What do you think?
Rate this book
Joyce’s Ulysses
James Joyce's great novel Ulysses is a big, richly imagined, and intricately organized book with a huge reputation. T. S. Eliot, bowled over by Joyce’s brilliant manipulation of a continuous parallel between ancient myth and modern life, called it “the most important expression which the present age has found … [one] to which we are all indebted, and from which none of us can escape.”
Ulysses depicts a world that is as fully conceived and vibrant as anything in Homer or Shakespeare. It has been delighting and puzzling readers since it was first published on Joyce’s 40th birthday, February 2, 1922.
It is, perhaps, a book whose pleasures you’ve always wanted to learn to savor but never quite worked yourself up to reading. And who can blame you? After all, Joyce himself famously boasted that “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant!”
This is where Professor Heffernan’s lectures help. Whether or not you have read this book, you’ll find that his lectures, the fruit of decades of distinguished teaching, make an excellent guide to the many-layered pleasures of this modern epic.
Illuminating the dramatic and artistic integrity behind the novel’s most notoriously challenging passages, he explains why this frank, pathbreaking novel was praised as a landmark and damned as obscene—even banned—as soon as it first appeared.
Ulysses depicts a world that is as fully conceived and vibrant as anything in Homer or Shakespeare. It has been delighting and puzzling readers since it was first published on Joyce’s 40th birthday, February 2, 1922.
It is, perhaps, a book whose pleasures you’ve always wanted to learn to savor but never quite worked yourself up to reading. And who can blame you? After all, Joyce himself famously boasted that “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant!”
This is where Professor Heffernan’s lectures help. Whether or not you have read this book, you’ll find that his lectures, the fruit of decades of distinguished teaching, make an excellent guide to the many-layered pleasures of this modern epic.
Illuminating the dramatic and artistic integrity behind the novel’s most notoriously challenging passages, he explains why this frank, pathbreaking novel was praised as a landmark and damned as obscene—even banned—as soon as it first appeared.
12 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2001
23 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
James A.W. Heffernan
27 books10 followersDr. James Heffernan is Emeritus Professor of English at Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 11, 2018
If you want to have a more enriching experience reading Ulysses, then listen to this course first. If you're worried about spoilers, you're probably reading the wrong book. The whole point of Ulysses is to know as much as possible about what Joyce is trying to say with all his allusions, puns, writing styles and tracking of Homer's Odyssey.
I say this as I'm about to crack open Ulysses! Ha. Ignorance may be bliss but I don't believe that's true for this book.
I say this as I'm about to crack open Ulysses! Ha. Ignorance may be bliss but I don't believe that's true for this book.
November 25, 2021
There's a saying that Ulysses can't be read; it can only be reread. In other words if you read through only one time you'll not grasp its significance as a work of literature. This is a big book, and I'm not willing to invest that much time in any one book. And even if I read it a dozen times I'm not sure I would understand the book. So one way around the dilemma is to listen to these lectures.
The lecturer, Heffernan, does a good job explaining many of the nuances and interconnections from Homer to 1904 current events in Dublin. I figure that the combination of listening to these lectures combined with reading Ulysses and meeting three times with Great Books KC to discuss the book that I have experienced the equivalent of a three hour college level class. Although one difference from a college class is that I didn't have to write a paper about it. Anyway, I think the way I was exposed to the book is the best possible way to do it.
Below are some of the material from the these lectures that I made available to my book group. The first is a chart showing a comparison between Homer's Odyssey and Joyce's Ulysses. Following that are a number of links to lecture outlines with each lecture focused on a chapter (or part of a chapter) from the book.
Some interesting charts:
(Here's a LINK to the chart that is easier to read)
(Here's a LINK to a discussion about chapter divisions.)
Here are some chapter outlines of the book Ulysses. They are from these lectures.
