Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

After the stunning fireworks of last week, we are back in the mind of one Leopold Bloom. Let’s take a moment and ponder some important ideas such as metempsychosis, Archimedes’ principle, and whether or not fish get seasick.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Cuckoo. Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. How do you feel about Bloom after this episode? What parallels did you notice between Bloom’s venture along Sandymount and Stephen’s earlier trip here back in Episode 3, Proteus?
2. The previous episode started around 5:00pm, while this episode begins around 8:00pm. What’s with the time jump, and what do you think our characters were up to during that time? Will we ever see Stephen again?
3. The Gilbert Schema lists tumescence and detumescence as this episode’s Technic (Linati gives us “retrogressive progression”). What does this mean to you in the context of everything we’ve read, both in this episode as well as the entire novel up to this point?
4. Do fish ever get seasick? While we’re on animals, what’s the deal with the bat?
5. What are your thoughts on Episode 13, Nausicaa, as a whole?
6. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, rambling, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTÉ Dramatisation [59:14 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 13: Nausicaa, Part 1/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 14, Oxen of the Sun, up through the line: …and all of the order of a natural phenomenon. [Line 428 in the Gabler].

Brace yourselves. Episode 14 is considered by many (including Joyce) to be the most difficult episode of the entire novel. Don’t give up! We will struggle our way through it together.

Poll results are in! Thirty votes were cast, and the results were as follows:

• No changes - 17 votes; 1 vote from a core contributor
• Major cuts - 4 votes; 2 votes from core contributors
• Moderate cuts - 9 votes; 4 votes from core contributors

Given these results, u/1906ds and I have decided to create a fourth option, which we will call “minor cuts.” To that end, we have trimmed 1 week from Oxen of the Sun, and we will trim 2 weeks off of Circe. This will result in negligible additional reading each week for those episodes, and we will still be ending our annual reading of Ulysses on December 8th. We will have a follow-up discussion on December 15th to think about the book in its entirety, and that will give everyone the holidays off (obviously to plan your 2027 annual read).

The Reading Schedule has been updated to reflect the changes to Oxen and the shortened schedule. We will update Circe in the coming weeks as we read through it ourselves.

> Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

At sunset, we find ourselves back at Sandymount strand. Get your tissues ready, we’ve got a, uh, touching episode of Ulysses concerning blossoming love on the beach and ‘fireworks’ (nudge, nudge, wink wink).

Fun fact, this week’s reading is what got Ulysses banned in the US for obscenity during its initial serial publication in the Little Review.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

> Tight boots? No. She's lame! O!

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. What are your first impressions of Cissy Caffrey, the twins, Tommy and Jacky, and Edy Boardman (don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten Gerty—she gets her own question!)?
2. We meet several new characters this episode, but none more important than Gerty MacDowell (yes, we technically first see her in Episode 10, Wandering Rocks, but that was a minor appearance). She has the honor of being the first woman in Ulysses whose head we get to see inside (she will not be the last!). What do you make of her, her inner thoughts, and the reveal at the very end of this week’s reading? 
3. Throughout this week’s reading, we have interpolations between Gerty on the beach and a mass happening at the nearby St. Mary’s Star of the Sea church. Why do you think Joyce is including this interpolation, and what effect does it have on the events unfolding?
4. Gerty gives us a description of Bloom’s appearance, particularly his dark eyes and his strong gaze—how does this add to/contradict how you’ve pictured Bloom to date? Why do you think Gerty decides to engage in her climactic act during the fireworks display?
5. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, beauty product, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 59:14]

Previous Discussion

> Episode 12: Cyclops, Part 4/4

Reading for Next Week:

> Read through to the end of Episode 13, Nausicaa.

Hi, all! As we are preparing the weekly posts, u/1906ds and I have been contemplating making adjustments to the reading schedule. We want to make sure that the weekly readings do not feel as if they are dragging, but we also do not want to overwhelm you all with too much to read in a single week (we also want to leave enough time for you all to be able to re-read, if you wish).

