![]() So, this sounds nothing like the first chapter of Ulysses. Let’s take a look at the first episode of Ulysses, “Telemachus,” through the lens of The Odyssey. Having said all that, having a working knowledge of The Odyssey can inform your Ulysses reading experience in some meaningful ways. Linking it to one of the most important works in Western literature was a way to make it seem less like a tawdry bit of pornography. Also keep in mind Ulysses was banned in the United States as an obscene work in 1930. ![]() It’s way easier to drum up support for a book that can be boiled down to, “It’s basically The Odyssey, but it’s set in 1904 Dublin and takes place in one day.” The schema is much easier to talk about than the text of Ulysses. Imagine giving an elevator pitch of Ulysses without mentioning The Odyssey. Joyce himself said after the fact that he introduced the schema via Gilbert as a marketing angle. Let's be honest here - Ulysses would be a much less compelling novel if it were merely a "modern retelling" of The Odyssey. Some of the connections are, in my opinion, a bit tenuous, and there is plenty in the novel that has nothing to do with Homer or ancient Greece. While the Homeric parallels correspond thematically to each episode, they are not one-to-one correspondences narratively. ![]() The organization of the schema proved popular in the ensuing decades of Ulysses criticism because it adds order to a novel that is frequently opaque and (seemingly) disordered. for each chapter, these also have their roots in Joyce's schemata. If you use an annotation that lists the corresponding organ, color, art etc. Joyce provided Gilbert with a schema outlining his novel as well as prominent themes and parallels in each episode. They were popularized by Stuart Gilbert after they appeared in his 1930 book Ulysses - A Study. Although these designations are common coin amongst Ulysses enthusiasts, they never appeared in any published edition of the book. ![]() The first chapter about Stephen and the boys in the tower is called “Telemachus,” for instance. If you’ve used a reading guide or annotation to Ulysses, you’ve likely noticed that each episode in the novel is given a title corresponding to The Odyssey. “Ulysses” is the Latin name for the main character (Odysseus in Greek) after all. Just so we’re clear on terms - “Homeric parallels” are the ways in which Ulysses is modeled on Homer’s Odyssey. ![]()
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