Episode 8, Lestrygonians

Homer's Odyssey:
The encounter with the giant cannibals, Lestrygonians, is related by Odysseus in Book X of Odyssey. After being banished by Aeolus, the king of winds, without being offered any help second time, when Odysseus returns after his men had opened the bag and let the winds out, Odysseus and his men end up on the island where the Lestrygonians live. Of the three men sent by Odysseus to explore the place, one of them is immediately eaten by Antiphates, the king of Lestrygonians. Many of the sailors are carried off by the inhabitants of the island but Odysseus manages to escape with some.

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Lestrygonians to refer to the 8th episode/chapter of his Ulysses. After having been bad-mouthed by the editor of The Telegraph, where Bloom had come to finalize an advertisement given by Alexander Keyes, Bloom is out of the newspaper offices, and is wandering again in Dublin. A young man from Y.M.C.A. gives him a flyer informing Elijah is coming, which Bloom crumples into a ball and throws at the gulls flying around near the O'Connell bridge. Walking further along, he stops awhile to talk to Mrs Breen, nay, Josie Powell, whom he had once dated. Deciding to have lunch, he first goes to Burton, a cheap eating place, and not liking the sloppy way people were eating there, he leaves quickly, and goes to Davy Byrne's on Duke street. After a lunch of gorgonzola sandwich washed down with a glass of Burgundy, Bloom decides to go to the National Museum to examine the sculptures of some shapely goddesses.
It is 1 p.m.

Selected Highlights of Episode 8 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- God wants blood victim.  (8.11)
- The gulls swooped silently, two, then all from their heights, pouncing on prey. (8.76)
- Because life is a stream. (8.95)
- . . . a transparent showcart with two smart girls sitting inside writing letters, . . . (8.131)
- Same blue serge dress she had two years ago,  . . . (8.265)
- Hardy annuals he presents her with (8.362)
- Who will we do it on? I pick the fellow in black. (8.402)
- The young May moon she's beaming, love (8.589)
- What is home without Plumtree's potted meat? (8.742)
- Kissed, she kissed me. Me. And me now. (8.916)
- They have no. (8.930)
- What dreams would he have, not seeing? (8.1144)
- Safe! (8.1193)
(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to the Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:
- Original photographs of Dublin by Chandra Holm

3. Link to
- Video of the song, Policeman's lot is not a happy one, by Gilbert and Sullivan in The Pirate of Penzance

And much more!

Episode 7, Aeolus

Homer's Odyssey:
Book X of Odyssey related how Odysseus meets Aeolus, the king of winds, on the island of Aeolia. After being hosted by Aeolus, Odysseus and his men leave for Ithaca. So that they do not get into trouble because of storms and gales, Aeolus gives Odysseus a tightly closed bag in which all the winds were imprisoned, instructing not to open till he reaches home. Odysseus and his men set sail, and when they near Ithaca, and can even see men on the shore making fire, Odysseus falls asleep. His men thinking that the bag gifted by Aeolus contains riches, open it, letting the winds let loose. A tempest results driving them again onto the open sea, away from Ithaca.

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Aeolus to refer to the 7th episode/chapter of his Ulysses. Known also as the newspaper episode, it is made up of relatively short sections, with each section having a title, just like a newspaper with headings and sub-headings. As we get further into the episode, it becomes quite windy with words, often hollow words. Just like some newspapers!
It is 12 noon.

Selected Highlights of Episode 7 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- Thump, thump, thump. (7.101)
- It is amusing to view the unpar one ar alleled embarra two ars is it? (7.166)
- Justice it means but it's everybody eating everyone else. (7.213)
- The ghost walks, . . . (7.237)
- It was revealed to me that those things are good which yet are corrupted which neither if they were supremely good not unless they were good could be corrupted. (7.842)
- He can kiss my royal Irish arse, . . . (7.991)
- Out for the waxes' Dargle. (7.1008)
(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:
- Watercolours by Catherine Meyer
- Historical photographs of Dublin and Dubliners

3. Link to
- James Joyce reading from the Aeolus episode

And much more!

