Reading Ulysses for Fun: Oxen of the Sun
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Wow! Not only is this a tough chapter to explain, but in filming, my lights went out, it snowed, I was interrupted, and the power went out for a minute! You'll see the sections in the video---I have no idea why the sound went weird in the last segment!
We are well on way to the finish line. Take your time with this episode and absorb prose. There are important messages here about humanity, life, and art.
I'd love your comments!
ANOTHER WONDERFUL EPISODE BROUGHT TO LIFE. THERE ARE TWO HEROS--JOYCE AND HIS DEPICTION OF LANGUAGE AS THE HERO--AND CHRIS REICH FOR THIS SUPERB SERIES. OLIVER ( ABSINTHE BAN LIFTED IN US 2007
Oliver Goldsmith Wow, thanks for the kind words! And thank you for letting me know when Absinthe ban was lifted. Fascinating! Absinthe plays a major role in the next episode. Thank you for commenting.
Very Lynchian, those effects!
Thanks for these videos. This book is just crazy.
I think the correct term is ‘pastiche’ rather than ‘mimicking’ ?
I'm glad you are along for your own odyssey! Thank you for commenting. Your comments are helpful to others as they work through this challenging book. This might be the most difficult episode for many. What do you think? As for 'pastiche' or 'mimicry', that would be an interesting discussion. Joyce wouldn't copy a style, we might agree on that. Considering the brilliant satire of the Cyclops episode, I might make a case that Joyce was so anti anything unoriginal that he would mimic a style to show he could as a slap at the Irish Literary Revival that wanted artists to harken back. Splitting rabbits, maybe, but a fun topic and I'm glad to raised it.
Thanks for that great analysis. As I got started on this section, I was totally lost !....I was reading the words - but thats all, like another language. I reckon this is where a lot of readers finally throw in the towel. However, after listening to you, I've been inspired to press on with it. Many thanks.
Beautiful and edifying. Thank you so much Chris
“The Summer Evening had Begun to Fold the World in its Beautiful Embrace’ a Sunset
I both liked JLS and your Groundhog mimick. Having got this far in Ulysees I absolutely love the book. And whilst reading is slow going, with many rereads, I am thoroughly engaded with the project. Your lecture is another insightful help.
I know this was covered early on in the bath, but this chapter seems to indicate a complete rebirth of Leopold. There is a distinction between rebirth and baptism.
I had tried to read this book countless times and never made it past Episode 3. You’ve brought this to life in a way that is both masterfully illuminating and fun
FUN! You got me. That's the whole ambition. Fun. I am so glad you are getting pleasure from this book. That means a lot to me. You're doing GREAT. After this, it gets a little easier.
Parody: the word you are looking for. Take care.
One night in a Galway Emergency Room, I saw two very sick students who had drunk absinthe.
I happened to be there overnight, in a nearby cubicle, & I could hear them in the morning after waking, apologising profusely to the very patient staff. The two guys were no longer the Jack the Lads from the night before and were clearly mortified about the state they'd gotten into.
The dad of one of them arrived to collect him and proceeded to apologise to the staff for "these two wasting your time". He was furious!
Some things never change! Thanks for that.
Thanks for these videos. I watched your episodes in 2018 when I first read Ulysses. Now I am reading the book second time and coming back to your videos. First time reading I found this chapter pretty hard to grasp but at the second read I found the chapter surprisingly entertaining and even funny sometimes.
That is Ulysses. It opens up like a flower as we work it and relax. Thank you so much for your comments. Take care, stay well.
@@TeachUBusiness like a lotus!
You have helped! Especially your last comments about the language continuing to evolve, in light of Joyce's opposition to sticking strictly to old Irish language and old Irish tales and poetry.
“Back when I fit in my jeans” I felt that one on a personal level, Sirrah. Don’t throw any tins at me as I storm off 😂
Welcome! Are you enjoying your own odyssey? Great hearing from you.
Chris Reich thank you very much! Your videos are so wonderful. I have been listening to them while reading the book, and using Gifford’s annotations as well. You bring so many dimensions to the book; I don’t think it would have been possible to understand and enjoy it without your help. Yes I am on my own “Fool’s Journey,” not yet bloomed.
this chapter took me 2 months
Right, I've watched your video, read all the comments... I cant avoid the chapter any longer... I'm going in! Gulp! Wish me luck..
