so thrilled that Ulysses is the book that brought you here. It’s amazing to see the excitement for this one.

Florian Pesantes

You truly know to creating suspense, Ben, I’m in. I hope I find the quiet hours needed to go along with you and the wonderful members of this club in reading this work that I hadn’t touched ever.

David Holmes

An excellent intro to the novel Ben. Thank you. This is not my first attempt to read Ulysses, but I am confident that it will be thrilling under your guidance. I have read “The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man”. Although not read, I have carried around a memorized paragraph in my head since college days which I always recite when certain culinary delicacies are placed before me to eat’ “Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.” i have just finish the Odyssey in prep for Ulysses. I am reading Ovid’s “Metamorphosis” in prep for a deep dive into Shakespeare and Joyce, and I will fold in “Paradise Lost” and “The Inferno” soon. I love allusion hunting and look forward to that experience with the club. I don’t expect it will be easy, but I do expect to pick up enough on my first read to make it a book I reread repeatedly in coming years, always finding new insight.

Vicky

Not my first read as I’ve said elsewhere but I have not retained much and am looking forward to a second read and a deeper read! Just started reading ‚Inferno‘ so will look for the allusions!

Jen

Great stuff as always Ben. I am not feeling quite so daunted now. I acquired a copy of Ulysses many years ago from a friend and have always wanted to read it. Dipped in a couple of times, just to have a nose. This is actually one of those books that made me embark on a chronological reading programme, as I had heard it was really hard to 'get' without some prior knowledge of literature. So now with some Shakespeare and Homer under my belt I am hoping it won't go completely over my head! Looking forward to rereading Hamlet and The Odyssey to compliment. Dante is going to have to wait a bit though. My main hope is that I derive enough enjoyment out of the language and have even just a couple of lightbulb moments when I 'get it' that I will want to go back for future rereads.

Scott W

I've read Portrait of the Artist and some of Dubliners, and I did try Ulysses about ten years ago and gave up somewhere around Lotus Eaters - which is where I've reached with this re-read, and there's no sign I will give up this time. I'll be reading slightly ahead of the lectures and coming back for re-reading as the videos come out - I didn't do that with Moby Dick but in hindsight would have liked to try it that way and so mix in the re-reading. I think re-reading some of Pynchon in close proximity to the first read recently has shown me just how useful re-reading can be, it quite transforms how much you're getting out of a text. I don't expect this read to be as hard as the first time. This one is with the group, and I am a more patient and humble reader than ten years ago. I am enjoying each page for what it is and looking forward to digging out some literary allusions with the group. I am not expecting or trying to 'get' everything, so there's no real risk of me getting frustrated or angry with it. :) Nice video Ben. I've shared a link with colleagues to the YT version in the hope I can persuade some of them to join me in reading Ulysses this summer. Maybe we'll even get some new HLBC members out of it. :) My favourite chapter so far is Proteus.. the first real interior insight, and some wonderful poetic language. I hope many more chapters are as deserving of slowing down for, going back over, and re-reading over time in isolation just for the joy(ce) of it. :) I remember when I read Portrait of the Artist, finding the long sermon section very tedious and boring and overdone.. and then realising it was that way on purpose because Joyce wanted the reader to feel what Dedalus was feeling himself during that sermon.. and then I started to see elsewhere how he would write scenes a certain way to evoke similar feelings in the reader. It's wonderful when you get a glimpse of what Joyce does in this way, so very clever, and of course puts you right there inside the characters.. literally makes you feel the way they do. I think he does his a lot during Calypso too.. in the kitchen, in the butcher's, in the jakes.. he's a master, for sure. I admit I have struggled with my attitude to Ulysses before now. I used to get angry because I thought it was elitist, like it had been written only for people who could spot all the allusions. I'm more humble now though, it doesn't seem that way so much. Why should he tone it down, anyway, or not make his art the way he wished to? Having read some Homer and Shakespeare now I see that while no particular pre-reading or knowledge is necessary to enjoy Ulysses in and of itself, what little or lot you can bring will add to your enjoyment. But you don't need so much.. you maybe need to understand what depths are going on, so you don't just find it completely random in places.. and you need to be able to humble yourself, I think. I read sections out loud, just laying around, enjoying the language and imagery. I'm sure when the lectures start coming out I'll be laughing at all the things I 'missed' that Ben is able to shed light on.. but I don't mind. It's always on my shelf now, and it's not alone in being a work I'll spend the rest of my life seeing new things in and appreciating in new ways; add to that Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Melville, McCarthy, .. the list goes on, right? That's why we're here!! :)

hardcoreliterature
>>87448767

Thank you, Florian. I have a strong feeling that you would delight in James Joyce. There’s an incredible playfulness with the language that I think you will love!

hardcoreliterature
>>87455001

Thank you, David! I really appreciate that. I’m marvelling at the motivation of readers with this one. There’s such a brilliant attitude among the group that I’m confident we’ll make a strong breach of it together! It’s also amazing to see that you keep one of my favourite passages memorised. And your deep reading of all of these writers will be invaluable when it comes to Ulysses. I’m looking forward to the allusion hunting too. We should have a little video coming out soon on allusions, and I’m excited to see what different readers gravitate to/pick up on.