Episode 6, Hades

Homer's Odyssey:
In Books X and XI of Odyssey, Odysseus relates his journey to the House of Hades according to the advice of the sea-nymph, Circe. There he is to petition the ghosts offering milk, honey, sweet wine among other things, promising them that he will sacrifice the choicest heifer and a ram when he reaches Ithaca. There he must also consult the blind seer, Teiresias, and hear about the journey he is still to make before he can reach Ithaca.

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Hades to refer to the 6th episode/chapter of his Ulysses. The funeral of Patrick Dignam is the main topic of the episode. Bloom attends the funeral along with other Dubliners.
It is 11 a.m.

Selected Highlights of Episode 6 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- His name stinks all over Dublin. (6.64)
- My son. Me in his eyes. (6.76)
- As broad as it's long. (6.189)
- No suffering, . . .  A moment and all is over. (6.314)
- It is not for us to judge,  . . . (6.342)
- A pump after all, pumping thousands of gallons of blood every day. One fine day it gets bunged up: and there you are. (6.674)
- Come forth, Lazarus. (6.678)
- . . . pierce the heart and make sure or an electric clock or a telephone in the coffin . . . (6.868)
- All these here once walked round Dublin. (6.960)
(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to the Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:

- Watercolours and sketches by Catherine Meyer

3. Link to
- The poem, Elegy written in a Country Churchyard, by Thomas Gary (1716-1771)

And much more!

Episode 5, Lotus Eaters

Homer's Odyssey:
The story of Lotus-Eaters is told by Odysseus to Alcinous, king of the Phaecians in Book IX of Odyssey. The inhabitants of the island where the lotus tree grows lived by eating its flowers and fruits. As these were narcotics, these people lived and slept peacefully, almost as if they were drugged. 

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Lotus Eaters to refer to the 5th episode/chapter of his Ulysses. It records Bloom's wanderings around Dublin. Here Joyce has made extensive use of the technique of interior monologue.
It is 10 a.m.

Selected Highlights of Episode 5 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- His life isn't such a bed of roses. (5.8)
- Sleep six months out of twelve. Too hot to quarrel. (5.33)
- Wonder how they explain it to the heathen Chinee. (5.326)
- Taking it easy with hand under cheek. (5.328)
- I. N. R. I.? No: I. H. S. (5.372)
- Good morning, have you used Pears' soap? (5.524)
- I was going to throw it away that moment. (5.537)

(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to the Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:
- Sketch by Catherine Meyer
- Original photograph of the lemon scented soap sold by Sweny's

3. Link to
- Recitation of Panis Angelorum by the choir of St. Joseph's church, Luton

And much more!

Episode 4, Calypso

Homer's Odyssey:
Though the nymph, Calypso, is mentioned in the very first book, details of the involvement of Odysseus with her is the subject of book V of Odyssey. After the Trojan war, when Odysseus is travelling back home with his men, bad weather strikes him, the ship gets destroyed, and the men lost. Odysseus, all alone, lands on the island of Calypso, who falls in love with him, and keeps him with her in his cave for years. Finally the goddess Athena appeals to Zeus to help rescue Odysseus so that he can return home. Zeus sends his messenger, Hermes, to tell Calypso to let Odysseus free. 

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Calypso to refer to the 4th episode/chapter of his Ulysses. It is first episode of Book II. The episode, Calypso, is much more straightforward and easier in tone than the 3 preceding episodes. Here we meet for the first time Mr Leopold Bloom. It is here he tries to explain to Molly the meaning of the word, Metempsychosis.
It is 8 a.m. 

Selected Highlights of Episode 4 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- a homerule sun rising up in the northwest from the laneway behind the bank of Ireland . (4.101)
- Met him what? he asked. (4.336)
- They used to believe you could be changed into an animal or a tree, for instance. What they called nymphs, for example. (4.375)
- he smiled with troubled affection at the kitchen window. (4.432)
- Will happen, yes. Prevent. Useless: . . . (4.447)
- . . . came forth from the gloom into the air. (4.539)
(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:
- Reproduction of a sketch of Leopold Bloom by James Joyce 
- Watercolours by Catherine Meyer
- Reproduction of a moustache cup belonging to the Zurich James Joyce Foundation holdings

3. Links to
- Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Valentina Nafornita's rendering of the aria 'La ci darem la mano' from the opera, Don Giovanni, by Mozart
- The music hall song, Seaside Girls, sung by Kevin McDermott

And much more!

