Ulysses Lesson Plan

Describe Homer's rendition of the Sirens, and then how Joyce creates a parallel between Homer's Sirens and Joyce's (the Ormond barmaids).

Homer's Sirens were hybrid bird-women who were perched on a perilous rocky shore. Despite their hideous physical appearance, the Sirens were able to entice sailors with their alluring voices, fitting within The Odyssey's series of female enchantresses. Ulysses was pre-warned that the sirens would lure sailors by song and then viciously devour them. Indeed their rocky crag was largely composed of bleached bones. Ulysses ordered his men to stop their ears with wax before they passed through the Sirens' territory. He did not have his...