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE, PART ONE
CHAPTER NINE, PART TWO
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE, PART ONE
CHAPTER TWELVE, PART TWO
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN, PART ONE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN, PART TWO
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, PART ONE
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, PART TWO
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CONCLUSION--JOYCE AND THE MODERN NOVEL
Another link of interest from Wikipedia:
GILBERT SCHEMA FOR ULYSSES
The lecturer, Heffernan, does a good job explaining many of the nuances and interconnections from Homer to 1904 current events in Dublin. I figure that the combination of listening to these lectures combined with reading Ulysses and meeting three times with Great Books KC to discuss the book that I have experienced the equivalent of a three hour college level class. Although one difference from a college class is that I didn't have to write a paper about it. Anyway, I think the way I was exposed to the book is the best possible way to do it.
Below are some of the material from the these lectures that I made available to my book group. The first is a chart showing a comparison between Homer's Odyssey and Joyce's Ulysses. Following that are a number of links to lecture outlines with each lecture focused on a chapter (or part of a chapter) from the book.
Some interesting charts:
(Here's a LINK to the chart that is easier to read)
(Here's a LINK to a discussion about chapter divisions.)
Here are some chapter outlines of the book Ulysses. They are from these lectures.
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE, PART ONE
CHAPTER NINE, PART TWO
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE, PART ONE
CHAPTER TWELVE, PART TWO
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN, PART ONE
CHAPTER FIFTEEN, PART TWO
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, PART ONE
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, PART TWO
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CONCLUSION--JOYCE AND THE MODERN NOVEL
Another link of interest from Wikipedia:
GILBERT SCHEMA FOR ULYSSES
October 21, 2018
Extremely helpful lectures, delivered in a vivacious manner.
November 16, 2020
A fantastic key for unlocking the mysteries of Ulysses!
May 26, 2023
Ulysses is my Waterloo. I have tried to read it at least twice and not gone farther than 3 pages in. Chi and Martin said they were going to read it last year and suggested we start with “The portrait” before attempting Ulysses. I did that. Now they are too busy so I’m left alone to try the climb…so I listen to these 24 lectures and hopefully my next attempt (THIS YEAR!!) Will take me at least to the end of the first chapter 😂
November 2, 2013
This lecture series is a remarkable achievement. They say the key to public speaking is to know your topic. Heffernan, uses few notes and I see no evidence of a teleprompter. Yet he quotes long passages from Ulysses and rarely misses a beat. This course is the equivalent of a college semester in length and is very thorough. There may be detractors as to his parallel or corolary of Homer's Odyssey with Joyce's Ulysses, but he presents a very convincing case. This is well worth your time and money.
May 19, 2021
Second time listening to these lectures.
Great preparation ahead of bloomsday Festival.
A virtual festival of course again this year but lots of great readings online to mark the occasion.
For anyone interested here is a link to activities below:
http://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/bloom...
These lectures are the perfect introduction to Joyce's Ulysses and really helps to get the interest going and maybe a lifelong fascination with this book. There is definitely a lifetime of learning in it.
A great way to get into Ulysses is to take part in a reading group.
Swenys Pharmacy in Dublin is a perfect place for this but they have online readings now with people from all over the world joining in.
It's great craic as they say...
http://sweny.ie/site/
Highly recommend these lectures.
Great preparation ahead of bloomsday Festival.
A virtual festival of course again this year but lots of great readings online to mark the occasion.
For anyone interested here is a link to activities below:
http://www.bloomsdayfestival.ie/bloom...
These lectures are the perfect introduction to Joyce's Ulysses and really helps to get the interest going and maybe a lifelong fascination with this book. There is definitely a lifetime of learning in it.
A great way to get into Ulysses is to take part in a reading group.
Swenys Pharmacy in Dublin is a perfect place for this but they have online readings now with people from all over the world joining in.
It's great craic as they say...
http://sweny.ie/site/
Highly recommend these lectures.