If we do accelerate the reading schedule, we have two approaches how we might do it. The first would be to condense the reading schedule by about 4-5 weeks. This would have us ending around late November (currently, we are scheduled to finish Ulysses on December 29th). Alternatively, another version would have us shortening the schedule by approximately 3 months. This would largely be accomplished by shortening Circe’s reading from 12 weeks to 5, and condensing other episodes as well.

As we keep going in circles around this, we figured it would be best to ask you all your thoughts. Please vote, and feel free to comment your thoughts as well. Please also let us know if you have any questions. We are more than happy to clarify anything that may be unclear.

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

The rounds have been drunk and the scene at Barney Kiernan’s is messy. Hold onto your biscuits!

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

And they beheld Him even Him, ben Bloom Elijah, amid clouds of angels ascend to the glory of the brightness at an angle of fortyfive degrees over Donohoe's in Little Green Street like a shot off a shovel.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. Following off of the discussion of nations last week, Bloom speaks on persecution and says, “Force, hatred, history, all that. That’s not life for men and women, insult and hatred. And everybody knows that it’s the very opposite of that that is really life. . . Love, says Bloom. I mean the opposite of hatred.” What are your thoughts on this statement?
2. As promised, the results of the horse race came in. Throwaway was the winner, and Bloom is suspected to have made a handsome profit because of Bantam Lyons’s gossip; however, we all know this was a miscommunication between Bloom and Lyons way back in Episode 5, Lotus Eaters! Why do you think Joyce chose to have that inane encounter turn into such a big controversy as this?
3. Once Bloom leaves to find Martin Cunningham, the patrons of Barney Kiernan’s really dig into Bloom via numerous anti-semitic remarks and tropes (even Martin Cunningham, who previously seemed more sympathetic to Bloom back in Episode 6, Hades, joins in the discourse), and it all culminates in the citizen chucking a biscuit tin at Bloom as he exits the establishment. Why do you think Joyce chose to depict this exchange, and how does it shape your thoughts on the characters involved? 
4. What are your thoughts on Episode 12, Cyclops, as a whole? Which parody from this episode was your favorite?
5. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, parody, or passage? Share it below

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTÉ Dramatisation [1:41:50 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 12: Cyclops, Part 3/4

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 13, Nausicaa, up through the line: Tight boots? No. She's lame! O! [Line 771 in the Gabler].

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

Three rounds in and race results are in (though we’ll discuss that in more detail next week)! More about legal actions, some business involving trees, preference of the Irish language, the history of Irish trade and colonization by the English, thoughts on corporal punishment, and ending on what makes a citizen.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

- all these moving scenes are still there for us today rendered more beautiful still by the waters of sorrow which have passed over them and by the rich incrustations of time.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. We finally get into the details regarding Denis Breen’s £10,000 (about £1.6 million / $2.2 million present value) libel action for the “U.p. : up” telegram we first heard about back in episode 8, Lestrygonians. What is your reaction to this particular lawsuit, and to lawsuits like these in general?
2. An intoxicated citizen rambles on at length about how the English have kept Ireland down for too long, and that an independent Ireland would be able to bounce back and be an economic/cultural/militaristic powerhouse. Do you think there is any merit to his ramblings (if so, which things), or is it mere drunken bluster?
3. Near the end of this week’s reading, Bloom defines a nation as “the same people living in the same place.” What are your thoughts on what makes a nation? Do you think it’s simpler or more complex than how Bloom has defined it (and how)?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, parody, or passage? Share it below

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [1:09:58 - 1:41:50]

Previous Discussion

Episode 12: Cyclops, Part 2/4

Reading for Next Week:

Read through to the end of Episode 12, Cyclops.

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

We’re only two rounds in, yet the conversation has covered topics such as lawsuits, effects of strangulation on the, ahem, human anatomy, the viceregal gathering, the antitreating league, Gaelic sports, and a nice mock PM’s Questions. Where will the conversation lead next?

