Listen&Learn: Ulysses

Learn about a 20th-century interpretation of an ancient epic

Pre-listening vocabulary

• reputation: a widely believed idea about something
• epic poem: a long poem that tells an adventurous story
• stream of consciousness: a style of storytelling that mimics the randomness of real thoughts
• parody: to make fun of something by imitating it
• genre: a category of books, such as fantasy or romance
• contrast: a clear difference between two things
• compelling: interesting; captivating

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

Ulysses is a novel written by Irish author James Joyce. It was originally in small sections in magazines. The full novel was later published in 1922. Ulysses has a reputation for being difficult to , because its structure is very unique. It uses many of storytelling, including scripts and streams of consciousness. It also parodies different genres of fiction. Joyce even created a guide to understanding the different themes in each section of the story. The narrative and are inspired by the Odyssey, Homer’s epic poem. However, Ulysses is set in 20th-century Ireland, and the events of the book take place during a single day. Ulysses remains famous for the contrast between its epic structure and its compelling story about everyday life.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. Ulysses was originally published as
   a. a script for a play
   b. a full novel
   c. small sections in magazines
   
2. Ulysses is inspired by the epic poem
   a. the Odyssey
   b. the Iliad
   c. the Aeneid
   
3. The events of Ulysses take place during one
   a. day
   b. year
   c. hour

Discussion/essay questions

1. Do you prefer realistic or adventurous stories? Why?

Transcript

Ulysses is a novel written by Irish author James Joyce. It was originally published in small sections in magazines. The full novel was later published in 1922. Ulysses has a reputation for being difficult to understand, because its structure is very unique. It uses many styles of storytelling, including scripts and streams of consciousness. It also parodies different genres of fiction. Joyce even created a guide to understanding the different themes in each section of the story. The narrative and characters are inspired by the Odyssey, Homer’s ancient epic poem. However, Ulysses is set in 20th-century Ireland, and the events of the book take place during a single day. Ulysses remains famous for the contrast between its epic structure and its compelling story about everyday life.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2a 3a