Chapter 17 of Ulysses is here in full — 565 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Ulysses is here in full — 565 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
—The height of fine society. And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary. Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed: —Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock! —And Harry of six wives’ daughter.
Chapter 17 of Ulysses is here in full — 565 sentences across 113 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/113 · 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.
highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)
From this reading “—Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!”
to strive with determination
From this reading “Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:”
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading “And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.”
Irish version of burgoo
From this reading “Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:”
possessive form of “oxford” — a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University
having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
From this reading “Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:”
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:”
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “—And Harry of six wives’ daughter.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!
highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)
From this reading —Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!
to strive with determination
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
a small open container usually used for drinking; usually has a handle
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
a female human offspring
From this reading —And Harry of six wives’ daughter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading —The height of fine society.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
annoy continually or chronically
From this reading —And Harry of six wives’ daughter.
the vertical dimension of extension; distance from the base of something to the top
From this reading —The height of fine society.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading —Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading —Blessed Margaret Mary Anycock!
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
Irish version of burgoo
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading —The height of fine society.
possessive form of “oxford” — a city in southern England to the northwest of London; site of Oxford University
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
past form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
term of address for a man
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one
From this reading —And Harry of six wives’ daughter.
an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
From this reading —The height of fine society.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading —The height of fine society.
having been turned so that the bottom is no longer the bottom
From this reading Buck Mulligan, his pious eyes upturned, prayed:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And sir William Davenant of Oxford’s mother with her cup of canary for any cockcanary.
plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading —And Harry of six wives’ daughter.
Chapter 17 of Ulysses by James Joyce holds 565 sentences, grouped into 113 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 17 holds 565 sentences of Ulysses, unabridged, divided into 113 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Ulysses by James Joyce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 565 sentences, grouped into 113 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 113 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 113 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 17 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.