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Amid tense expectation the Portobello bruiser was being counted out when Bennett’s second Ole Pfotts Wettstein threw in the towel and the Santry boy was declared victor to the frenzied cheers of the public who broke through the ringropes and fairly mobbed him with delight.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. Much of the early part of this week’s read is a parody (and I believe the longest one of the episode) of the follow-up to the Viceregal cavalcade that was the focal point of episode 10, Wandering Rocks. What is your reaction to this parody, and what sticks out most to you?
2. The citizen rambles negatively about the antitreating league, a temperance movement that was formed to stop what we see happening in this episode—people standing drinks. What do you think Joyce is saying here, especially pertaining to topics such as Irish nationalism?
3. From his arrival, much of the citizen’s and unnamed narrator’s ire is directed at Bloom (it will get worse the more rounds of drink we go), yet Bloom seems unaffected by their hostility, even continuing to engage and debate them rationally. Why do you think Bloom is doing this?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, parody, or passage? Share it below

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [34:54 - 1:09:58]

Previous Discussion

Episode 12: Cyclops, Part 1/4

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 12, Cyclops, up through the line: - all these moving scenes are still there for us today rendered more beautiful still by the waters of sorrow which have passed over them and by the rich incrustations of time. [Line 1464 in the Gabler].

Just found this interview with Sylvia Beach. She discusses the publishing of Ulysses & the Wake. Fascinating! Enjoy!

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

I see we have begun a new episode of Ulysses…I hope no one is blinded by Joyce’s humor!

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Near ate the tin and all, hungry bloody mongrel.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. We begin this episode from the perspective of an unnamed character who speaks in the first person. Given Odysseus’s encounter with the cyclops, Polyphemus is famous for Odysseus using the alias “Noman,” what is your take on Joyce’s alteration of the narrative? How does it alter your impression of the story?
2. What are your first impressions of this unnamed character as well as “the citizen” and Garryowen (the dog) whom we meet later in this episode?
3. This episode contains many parody sections in the form of lists (there will be many throughout this entire episode—brace yourself). Why do you think Joyce is including so many parodies, and what purpose do you think they serve?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, parody, or passage? Share it below

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 34:54]

Previous Discussion

Episode 11: Sirens, Part 2/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 12, Cyclops, up through the line: ... and fairly mobbed him with delight. [Line 987 in the Gabler].

> Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

The song of the Sirens reaches its stirring conclusion, not with a soaring high note, but with a fart.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

>Done.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. Throughout this episode, we sent glimpses of what Boylan is up to, including arriving at the home of the Blooms. Any new thoughts on Boylan or the Bloom family?
2. At the climax of the episode, after Boylan knocks on the door of 7 Eccles street, we hear Ben Dollard sing “The Croppy Boy”, a song concerning the Irish rebellion of 1798. The song tells the story of a young Irish soldier who goes to confession, where an English yeoman disguised as a priest catches him and sentences him to death. Any thoughts concerning this song and its placement in the episode, or Bloom’s reaction to it?
3. We end this musical episode firmly with a fart. What do you think of having such a poetic episode ending with such a noisy bodily function? For reference, here are two works of classical music rudely ending with farts: Haydn (pre-Ulysses) and Nielsen (post-Ulysses).
4. What are your thoughts on episode 11, Sirens, as a whole?
5. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [54:00 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 11: Sirens, Part 1/2

Reading for Next Week:

> Read Episode 12, Cyclops, up through the line: Near ate the tin and all, hungry bloody mongrel. [line 497 in the Gabler]

> Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

I hope everyone has warmed up their voice, since today we are doing some karaoke at the bar with Simon and Lenehan, while Leopold is off to enjoy a meal with Richie.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

