What is “the heaventree of stars” in Ulysses?
“The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit” is the sight Bloom and Stephen see when they step into the garden of 7 Eccles Street in Episode 17. A rare burst of poetry in a chapter written as dry questions and answers, it pictures the night sky as a tree of fruit.
Edited by Aidan O'Leary · Last updated 30 October 2026
Where it appears
Episode 17, Ithaca. An answer in the Ithaca catechism, as the two men leave the kitchen for the back garden.
The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.
What it means in plain English
The question asks what spectacle confronted them as they emerged into the garden. The answer is a single lyrical sentence, then the catechism goes back to its cool, scientific tone and Bloom's thoughts about the size of the universe.
“Heaventree” joins heaven and tree into one word. The stars hang like fruit, damp with night air.
Literary context
The tree of heaven echoes Yggdrasil, the world tree of Norse myth, and the tree of knowledge in Eden.
References
- Ulysses, Episode 17, “Ithaca”
- Don Gifford with Robert J. Seidman, Ulysses Annotated (revised edition, 1988)
Continue in the Reading Room
Questions readers ask
Who sees the heaventree of stars?
Bloom and Stephen, in the garden behind 7 Eccles Street at about 2 am.
Why is Ithaca written as questions?
Joyce used the form of a catechism to tell the homecoming coolly, as if by a scientist.
Related terms
Catechism style (Ithaca)
Episode 17, “Ithaca”, is written as a series of over 300 questions and answers, like a church catechism or a science exam. Bloom brings Stephen home, and every detail is reported coldly and exactly, down to the route of the water from the reservoir to his tap.
Eccles Street
The Blooms' home address (number 7), where Bloom's day begins in 'Calypso.'
Parallax
Parallax is the way an object seems to shift position when seen from two different places. Bloom remembers the word from a popular astronomy book in Episode 8 and admits he never understood it. It suits a novel that shows Dublin from many viewpoints.