Chris I've only read the first few pages, slowly, and not much is going in. Is it okay to just.. read it without getting into it too much and taking what I can through the first run? It's not that I'm not trying, I just would like to read the book once all the way through without getting too serious about it. If not much goes in and I cant appreciate the genius, is this enough for the first time? Or would you reccomend trying to dig?
You made laugh out loud. Just get a sense of things. The language develops. That is the birth of language as the baby is coming. The scene in the doctor's is funny and touching as Bloom ditches drinks and keeps an eye on Stephen. You've got this!
@@TeachUBusiness so I decided to read it with the audio book because I just could not understand it on my own. At the start, I thought I could keep up with the audiobook.. but a third in and even that became.. nearly impossible. I could only really focus on what was being said in the moment. I absolutely would have no idea if it werent for you and the audio book. I've finished it anyhow. There are sections which are so beautiful and I definitely picked up bits of humour. It made me laugh many times. Also I got the sense of what you were saying with him trying to get down to depicting the reality of life..the realness. The audiobook using different voices to depict the different styles of writing helped.. a bit. There were parts at the start where I could decipher the different styles where it would go into mythological story telling or sort King Arthury style (I really know nothing about literature to reference anything)
I can only enjoy the chaos I guess
The next chapter is 5 hours long on Spotify 😖
Thank you so much for these wonderful videos and for sharing your Ulysses enthusiasm with the world.
I’m halfway through this episode, your video has been so enlightening! Ulysses is a wonderful journey to be on.
Good job! This is one of the most difficult in the entire book. Congratulations on your progress. Don't let the Oxen trample you!
Chris! I am Irish in my early twenties and picked Ulysses to write my thesis on. I am in the midst of writing it and find your videos to be the most helpful source in not only summarising the episodes - which I frequently have to re-read to plumb the depths of Joyce's murky prose - and keeping track of where the story is going, but also your insights make for very helpful interpretation and food for thought. If you're ever in Ireland I would love to buy you a drink. Cheers again. Happy reading
That's one of the nicest comments EVER. I'd love to take you up on that drink some day. Take care and thank you for your encouragement.
@@TeachUBusiness I just submitted the thesis last week haha I hope it does well. Thanks again Chris and stay safe
Hey Chris! Two years later after submission and I'm proud to say my thesis received an A! I can only think your amazing videos contributed to that. Hope you are well.
Chris, thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to produce this series. It has made reading Ulysses so much more enjoyable and takes the intimidation factor away completely.
Thank you so much for taking your time to give those very kind words. You have done it! Made it through the world's hardest book. Thank you and take care.
Thank you so much for these beautiful videos and for guiding us through this wonderful book. It has been a difficult journey at times but I am so happy that I decided to embark on this Odyssey and can feel now how much it is changing me.
Unlike with previous episodes, I found that rather than trying to make sense of Oxen of the Sun as I went along, I was completely engrossed by the writing and felt I had no choice but to allow myself to be carried along with it. While it was tough there was something about it that I found very comforting.
It reminded me that as humans we are each ineluctably caught up in the pain and confusion and wonder of life, miraculously getting through 'in spite of our human shortcomings' and this gave me a sense that I wasn't alone but was a part of something greater. Thanks to Joyce's art (definitely one of my heroes!) I felt connected to those who have been here before me, facing similar joys and pains, and I could almost sense them looking out for me in the same way that Bloom is watching over and caring for Stephen, even if he doesn't realise it yet.
The episode's assertion that we have no choice but to keep moving forward too, no matter how scary that may feel, meant so much to me, particularly as the threats we are collectively facing make it so easy to get lost in longing for the past.
That was beautiful and very well put, Rachel. I love your comments. And not only are we, as humans, on the great life journey, as readers we have for a mini-community and share this experience together. Thank you so much for your comments.
Chris, thank you so much for these videos, they are so helpful for reading Ulysses, really helped me grasp the context of it. It's easy to see in them all your passion and love for this book, which is very touching, really.
I first got the book at 16 years old, a literature teacher from high school used to say that it was one of the most difficult books that she'd ever read, so I felt I had to read it. Of course the omnipotent teenager failed miserably. Tried again at twentysomething, failed again. Failed again in my thirties.
