Ulysses Terms

The Ascot Gold Cup is a prestigious horserace held in England every June. read analysis of Ascot Gold Cup

In South Africa, the British Empire went to war with two independent states of white settlers (Boers) from 1899 to 1902. Irishmen served in both sides of the war: thousands of Irish soldiers fought as… read analysis of Boer War

In a high-profile 1889 case that shook Dublin, Samuel Childs was accused of murdering his brother Thomas. Thanks to a brilliant defense by the attorney Seymour Bushe, Samuel Childs was acquitted. James Joyce attended… read analysis of Childs Murder Case

“The Croppy Boy” is an Irish folk song about a young revolutionary (or “croppy”) who participated in the failed Irish Rebellion of 1798. The young man stops in a church to confess his sins, but… read analysis of “The Croppy Boy”

Don Giovanni is a celebrated Mozart opera based on the legend of the seducer and rapist Don Juan. During Ulysses, Molly Bloom is practicing to sing “Là ci darem la mano,” a duet from… read analysis of Don Giovanni

“Là ci darem la mano” (or “Là ci darem” for short) is a duet from a seduction scene in Mozart’s celebrated opera Don Giovanni. The duet, whose name means “there we will give each… read analysis of “Là ci darem”

Edward VII was the king of the United Kingdom and ruler of its empire from 1901 to 1910 (including during the events of Ulysses in 1904). read analysis of Edward VII

Elijah is a prophet in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the Hebrew Bible, Elijah lived in the ninth century B.C., performed miracles, and is fated to return some time before the end of days. read analysis of Elijah

Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly infectious viral disease that affects many kinds of livestock, including cattle. read analysis of Foot and Mouth Disease

Gibraltar, Molly Bloom’s hometown, is a small British territory and longtime military base located at the southern tip of Spain. read analysis of Gibraltar

Guinness is a well-known Irish beer and brewery. read analysis of Guinness

The ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate in the late eighth and early ninth centuries, Haroun al Raschid helped launch the Islamic Golden Age by investing heavily in science, diplomacy, and trade. He is frequently referenced… read analysis of Haroun al Raschid

The Invincibles were a group of radical Irish nationalists that briefly existed in the 1880s and committed the Phoenix Park murders. read analysis of Invincibles

Leah the Forsaken (or just Leah, for short) is the American dramatist Augustin Daly’s 1862 play by about a Hungarian Jewish refugee woman who falls in love with an Austrian man named Rudolf, but… read analysis of Leah the Forsaken

Limericks are a genre of comic Irish rhyming poem. read analysis of Limerick

“Love’s Old Sweet Song” is a popular 19th century love song about the endless and enduring nature of love. It is one of the two songs that Molly Bloom practices for her upcoming concert tour… read analysis of “Love’s Old Sweet Song”

“M’appari tutt’amor” is a famous aria from the Italian version of the extremely popular 19th century German romantic opera Martha. read analysis of “M’appari”

A Martello Tower is a kind of short defensive stone artillery tower that the English built across the United Kingdom and the British Empire during the 19th century. At the beginning of Ulysses, Stephen… read analysis of Martello Tower

In ancient Greek philosophy, metempsychosis was the concept of reincarnation, or the idea that the soul migrates into a new body upon death. read analysis of Metempsychosis

Nelson’s Pillar was a large, politically controversial granite monument to the British admiral Horatio Nelson that stood in central Dublin from 1809 until 1966. read analysis of Nelson’s Pillar

The “Circe” episode is set in “nighttown,” which is a code name for Dublin’s notorious Monto neighborhood. In the early 20th century, this extremely poor area was the largest red-light district in Europe. Monto’s prostitutes… read analysis of Nighttown

“Omphalos” is the Ancient Greek word for “navel,” but it also referred to sacred stones—particularly the monument in Delphi that was believed to mark the center of the world. read analysis of Omphalos

Parallax is the visual effect in which different observers located in different positions view the same object as located in different places or directions. In astronomy, parallax is also the name for the amount that… read analysis of Parallax

Parnell was a popular, influential Irish nationalist politician, active in the late 1800s, who is widely seen as the Home Rule (independence) movement’s greatest leader and popularizer. read analysis of Charles Stewart Parnell

In Dublin’s Phoenix Park in 1882, the Invincibles stabbed and killed two British imperial civil servants, the Chief Secretary and Permanent Undersecretary for Ireland. The killers were convicted and hanged, and Skin-the-Goat, the driver… read analysis of Phoenix Park Murders

A pianola is a player piano. read analysis of Pianola

In the third century B.C., Pyrrhus was the king of Epirus, a state located in modern-day Albania and Greece. Pyrrhus fought the Pyrrhic War to prevent the Romans from encroaching on Greece, and he was… read analysis of Pyrrhus

The Liffey is the main river that runs through Dublin. read analysis of River Liffey

Sandycove is the seaside neighborhood southeast of central Dublin where Stephen Dedalus, Buck Mulligan, and Haines live in the Martello tower. read analysis of Sandycove

Sandymount Strand is a beach southeast of central Dublin and the setting of episodes three (“Proteus”) and thirteen (“Nausicaa”). read analysis of Sandymount Strand

A shilling was a unit in the old British currency system. Twelve pennies made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound. read analysis of Shilling

Theosophy was an occultist religion founded in the 1870s by the Russian mystic Madame Blavatsky, which was based on eclectic, often exaggerated interpretations of Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. read analysis of Theosophy

“Who Goes With Fergus?” is a 1892 lyric poem by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. In the poem, Yeats references the mythical Irish king and poet Fergus in order to encourage people to focus… read analysis of “Who Goes With Fergus?”