Caroline P

Hello book club friends, this is my first read of Ulysses. I have been far too dubious about it in the past. However, right now, after reading all we have been reading in the club, I a super super excited to start it. I am about two thirds of the way through Clarissa and am going to finish that first with the big treat at the end of that one to start Ulysses. I fear if I stop or put down Clarissa, I might never pick it up again. (That said… riveting things are happening in that book at the moment…).

David Holmes

Allusion -an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. The following examples from the first three pages Of “Ulysses” are mostly not allusions to other literature, except the Bible. But they are examples of how many double entendres and other rhetorical devices are under the surface of the text. I will add that it is distracting to look up every one of these. I don’t intend to be distracted by every jot an tiddle, but will look for allusion to other literary works that Ben has mentioned. Ulysses allusions Page 1 Buck - In a given name refers to a “to signify a robust and spirited young man”. Page 1 Mulligan - a dish made of odds and ends of food Page 1 Introibo ad altare Dei. - I will go up to the alter of God - Psalm 43:4 “Psalm 43:4 [4] Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Page 1 Tesuit, play on Jesuit? Page 1 “mounted the small gunrest” - a small military tower, refers to climbing to the stairhead in the first line. Page 1 Steven in the Bible (from greek) means “crowned”. Page 1 Daedalus in Greek mythology was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power Page 2 “ouns” - wounds of Christ on the cross. Page 2 “Chrysostomos” - common epithet for orator. Page 3 Malachi Minor prophet and book in Old Testiment, means “messenger”. Page 3 “jejune” french for naive or simple.

hardcoreliterature
>>87478566

Thank you, Jen. I’m so happy to hear you’re feeling less daunted. And it’s so interesting to learn that Ulysses was one of the books responsible for embracing a chronological reading programme. Joyce really does push us all the way back to the beginning. Even the big name writers of the 20th century, T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, asserted that there would be no reader who could ‘get’ all of the allusions at once. I find it comforting that Eliot essentially told Virginia Woolf to give it another crack. Your reading of Homer and Shakespeare will definitely be a big help. As for Dante, without giving anything away, we may just have plans for him in the not too distant future.. I can foresee you having those lightbulb moments you describe, so I can’t wait to hear what you make of it!

Michael Anthony Gonzalez

Joined up last week after I stumbled across some of your videos. Specifically joined for Ulysses and have discovered so many great things here so far. Is there a time frame for when we should start Ulysses to all be on the same track? I saw the syllabus said August-September but it looks like it's starting sooner?

hardcoreliterature
>>87573816

Hi Michael! Welcome to the club. It’s so great to have you here with us. And I’m so happy that Ulysses specifically brought you here :) Your time-frame is correct. I like to get the “how to read” videos out a little ahead of when the first deep-dive kicks off. I’m keen to emphasise self-pacing, so I try not to be overly prescriptive with timeframes outside of the months we’re reading the books because we have quite a wide range of reading paces here. Having said that, if you secure your copy and start dipping into the opening, you’ll be more than set up for our first lecture on the Telemachus episode. We also have a video coming out in the next few days on how to approach allusions, so a little more preparatory discussion. I can’t wait to hear what you make of the book!

Scott W
>>87555625

These were useful, thanks! 'mounted the small gunrest' - I read this as he actually hops up on the carve out in the battlements where the guns would have been placed (small cannons, really) to look out over the water, or to rest..?

Scott W
>>87504275

I read more books at once since joining HLBC, but I still try to keep it to one 'big, big' read at a time too. :)

Scott W

Oh.. and I'm reading the Penguin Modern Classics: Annotated Student Edition. I quite like the big size of this book and relatively large print and big margins. Feels like a copy to really handle and work with.. the tight paperback from 1969 I tried to read ten years ago on my first attempt feels very claustrophobic in comparison.

hardcoreliterature
>>87486624

I think reading ahead of the lectures and then rereading as the discussions come out is the perfect approach. The more rereads and extra contact points when it comes to Ulysses the better! And thank you very much for sharing the video with your colleagues! I’d love to know if you’re able to persuade them to take on the challenge :) Proteus is such a solid choice of a favourite passage. A lot of readers will open Ulysses and think that its difficulty has been overplayed. Those opening episodes, Telemachus and Nestor, aren’t too difficult. And then they are hit with Proteus. Pure, unexplained interior monologue. I think it swiftly becomes apparent from that chapter that there are are certainly some challenges in store. I love this one too because it focuses my attention on my own stream of thoughts. It’s quite difficult to catch oneself in the act of thinking, but, when you do, you start to wonder whose thoughts they really are. It often looks like a strange mixture of random words that someone has said recently, snippets of advertising slogans, broken philosophy, plans for the future, misremembered lyrics from songs. It’s quite the experience to plug into that. What you’ve written here about the allusions and humility is incredibly insightful. If any readers here are feeling daunted, I hope they take a lot of comfort from what you have written! It’s going to be a fun journey :)

Laura-Anne Wright

Hey fellow literature readers!! I have my copy of Ulysses but I may wait to jump in on this one and come back at a later time as I am still deep diving Don Quixote!