Now I'm forty years old and finally made it to the end of the book. Such a strange feeling.. it's like Ulysses was there all this time just waiting for me to go through hundreds of other reads until I was finally ready for it.
Your videos are a great complement to the book. So thank you so much again!
Wow. Gabriel, your thoughtful comments are deeply touching and appreciated. I am so glad you made it through! Now you will find something amazing. Pick the book up, open to any page and read a little. You will be transported to a place and you'll see new things in the words. This will happen every time. It is an amazing book for special people. I commend you for making the effort and thank you for taking the time to comment. All the best to you!
@@TeachUBusiness will do! Thank you, Chris!
To address your closing remarks about the hero of the story:
Something interesting I have noticed about Modernist writers is they often intentionally lack a hero. Modernist writers are more focused on the uglier sides of humanity, which may be a response to their respective cultures and the massive changes Europe was facing as a result of rapid industrialization and urbanization. I do not believe the question one should be asking when reading Joyce, or any other Modernist (ie Hamsun, Proust, Hoffmansthal...) should be WHO is the hero, but WHY isn't there a clear hero?
This is a very interesting observation that you bring up. Modernism changed the entire structure of the novel. People often express that as "nothing happens". I would argue that a lot happens. As Joyce would say, the small daily events that we think are mundane are where the real action comes about. Life happens in a moment. The hero is redefined under this rule. Ulysses is a good example in that Bloom arguably makes a classic hero's journey. He's wronged, makes the journey, grows, and returns to conquer. The big jolt that changed thinking and darkened writing was the tragedy of World War 1. Western civilization went from the proper formality of the Victorian era with all things sanitized to the completely uncivilized world of death, disease (flu epidemic of 1919) and poisonous gas.
Isureamned Molly doesn’t appear in this episode, shitehawk.
Fantastic commentary, thank you for making a difficult read so much more digestible.
It means a lot to me to receive your comments. It is an extremely tough book to read. I hope that you are enjoying the book. It shouldn't be all struggle. Take care and please stay in touch.
Reading Ulysses for fun is an oxymoronic phrase if ever I saw one 😆
You can read it for pure fun if you have a few keys. Stick with it. Cyclops is a lot of fun.
“In womans womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not pass away” - the everlasting nature and beauty of art?
Perhaps.
Another great video. Your videos have helped me to not only enjoy Ulysses more, but I’ve also started reading The Odyssey (Emily Wilson’s translation). Her translation is great and not too flowery. She calls a spade a spade! Where other translators mentioned “maids/servants“ implying that they were free, she straight up translates them as slaves, which is more accurate b
This chapter is slowly killing my soul.
It's very tough. But keep this in mind. Joyce is showing off to make a point. ANYBODY can imitate a style. So going backwards isn't good. And, he's using childbirth to show how the English language was "gestated" to the present. And will continue to evolve and develop. It is a clever parallel. Watch how Stephen reacts to the lightning...and Bloom keeps unloading his drink. Start with the 35,000 ft. view and come in slowly. Move on when ready. Don't let the guys kill your oxen!
Chris Reich very tough, Chris, but I managed to get through it. By the way, Woman is the hero in this chapter for me.
Hi Chris, I haven't had the time to read Ulysses, but still enjoy watching your videos. I interpreted what you and Joyce said in different ways. Right when you made the example of "trying to write a sci-fi novel in Shakespearean language", it explained everything. The basis is 'having trust with new changes'. Besides the evolution of language, I was also thinking of 'the evolution of American society/politics'. I'm nearing my late 20's and haven't experienced America's changes like my father has experienced. You see society wants to hold on to these old traditional American, maybe overly-Christian values, but the new generation is changing having their own individual ideas sometimes still keeping traditions of their family with a little twist or some want a complete radical change of American culture. I'm more pessimistic about the changes happening to America in many different aspects but maybe some things will make a better change that we can see because we are so accustomed to the traditions that we grew up with and don't want to change for the sake of a new generation that will replace us. I guess what I'm trying to say is just like Joyce says we need to make language go forward and evolve, we need to let America (or wherever country you are from) go and unfold to whatever it will be. Wondering if you had thoughts about this as well. Look forward to the new videos!
