Ulysses

Ulysses Grant was a hero.

Happy is he who has, like Ulysses, made a wonderful journey.

Ulysses asked his men to tie him to the mast.

James Joyce's Ulysses is a stream-of-consciousness narrative.

"What Myrmidon, or who / of stern Ulysses' warriors can withhold / his tears, to tell such things, as thou would'st have re-told?"

"Thus while they waver and, perplex with doubt, / urge diverse counsels, and in parts divide, / lo, from the citadel, foremost of a rout, / breathless Laocoon runs, and from afar cries out: / 'Ah! wretched townsmen! do ye think the foe / gone, or that guileless are their gifts? O blind / with madness! Thus Ulysses do ye know?'"

"But when, through sly Ulysses' envious hate, / he left the light – alas! the tale ye know –, / stricken, I mused indignant on his fate, / and dragged my days in solitude and woe."

"Nor in my madness kept my purpose low, / but vowed, if e'er should happier chance invite, / and bring me home a conqueror, even so / my comrade's death with vengeance to requite. / My words aroused his wrath; thence evil's earliest blight. / Thenceforth Ulysses sought with slanderous tongue / to daunt me, scattering in the people's ear / dark hints, and looked for partners of his wrong; / nor rested, till with Calchas' aid, the seer..."

"But why the thankless story should ye hear? / Why stay your hand? If Grecians in your sight / are all alike, ye know enough; take here / your vengeance. Dearly will my death delight / Ulysses, well the deed will Atreus' sons requite."

"Then straight Ulysses, 'mid tumultuous cries, / drags Calchas forth, and bids the seer unfold / the dark and doubtful meaning of the skies. / Many e'en then the schemer's crime foretold, / and, silent, saw my destiny unrolled."