Laura-Anne Wright

Also I wanted to ask if perhaps there was interest in doing Beowulf or at least a lecture series on it as it is so fascinating to me! Oh and completely off that topic has anyone read James Michener? I have amassed a sizable collection because I found out he was the inspiration behind the musical classic South Pacific. He is incredibly proliferic and I was just looking for some thoughts on his works. I may dive into Space before the summer ends...look forward to chatting more!!

Bill Markland

I read Ulysses about 6 months ago during which time I stumbled on a YouTube series called "Reading Ulysses for Fun" by Chris Reich. He is an elderly guy who treats it like amateurs reading it together, so it is much simpler than the level of the Hardcore Literature but has a certain charm and really goes through the basics. I am looking forward to Ben's deep dive into this classic challenging novel.

David Brown

Thank you Ben for suggesting The Most Dangerous Book. I also highly recommend it for a "deeper dive". The amount of controversy, historical events before, during and after the final published copy of Ulysses, including the legal challenges in the U.S., a heroic defense attorney, women who defied the censorship and attacks on free speech, including Sylvia Beach and her small expat-owned bookstore in Paris titled Shakespeare and Company, and the wide range of reception by critics, writers, and readers, as well as Joyce's personal life and challenges, are only a portion of The Most Dangerous Book, and I am totally engaged and immersed in the audiobook of this ( which is narrated by John Keating, whose name just happens to be the same as that professor who was also the founder of the Dead Poet's Society in the movie!) Thanks also for the suggestions to enjoy it with joy and play, and let humility dissolve any frustration. I'm not yet finished with The Most Dangerous Book, yet I am so inspired by the backstory of how Ulysses was written and published. I have only listened to the first chapter of Ulysses before and after reading a summary of it, and then put it on hold until I finish The Most Dangerous Book, and if possible Clarissa, which I now am also enjoying at a faster speed in the audiobook version (1.35).

Curtis B.

I think Stephen's line "No mother. Let me be and let me live" is a clear allusion to "Hamlet," a response to the question "To be, or not to be ... ?" The allusion is reinforced by the wording, as it brings to mind Hamlet's dying speech, where he says, "But let it be. Horatio, I am dead". The fact that Stephen is haunted by his dead mother—whereas it's Hamlet's dead father who does the haunting—also seems to be an allusion to "Hamlet." Having read only the Telemachus section so far, I would say that Stephen appears to be an imperfect reflection of Hamlet, the sort of reflection that might be created by a cracked mirror. This may be a reach, but it's a thought that occurred to me when I was thinking about the parallels between Stephen and Hamlet. When Buck refers to Stephen as a bard, this is an allusion to both Shakespeare—"the bard of Avon"—and Homer—"the blind bard."

Ashleigh
>>87628941

Dear Laura-Anne, I hope your deep dive into Don Quixote is going well! I also am very interested in Beowulf, especially learning about the old English language. I found a great youtube video that demonstrates the London accent from the 14th to the 21st centuries if you are also interested in this sort of thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lXv3Tt4x20.

Ashleigh
>>87784080

Hi Curtis, I think you made a really good connection between Stephen and Hamlet especially as all three, including Telemachus are dealing with the absence of a parent and for Stephen and Hamlet also a betrayal. I didn't know about Homer being referred to as "the blind bard" so this is also really interesting thank you!

hardcoreliterature
>>87628683

Hey Laura-Anne :) That's so great to hear! If you enjoy the fiendishly immature humour of Don Quixote, you'll also enjoy Joyce! I hope the knight errant and faithful squire are keeping well. I miss their company and have been enjoying my favourite scenes again recently!

hardcoreliterature
>>87608320

Very nice! I've been thinking the same thing about my Cambridge Centenary edition. It's enormous, but so much space in the margins begging to be filled. I still have that hesitancy around marking books when it comes to such beautiful editions, but I may do it..

Caroline P

Just popping in to say the Kevin Birmingham ‘the most dangerous book in the world…..’ is absolutely fantastic… it is making me soooo excited about starting Ulsyess. It has to be the best autobiography of a book ever

David M.

Ben - I'm assuming that the text of the paperback version that you recommend should match up with the audio version read by Norton that you also recommend?

Joe Beaulieu

Congratulations Dr. F, you've created a monster. I spent a handful of hours reading, listening to, and listening to a couple lectures on Lycidas in the hope of figuring out why a couple of its lines appear in Episode 2. Pretty, pretty cool. Now if only I could narrow the theories down from the current four!

Ellen M

This will be my first reading and I’m very much working on taking Bens advice to heart: my initial ‘dread’ or apprehension on this has been thrown out the window. I really believe my mindset will go a long way on how I experience this book, so I’m pushing myself to think positively and give myself confidence. Much as I was afraid of Moby Dick because of a failed first attempt, I’m hoping this to be more approachable than I expected. And considering how many times Ulysses must have been thrown across the room by frustrated readers, I’m going to heed Ben’s advice of following along with the audiobook. Looking forward to the comments and insight sof my fellow club members!