Chapter 1 of Ulysses is here in full — 554 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Ulysses is here in full — 554 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: —_Introibo ad altare Dei_. Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
Chapter 1 of Ulysses is here in full — 554 sentences across 111 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/110 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading “He held the bowl aloft and intoned:”
uttered in a monotonous cadence or rhythm as in chanting
From this reading “He held the bowl aloft and intoned:”
the froth produced by soaps or detergents
From this reading “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
Irish version of burgoo
From this reading “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:”
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading “Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading “A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
a public promotion of some product or service
From this reading —_Introibo ad altare Dei_.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
at or on or to the masthead or upper rigging of a ship
From this reading He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —_Introibo ad altare Dei_.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
relevant relation or interconnection
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
a round vessel that is open at the top; used chiefly for holding food or liquids
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
to strive with determination
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
in coarse pieces
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
placed crosswise
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —_Introibo ad altare Dei_.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
in a gradual manner
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
past form of “halt” — cause to stop
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
uttered in a monotonous cadence or rhythm as in chanting
From this reading He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —_Introibo ad altare Dei_.
the froth produced by soaps or detergents
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
polished surface that forms images by reflecting light
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
Irish version of burgoo
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
edge tool used in shaving
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
platform at the top of a staircase
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
a flight of stairs or a flight of steps
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
impressive in appearance
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
maintained at length without interruption or weakening
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.
marked by repeated turns and bends
From this reading Halted, he peered down the dark winding stairs and called out coarsely:
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air.
Chapter 1 of Ulysses by James Joyce holds 554 sentences, grouped into 111 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 554 sentences of Ulysses, unabridged, divided into 111 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Ulysses by James Joyce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 554 sentences, grouped into 111 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 111 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 111 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Ulysses by James Joyce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ulysses section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Ulysses to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Ulysses, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