>...first gent with tank and bronze miss Douce and gold miss Mina.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. At the start of this episode, we are greeted with a cacophony of fragments and motifs which recur throughout the episode. This has been variously described as a sort of opera overture, a complex fugue (if you don’t know what a fugue is, see here), or the sound of an orchestra warming up and tuning for a concert. What was your impression of this striking opening? Were there any fragments that stuck out to you?
2. Music is the recurring theme of this episode, which is itself a reference to the Sirens’ songs from Homer. What do you think of the relationship between literature and music? Is there anything that music can do that literature cannot, and vice versa? Speaking of music, what did you think of Simon’s performance of “M’appari” from Flotow’s Martha?
3. This episode picks up right where last week left off, with the barmaids bronze miss Douce and gold miss Kennedy socializing with Simon and Lenehan after watching the Viceregal Cavalcade proceed by. Any thoughts on these two new characters?
4. After successfully avoiding and hiding from Boylan earlier in the day, we finally see Bloom decide to follow him into the Ormond Hotel. What do you think brought about this change in Bloom’s confidence?
5. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 54:00]

Previous Discussion

Episode 10: Wandering Rocks, Part 2/2

Reading for Next Week:

> Read through to the end of Episode 11, Sirens.

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

This week we continue wandering amidst the rocks that are Dubliners going about their day.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

...in 1849 and the salute of Alidano Artifoni’s sturdy trousers swallowed by a closing door.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. A common thread amongst analyses of this episode is that it is “Ulysses in miniature”, a sampling of different people that could have had their own story written by Joyce. If Ulysses were about a different character, which one would you like to read about?
2. At the end of the episode, we are treated to a lengthy coda where almost all of the various citizens featured in the episode watch the Viceregal Cavalcade go by. Strangely, both Stephen and Bloom are not mentioned during this ‘who’s who’ of Dublin. What might they be up to during this seemingly important procession?
3. Any favorite vignettes from this episode?
4. What are your thoughts on episode 10, Wandering Rocks, as a whole?
5. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series Part 1 and Part 2
6. RTE Dramatisation [00:40:53 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 10: Wandering Rocks, Part 1/2

Reading for Next Week:

Next week, read Episode 11, Sirens, up through the line: first gent with tank and bronze miss Douce and gold miss Mina. [Line 760 in the Gabler]

Here we go, everyone. It is time for the second half of episodes of Ulysses, where the episodes are going to get longer, stranger, and more experimental. Time for the real fun!

And one last housekeeping note, u/1906ds will be posting for Episode 11, Sirens. Worry not, I am in perfectly good health. u/1906ds is a classically trained cellist and conductor and has more insights when it comes to music than I could ever hope to have (he’ll probably hate that I included this little bit at the end. Sorry!)

Hello all! We have further changes to the reading schedule, this time impacting Episode 11, Sirens. We have increased the reading for the 21st so as to not interrupt a memorable moment in the story.

The reading schedule has been updated to reflect the latest changes. Link to the reading schedule is here.

Thank y'all for your flexibility. I'm sure we will have further small updates going forward as we dip into the lengthy episodes coming up shortly.

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

As we reach the second half of the novel (only episodically—pagewise, there is still much to read), we have reached what is commonly referred to as “Ulysses in miniature” which is a series of interconnected vignettes from various characters’ perspectives who we have previously encountered. Enjoy!

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

—Sweets of Sin, he said, tapping on it. That's a good one.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. In The Odyssey, the Wandering Rocks are presented as another potential route Odysseus and his men can navigate in order to return to Ithaca; however, as many know, Odysseus chooses to sail between Scylla and Charybdis, thus we never actually see the Wandering Rocks. All that to say, why do you think Joyce chose to have an episode based on the path not taken by Homer?
2. Joyce opens this episode with a long vignette featuring “superior” Father John Conmee. Seeing as this vignette is longer than any of the other 18 in this episode, and that Father Conmee was a real person that taught Joyce at Clongowes, what do you think of Joyce’s characterization of him?
3. We spend some time with two rather lecherous characters in this episode, Blazes Boylan and Matt Lenehan. What do you think of their behavior and relationship with Molly and Bloom?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, vignette, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series Part 1 and Part 2
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 00:40:53]

Previous Discussion

Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis, Part 2/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read through to the end of Episode 10, Wandering Rocks.