January 7, 2021
After two failed attempts at even making a dent in Ulysses by James Joyce, I am determined to read the whole thing this year, and I've done two things to help myself succeed. First, I checked out from my library the hardcover Random House Everyman's Library edition which has great appendix resources, easy-to-read text size and margins, and easy-to-turn pages. The second was, based on another review, listening to this 12 hour lecture course in advance. The novel is so thoroughly explained that I feel very well prepared for the novel now. And having already finished the first 3 chapters of the actual novel, I can confirm that this lecture series makes a huge difference!
September 28, 2023
A great guidebook to understanding the most difficult novel in the English language, James Joyce’s “Ulysses” (1922). Use in conjunction with the Great Course on the same title by Dr. James Heffernin.
December 13, 2023
A nice companion to the text that was so engaging I listened to it all the way through after quitting the novel lol
April 14, 2019
Great lectures on Ulysses, truly helpful!
Read
June 28, 2025would have been completely lost without this. with it, i was only 75% lost
December 5, 2016
A must read if you want to understand Ulysses
June 5, 2021
Joyce famously said of this novel, “I put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant and that’s the only way of ensuring one’s immortality.”
I liked reading Ulysses well enough, or most of it, though there were many parts I could not make head or tail of. I’m still not convinced any novel is worth this much time and effort.
Heffernan’s engaging and entertaining course does help you understand the book better. It consists of 24 half-hour lectures organized around the book’s main episodes, with an introductory overview and a conclusion about the book’s place in literature.
The lectures step you through the connections each episode has with the characters and tales in Homer’s Odyssey, as well as the physical location of the characters and the timing of their activities during the one day they spend traversing Dublin. He guides you through references to England's usurpation of Ireland, the nation’s conflicted views on Catholicism, Irish anti-Semitism, connections of the text to Joyce’s personal life, and allusions Joyce makes to Shakespeare, especially Hamlet.
I discovered, to my chagrin, that story elements and themes in Ulysses are carried over from Joyce’s earlier work, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I’m not immediately inclined to read this one as well and to listen to another 12-hours of lectures before I can understand it. Where would it all end? By the way, Bloomsday is just around the corner, on June 16th.
P.S. This does make me want to re-read The Odyssey!
I liked reading Ulysses well enough, or most of it, though there were many parts I could not make head or tail of. I’m still not convinced any novel is worth this much time and effort.
Heffernan’s engaging and entertaining course does help you understand the book better. It consists of 24 half-hour lectures organized around the book’s main episodes, with an introductory overview and a conclusion about the book’s place in literature.
The lectures step you through the connections each episode has with the characters and tales in Homer’s Odyssey, as well as the physical location of the characters and the timing of their activities during the one day they spend traversing Dublin. He guides you through references to England's usurpation of Ireland, the nation’s conflicted views on Catholicism, Irish anti-Semitism, connections of the text to Joyce’s personal life, and allusions Joyce makes to Shakespeare, especially Hamlet.
I discovered, to my chagrin, that story elements and themes in Ulysses are carried over from Joyce’s earlier work, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I’m not immediately inclined to read this one as well and to listen to another 12-hours of lectures before I can understand it. Where would it all end? By the way, Bloomsday is just around the corner, on June 16th.
P.S. This does make me want to re-read The Odyssey!