Hi Nikolai! I hope you stay in touch! I was a little worried about you. No pressure to finish Ulysses. Pick it up again when you have time. I am so glad to hear from you.
Thanks so much, Chris. I am taking your word on if i had come this far, I will certainly reach the end of the book... wish me luck!
You will make it. Feel free to ask for encouragement any time. We will celebrate when you finish. Don't worry about understanding everything. Go slow and enjoy the book. Good luck. This is an accomplishment you will not regret.
This was a brilliant exploration of this episode. I've always focussed on the language while reading Oxen but you have encouraged me to look into the fertility themes a bit more. As well as being one of the more difficult episodes in my mind it's one of the best, along with Circe.
Thank you so much for your very kinds words. You are to be commended for your thoughts on this pretty tough episode. It is a fascinating piece of writing and subject to much analysis and you have experienced it. That is something to be proud of. Take care and that you so much.
Love these videos. It is helpful to read this difficult book within the context of a community. Your video helps support all of us joycean seekers.
Wow, thank you so much. Your comments mean a lot to me. I hope you are enjoying the book! Cheers
Thanks for staying the course, Chris. Your journey to complete this series follows the tradition of Odysseus and Bloom lol
Thank YOU! I really appreciate that. Your comment made me smile. I hope you stick through to the end.
Just finished the episode. Took longer to get through this one. I like how we finally discover the identity of the couple who came upon Father Conme after having sex in the hedges.
Joyce loves to make it real. You are making amazing progress!
Hello, Chris ☺️
Wow. I have no words for this chapter, honestly, i have read it three times already: before your video, then after and once again, but in English 😃 (as i'm reading it in Russian and wanted to "taste" the language games Joyce plays here).
Your commentary is extremely helpful!
Can't stop thinking about how much Joyce had in his brilliant head. To me every chapter is a whole great book itself. So i imagine we have 18 books under one cover. And this particular episode is like an anthology! And YET this is not even his only book. Amazingly amazing 💎
As always, huge thank you for your videos and replies))
Congratulations! This is one of the toughest episodes in the entire book! You might have noticed that every chapter is written in a different style. Joyce is a bit of a show off! Oxen is a rough one. from here out, it gets easier. I love your comments! Thank you.
@@TeachUBusiness ☺️ so good to hear from you ☺️ the other day i was talking to a person about Ulysses. And they said they loved Joyce's style of writing, and i was like "well, the style from which page?" 😅 and after that we spent about an hour flipping through the book, reading some highlighted bits from here and there) ended up with praising chapter 4 for all its disgusting food and delicious Molly 😅😅
@@TeachUBusiness also, "The Oxen" was such a throwback to my childhood nights, when i would lie in bed, and my grandmother would softly say her prayers, almost unintelligible and weird because of that old language. like at the beginning of the chapter
It's true that this was one of the easiest chapters so far. Having said that, I would've missed so much without your explanations. Thanks!
Thank you! I am pleased that you are enjoying this book! It's not easy but very worth the effort. Keep reading!
@@TeachUBusiness Oh dear! My comment was for the previous chapter, "Nausicaa". "Oxen of the Sun" is certainly not one of the easiest. It is very difficult! In fact I was about to comment here that I would've not made through it without you. Then I saw that I had already commented and discovered my mistake :-) Anyway, thanks once again for making "Ulysses" very enjoyable!
Great commentary about language evolving! You, and Joyce, J., have shed bright light on Searl, J., and Wittgenstein, L.'s philosophical observations that, as Eliot, T.S. so we'll said, "If I'm going to talk to you, I've got to use words," as I might dare add, 'as best my civilization allows, so far.'
13:50 A quote from Stephen Dedalus' diary at the end of a portrait of the artist as a young man, "Michael Robartes remembers forgotten beauty and, when his arms wrap her round, he presses in his arms the loveliness which has long faded from the world. Not this. Not at all. I desire to press in my arms the loveliness which has not yet come into the world."
Hello Chris, I have a doubt...Does Bloom join the drinking? Who is the part about the person staring at the bottle of beer referred to? I can't figure it out
I needed this video after reading this chapter. I came away from this chapter more frustrated than anything. Thank you for these
Chris you are a true gentleman - all my best wishes from Ireland - I've been following your wonderful series up to now and I know there will be a couple of tough chapters ahead but your enthusiasm and joy at every turn is just so infectious that you elevate the pleasure and wonder of Joyce to new heights. Heartfelt thanks from a Dubliner - John
Chris, is that the same whiskey for the whole series one per episode!! Out of interest what is your tipple? Assume it is Irish like Jameson.