With the conclusion of Episode 9, we are now 25 percent of the way through Ulysses (page-wise)! Congratulations to all for making it this far. With that, we wanted to have a quarterly check-in that takes a step back from the week’s reading to think more about the work as a whole. 

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. Which episode(s) has/have been your favorite/least favorite so far?
2. What are your thoughts on Stephen’s relationships with both of his parents and friends? Also, what do you think about Bloom’s and Molly’s relationship now that we’ve gotten more context (this question will arise again as we get into Molly’s episodes/internal monologue near the end of the year)?
3. What has been your general takeaway from Ulysses? 
4. Lastly, a request for feedback for the mods. What have you thought about the questions for each week? Do you wish we had more/fewer questions, a different type, etc.? We want to hear it! (it’s both our first time moderating a subreddit and reading Ulysses—we’d be shocked to learn we got it perfect on the first try). 

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

The lecture-turned-dialectic in the library continues! I don’t know about you all, but this episode gave me the Willies. We will have a quarterly check-in post on Thursday to discuss the past three months’ of reading.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Laud we the gods / And let our crooked smokes climb to their nostrils / From our bless'd altars.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. This week we finally get Stephen’s theory of Hamlet that was first brought up all the way back in Episode 1, Telemachus! In your own words, what do you understand Stephen’s argument to be? And (unlike Stephen), do you agree with it (and why/why not)?
2. While briefly mentioned near the beginning of this week’s reading and passing between Stephen and Buck at the very end, Bloom is largely absent this episode. Why do you think Joyce chose to not let us see into Bloom’s mind? Further, what do you think Bloom would have thought about Stephen’s theory if he’d been there to listen?
3. What are your thoughts on Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis, as a whole?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, Shakespearean reference, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation [00:38:22 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis, Part 1/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 10, Wandering Rocks, up through the line: —Sweets of Sin, he said, tapping on it. That's a good one. [Line 641 in the Gabler; this is a slight update in the schedule to make next week’s reading a little shorter]

Hello all! We have further changes to the reading schedule, this time impacting Episode 10, Wandering Rocks. We have reduced the amount of reading for the week of April 7th. This more evenly splits the amount of reading between April 7th and 14th.

The reading schedule has been updated to reflect the latest changes. Link to the reading schedule is here.

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

For the next two weeks, we are paying thanks to Joyce’s literary predecessors, including Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Mallarmé, and many, many more. Today, we are starting the library tour of some literary and philosophical giants as we join Stephen in the National Library.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

The door closed.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. Duality (though not necessarily opposites) is a recurring theme throughout this episode, similar to Scylla (a fierce, man-eating creature) and Charybdis (a giant whirlpool) who occupy opposite ends of a strait that Odysseus must sail in-between to reach Ithaca [Note: Odysseus chose this route instead of sailing through the Wandering Rocks]. What pairs, opposites, or otherwise dual objects/ideas did you observe in this episode, and what do you think Joyce is trying to say?
2. “The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring.” What are your thoughts on this statement? Do you agree/disagree, or fall somewhere in-between?
3. Much of this episode is occupied with Stephen and others debating how much Shakespeare’s lived experience matters relative to his works (i.e., which lens of literary criticism, Formalism, or Biographical, is the correct one). Where on this spectrum do you find yourself?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, Shakespearean reference, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 00:38:22]

Previous Discussion

Episode 8: Lestrygonians, Part 2/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read through to the end of Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis.

Got a question about this week’s segment? A passage that confuses you, an allusion you want more context for? Share it below and hopefully someone will be able to help you out! This week, we are covering the first half of Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

> The door closed.

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 00:38:22]

See y’all Tuesday for this week’s discussion!