Episode 3, Proteus

Homer's Odyssey:
In Odyssey Proteus appears in book IV. Known as the Old Man of the Sea, Proteus can  foretell the future, to avoid which he assumes various forms. When Nestor is approached by Telemachus for news of his father, Odysseus, Nestor sends him to Menelaus as after the completion of the Trojan war, Nestor left the place early and returned home without knowing the fate of the other warriors. He says that Telemachus would be able to get more information regarding his father from Menelaus, who returned home after he himself. When Telemachus approaches Menelaus, the latter tells him of his meeting Proteus and hearing from him that Odysseus is still alive and is living somewhere in the wild sea.

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Proteus to refer to the third episode/chapter of his Ulysses. This episode is perhaps the first difficult episode in Ulysses. Reading this we learn to come to terms with the difficult mode of Joyce's writing, often getting lost but never losing interest in deciphering all that he offers to us.
It is 11 a.m. Stephen is walking along the Sandymount strand, musing over many topics.

Selected Highlights of Episode 3 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. (3.1)
- maestro di color che sanno (3.6)
- See now. There all the time without you: and ever shall be, world without end. (3.27)
-  . . . made not begotten (3.45)
- We have nothing in the house but backache pills. (3.98)
- Cousin Stephen, you will never be a saint. (3.128)
- Someone was to read them after a few thousand years, a mahamanvantara (3.143)
- C'est le pigeon, Joseph. (3.162)
- God becomes man becomes fish becomes barnacle goose becomes featherbed mountain. (3.477)

(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:

- Watercolours by Catherine Meyer
- Reproduction of the painting, Adam and Eve, by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (1562-1638)
- Original photograph of Martello tower, today's James Joyce Tower and Museum by Chandra Holm

3. Links to
- The poem, Mathew Hannigan's Aunt, by Percy French (1854-1920)
- The Irish folk song, O, O the Boys of Kilkenny

And much more!

Episode 2, Nestor

Homer's Odyssey:
Nestor, the king of Pylos, has returned to his kingdom after the Trojan war. At the behest of goddess Athena, Telemachus visits him to learn about the whereabouts of his father, Odysseus. This encounter between Nestor and Telemachus is the subject of book 3 of Homer's Odyssey.

James Joyce's Ulysses:
Joyce used the name Nestor to refer to the second episode/chapter of his Ulysses. This episode gives us a glimpse of Stephen as a teacher in a boys' school, whose headmaster is Mr Deasy. The beginning pages of the episode pose quite a challenge to the first-time reader, who has to distinguish between what is actually going on in the class room and what could be Stephen's thoughts, these being triggered by a word/sound Stephen hears.
It is 10 a.m.

Selected Highlights of Episode 2 in Ulysses for the Uninitiated:
1. Sayings from Ulysses explored/explained:
- Fabled daughters of memory. (2.7)

- Another victory like that an we are done for. (2.14)

- Of him that walked the waves (2.83)
- Yet someone had loved him, borne him in her arms and in her heart. (2.140)
- He proves by algebra that Shakespeare's ghost is Hamlet's grandfather. (2.151)
- And they are the signs of a nation's decay. (2.347)
- History, . . . is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. (2.377)
- A woman brought sin into the world. (2.390)
- Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the jews. (2.437)
(Episode.Line numbers in brackets above are according to Critical Edition of Ulysses by H. W. Gabler, 1986)

2. Illustrations:

- Cover watercolour by Catherine Meyer
- Photograph of the O'Connell monument in Dublin by Chandra Holm

3. Link to
- The poem, Lycidas, by John Milton (1608-1674)

And much more!