Doing my first read, and your videos have been great. Thank you.
Is this episode the pastiches one's?
Yes, you could say that. This is an expression of birth of the English language through imitation of various styles from old to the modern.
Thank you. I think language is the hero.
"Imagine trying to write science fiction in Shakespearian English" (para). Pithy. This is one of my videos of yours. Thank you.
Zach, I love that you caught that! I am not very profound but I am happy that you see what is going on in this episode and are enjoying it!
Loved this! Thank you!
I'm listening to a podcast of the Irish Radio broadcast of Ulysses, performed by the RTE Players in 1982.
As Oxen of the Sun progresses, you can hear the language becoming more & more familiar as it moves through the different stages, and it does indeed remind you of the gradual development of the foetus, as more features develop at each stage of gestation.
My name is Dave by the way. Theo is my son.
Thanks a lot!
thanks CR
Does Joyce admire history? Respect it? Indifferent? Resentful? Thinks "it is what it is". Maybe a mixture of all of these? Being able to write this chapter and make all kinds of historical references, someone who gives the impression he has read every book on the planet, he doesn't strike me as someone who rejects history. I wondered if these different styles are parodies where he is deliberately showing us how absurd it is to write in these old styles to tell a story about what's happening in the hospital. But listening to the RTE dramatization while reading, even without knowing exactly what the heck is being said, the words flow and ring. While reading and thanks to your video, Chris, I felt both connected to people in the past, but at the same time feeling annoyed and frustrated by these excursions.
Hi Glen! What is perhaps noteworthy is that we get a birthing of English writing through his expression of the greatest styles through the ages, which is a fairly hefty task as it is; but he also, as you aptly express, tramples the reader with his erudition. Each episode is in a different style which gives plenty to decode. This episode is many styles which feels overwhelming. Despite all that, there are a lot of interesting little events. The lightning strike that scares Stephen, Bloom pouring drinks into the plant, and the nurse trying to keep order while the medical students get drunk. Let's bring the baby in with a full drinking binge in progress. Is it a birth or a wake? And in this endless cycle of life, it there much difference?
Yeah, do you think he made it intentionally “annoying” to prove the point that we have to leave that language in the past or is it more like a respectful nod to the past?
You mentioned that the Episode is broken up into 9 styles. However, using Ulysses Annotated by Gifford there are 31 styles in this episode. 31 styles vs. 9 styles? I can't find anything confirming the 9 styles you mentioned. Agreed that the episode charts the evolution of the language just want to verify the number of styles in this episode.
I think you will find numerous styles throughout the episode which I did not choose to break out. However, there is much academic discussion around the number of writers that Joyce imitates. I experience 9 rather broad categoric styles from very olde English to modern day prose. Within the categories are representations of numerous writers. Call it as many as you wish, really. The point is that Joyce is birthing language along with Mina Purefoy's baby. Enjoy the the book and don't get stuck in the weeds. Joyce said that academics would debate and try to solve puzzles for 100 years.
@@TeachUBusiness Thank you. I was thinking that breaking the episode down into 9 distinct styles was a brilliant or at least a clever idea. But if that idea becomes so diluted by having, actually 31 different styles, that the original concept of 9 gets totally lost. I was looking forward to reading the evolution of language in 9 parts. But if those 9 parts can't be identified trough the 'weeds' of 31 parts, it seems like a mute concept. With 31 different styles, it's hard to say that Joyce is making a parallel between the birth of a human baby and the English language by using 9 styles. That's what I'm getting at. I'm not looking for an academic analysis, just clarity on the concept.
Just started reading. Perhaps the unborn baby is the hero. “Before born babe bliss had, within womb won he worship.” Maybe since the baby is yet to be tainted by life, still pure and sinless, perhaps that is the hero?
Language is the hero. Joyce gives you the bi5rth of the English language starting with the earliest form of old English through to the modern. Then the baby arrives.
Chris Reich ah, makes sense. I was in the mindset of human hero. Well played...