January 28, 2024
In 2001 The Teaching Company published Professor James A. W. Hefferman’s 24 lecture course “Joyce’s Ulysses.” When the course was released, Prof Hefferman’s taught English and the Art of Writing at Dartmouth College. I read Prof Hefferman’s 462 page course transcripts and course guides. These transcripts and guides overview Joyce’s very controversial Ulysses book which was published in 1920 and republished by Random House as a “corrected reset” edition in 1962. Hefferman’s lectures are based on the reset edition. The course features Homer’s 800 BCE manuscript “The Odyssey”, and the course also features Joyce’s 20th century recast of these “Odyssey” characters .Joyce’s book has three main 20th century Irish characters: Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and Molly Bloom. Leopold is not a reincarnation of Homer’s Ulysses who served as King of Ithaca. However,Joyce character Dedalus is a literary reincarnation of Homer’s Telemachus who was the very young son of Ulysses. Finally, Joyce’s character Molly Bloom is a character featuring traits of Homer’s Penelope who was the wife of Ulysses. The Joyce book is very challenging to understand. His storylines portray adultery, unusual sexual proclivities, unique notions of social justice, conflicting religious convictions, economics, and Irish political challenges. The course also discusses many renown individuals including Shakespeare, Dante, Aristotle, and Saint Loyola, to mention a few. I found the course transcripts often interesting and occasionally difficult to fully understand. (P)
July 9, 2022
I finally finished reading Ulysses and it was simultaneously the single greatest book I’ve ever read and a book that is hard to recommend to anyone. It is a massive undertaking to read it in a way that allows you to stick with it and truly appreciate it. To even scratch the surface of really understanding it, I found it incredibly helpful to simultaneously (with each chapter) read/listen to the corresponding parts of this Ulysses Great Courses audiobook and ‘The Guide to James Joyce’s Ulysses’. The two companion volumes were incredibly helpful for a first time reader and complemented each other nicely. This one focused more on the overlap with The Odyssey, parallels with Hamlet, condensing things down to a series of well structured half hour lectures. While, I found ‘The Guide’ a bit more helpful on picking up on some of the important and/or interesting details. I liked the Guide slightly more, but they were both very worthwhile using together. By the middle of the book, I had fallen into a pattern of reading or listening to one of the companion volumes ahead of reading the chapter and then the other after finishing it. Very helpful.
July 6, 2020
I said I wanted the best in the business to help me navigate the tricky and marvelous waters of Joyce. I found that expert here. Now I feel like I can expound on Ulysses almost as if I were too a Dartmouth prof. I’m an AP Lang instructor, and now one more book that I always wanted to read and to understand Is completed. This was a fabulous counterpart. I would read and listen on Audible to Ulysses and then listen to a lecture or vice verse. I found listening to the lecture first was better, especially when entering into the “quicksands” of some of the more densely complicated chapters. Now I wish I could write a paper and get credit toward my PhD. Lol. Do not be intimidated. Heffernan is like Virgil and you’re Dante. He’s a marvelous and patient guide. You’re not entering the underworld; you’re in heaven, and entertaining “what age is the soul of man?”
April 18, 2022
Hefferman's lectures attack each chapter individually, making this collection a helpful and enjoyable guide as you make your way through the novel. It's also nice to take a breather, and listen to a rational person talk about the book, after Joyce flagellates you for yet another chapter. The Professor will keep you grounded, and will reassure you, as you work through one of the most challenging novels there is to read for the first time. (Some people say Ulysses isn't that hard to read, but those people are dirty liars.) I also like that Hefferman is not dry and didactic, but is energetic and clearly loves Ulysses in all its canonical and bawdy grandeur.
May 1, 2022
Teaching Company courses are always a real pleasure to experience. This course, featuring Dartmouth Professor James Heffernan's overview and analysis of Joyce's "Ulysses," is particularly good when heard alternating chapter by chapter with a reading of "Ulysses" itself. It is an essential guide to understanding James Joyce's creative processes, and through it one can begin to approach an understanding of how Joyce manages to essentially recast the 20 year Homeric "Odyssey" in a single day in early 20th century Dublin. I'm quite certain I could not have completed this notoriously difficult novel without the help of this course, and very grateful for the help.
December 31, 2019
Loved these lectures -- fully prepared me to tackle Joyce's masterpiece. Prof. Heffernan gives you the information, connections, etc. you need to know in order to comprehend the novel. To be sure, there is still so much more to Joyce's Ulysses, but the book is often intimidating to the casual reader and Heffernan gives you the courage to tackle it.
Ulysses is quite a bit of fun once you've been oriented -- so much play with music and words and style. Coming out of these lectures, I loved Leopold Bloom, Molly... and well, maybe not Stephen Daedelus, but he turned out well enough.
Ulysses is quite a bit of fun once you've been oriented -- so much play with music and words and style. Coming out of these lectures, I loved Leopold Bloom, Molly... and well, maybe not Stephen Daedelus, but he turned out well enough.