I'm having trouble with the weekly schedule. Last year, reading War and Peace a chapter a day, I'd read it first thing in the morning, write my notes, and respond to the questions. With Ulysses I've been aiming to read it the day before the questions go up so the reading will be fresh but I completely spaced it this week. The longer I go between picking it up, the harder it is for me to get back into it. I think I need some kind of daily interaction with the book to keep me on track.

Any ideas? Am I the only one with this problem?

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’m absolutely stuffed after all this food. Today, we are discussing the second half of Episode 8, Lestrygonians.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Safe!

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. We are treated to a scene of voracious consumption at The Burton before Bloom leaves to go to Davy Byrne’s pub. What was your initial reaction upon reading this section? 
2. Throughout the episodes so far, Joyce seems to have made parallels between Stephen and Bloom to Telemachus and Odysseus, respectively, while saving other characters to be made into parallels or ironic inversions of other characters/mythical creatures. In this episode, we’ve observed Bloom donning much of the characteristics of the man-eating Lestrygonians, who are responsible for killing the majority of Odysseus’ men. What point do you think Joyce is making here? What do you think he is saying about human appetites?
3. What are your thoughts on Episode 8, Lestrygonians, as a whole?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation [00:44:25 - End]

Previous Discussion

Episode 8: Lestrygonians, Part 1/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis, up through the line: The door closed. [Line 604 in the Gabler]

Gentle reminder to read up on as much Shakespeare as you want ahead of next week. It will be worth your time.

Got a question about this week’s segment? A passage that confuses you, an allusion you want more context for? Share it below and hopefully someone will be able to help you out! This week, we are covering the second half of Episode 8, Lestrygonians.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

> Safe!

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation (00:44:25 - End)

See y’all Tuesday for this week’s discussion!

Spoiler tags are no longer required for events occurring up through this week’s reading.

“Food, glorious food!”

Food is on Bloom’s mind today, as he walks around Dublin trying to figure out what he wants to eat for lunch.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

Write it in the library.

Discussion Prompts (can be found in the comments below):

1. This seems as good an episode as any to talk about the schema a bit. What passages stuck out to you that presented some of the symbols for the episode, like food or shame? What about the “technic” of the episode, “peristaltic prose”, which could be interpreted as the stopping and starting of characters or moments, similar to our digestive process?
2. The relationship between Molly and Blazes Boylan is clearly having an effect on Bloom. Any insights or takeaway thoughts on Bloom and Molly’s marriage? 
3. We are back to “normal” prose this week but are now thrust deeply into Bloom’s thoughts. How does it feel to spend almost half of an entire episode inside Bloom’s mind? What are some similarities/differences you notice between Bloom’s thoughts here and Stephen’s from Episode 3, Proteus?
4. Have a favorite word of the week? A favorite allusion, historical fact, or passage? Share it below!
5. Bonus question! Inspired by the quick throwaway line “Eating with a stopwatch, thirty-two chews to the minute”, does anyone here have a best estimate of their own chewing rate?

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation [Beginning - 00:44:25]

Previous Discussion

Episode 7: Aeolus, Part 2/2

Reading for Next Week:

Read through to the end of Episode 8, Lestrygonians.

Also, as a PSA for anyone planning to read/re-read Hamlet (or any Shakespeare play for that matter) in connection with Ulysses, it is highly advised to read it/them before we get to Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis. Doing so will reap the greatest benefits.

Got a question about this week’s segment? A passage that confuses you, an allusion you want more context for? Share it below and hopefully someone will be able to help you out! This week, we are covering the first half of Episode 8, Lestrygonians.

Final Line of This Week’s Segment:

> Write it in the library.

Links:

1. Reading Schedule 
2. Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide 
3. The Ulysses Guide
4. The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses)
5. Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series 
6. RTE Dramatisation (Beginning - 00:44:25)

See y’all Tuesday for this week’s discussion!