April 23, 2020
I had read it in university, but was kinda checked out during the process. I was in and out, and sometimes would speed read as fast as I could just to power through the boring bits. I'd think, "Sure, that's clever. But who cares?"
I think I'll give it another chance in earnest now. I think the only thing holding me back was age and perspective. I've mellowed and become more reflective, maybe it'll grow on me.
I think I'll give it another chance in earnest now. I think the only thing holding me back was age and perspective. I've mellowed and become more reflective, maybe it'll grow on me.
April 4, 2022
But interesting series of lectures that helped me get a lot more out of a book that I’m glad I read, which is to say I’m glad I’m done reading it.
I can say that this helps me to squeeze the most out of my one and only passage through Ulysses because only the threat of death to either me or one of my loved ones would ever get me to read it again. Maybe if someone offered me a million dollars.
Definitely worth it.
I can say that this helps me to squeeze the most out of my one and only passage through Ulysses because only the threat of death to either me or one of my loved ones would ever get me to read it again. Maybe if someone offered me a million dollars.
Definitely worth it.
June 20, 2023
So fantastic to be able to listen to these astute and heartfelt lectures while reading Ulysses! I would only listen to these after finishing whatever chapter the lecture was about so as not to let this professor’s thoughts entirely take over my read of a chapter and I think that worked really well. His lecture style is warm, funny, passionate about the book, and down to earth Recommended if you happen to be reading Ulysses!
May 14, 2017
I'm a great fan of the Great Courses. Admittedly, some are better than others. This would be one of those. I would urge everyone to take this one on in anticipation of the next Bloomsday. I've read Ulysses several times and learned a considerable amount from this course. And Prof Heffernan does a memorable Irish accent.
May 2, 2021
If you have read the The Odyssey or listened to The Odyssey Homer: the Great Courses then some of what this lecture course covers will be familiar or superfluous. But only some.
The lecturer explains background, plot points, references, allusions to Homer, and is an excellent guide to understanding Ulysses.
Lecture 24 contains spoilers of the plots of Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Middlemarch, and Finnegans Wake you have been warned.
The lecturer explains background, plot points, references, allusions to Homer, and is an excellent guide to understanding Ulysses.
Lecture 24 contains spoilers of the plots of Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Middlemarch, and Finnegans Wake you have been warned.
November 14, 2022
I listened to about half of this lecture series, then thought, "Why?"
The professor is both very knowledgeable and very passionate about his subject, so it is in fact a pretty good course, if you really want to devote a full 12 hours of your leisure time to analyzing each obscure bit of trivia in Ulysses.
But honestly, what is the point? I decided to spend my time elsewhere.
The professor is both very knowledgeable and very passionate about his subject, so it is in fact a pretty good course, if you really want to devote a full 12 hours of your leisure time to analyzing each obscure bit of trivia in Ulysses.
But honestly, what is the point? I decided to spend my time elsewhere.
May 18, 2017
An excellent complement and guide of an absolute masterpiece of literature.
Well structured, beautifully explained, the course permits to capture the essence of each chapter as well as the interlinks with the reality of Joyce.
Well structured, beautifully explained, the course permits to capture the essence of each chapter as well as the interlinks with the reality of Joyce.
July 21, 2021
Pretty keen to read Ulysses now. When I do I might need to go back and forth between these lectures (again) and the main text.
Based on these lectures, Ulysses sounds like it's got a lot of the bits of Infinite Jest which I love.
Based on these lectures, Ulysses sounds like it's got a lot of the bits of Infinite Jest which I love.
April 1, 2023
When I read Ulysses, I will re-listen one section of this lecture as a companion to each part. This along with the annotated book. This lecture is clear, illuminating and fun. Lecturer has enthusiasm.
December 22, 2017
Without the guidance of James Heffernan's lectures I don't think I could have navigated the treacherous waters of Ulysses. His enthusiasm for all things Bloom is contagious.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews