Greetings! We've made it to the end of Chapter Two, having read 'The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly' for this week, an interesting version here. It's very exciting to feel as if we're making real progress through the Wake. Some thoughts below...
'The Ballad' appears, at least in one sense, to recapitulate the general narrative of the first two chapters. Beginning with HCEs misdemeanour (cf. 47.02: 'to go and shove himself that way on top of her'; although much more than a little misdemeanour in this iteration) in Phoenix Park, we also have reiterated the religious and political elements of the Parnell narrative, parallelling HCEs own transgressions.
45.28 'Balbaccio, balbuccio!' A delightful insult of HCE for his stuttering ('fafafather' (45.13), 'chaw chaw chops' (45.29), 'hippopopotamuns' (47.08)), combining, according to McHugh, the "diminutive" and "perjorative" suffixes of the Italian.
46.09-11 'bom...Bimbam...bum' A strange similarity to Beckett's play What Where in which the four characters are named Bam Bem Bim and Bom.
Joyce also retells the tale of the Viking invasions (46.18-24), as the language shifts from a generally romance-based etymology to that of the low countries. There's a surreal exchange between the invading character (with family in tow) speaking with Dublin's Poolbeg Lighthouse.
Song-wise, it all appears to end quite poorly for HCE. A dispute with ALP is brooding, and ALP is also the pesky earwig in HCEs ear. He also appears to be threatened not only with fire ('we'll bonfire all his trash, tricks and trumpery' (46.06)), but the citizens want to kill him outright and bury him in Oxmanstown so that 'not all the king's men nor his horses / Will resurrect his corpus' (47.26-7).
I do, however, have a question on the significance of the invocation of four great writers at 47.19: 'Suffoclose! Shikespower! Suedodanto! Anonymoses!' Are these names invoked because their characters succumb to tragic (and often gruesome) fates? or is there perhaps a further significance that I can't perceive?
We're meeting on the 5th of June at 1 pm to tackle the beginnings of Chapter Three, from 48.01 to 51.20. All welcome of course, both to join our group or to comment below. JG
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Thursday, 10 May 2012
042.17 to 044.21
Hi all. We grappled with a much more manageable two pages this week, and had a great time doing so. A few thoughts from me that appear (at this moment) relevant:
42.17 "lieder" When we discussed how we would approach the lead in to 'The Balled of Persse O'Reilly' Lou observed that the final paragraph before the song appeared to owe much to songwriting and musicality in general. I think that we lucked out beginning where we did, because 'lieder' in the first line of our reading is the German for 'songs.' So, we are immediately inducted by Joyce into a musical register.
42.20 "(Eleutheriodendron! Spare, woodmann, spare!)" A very neat metaphor for freedom that is initially developed from the comparison between HCE and ALP pursued in the previous couple of lines, then reiterated by the linking of freedom and the tree (both from the Greek). Also of note: Beckett's first play (written in 1947, published after his death in 1995) is Eleutheria.
This short section suggested to me a strong similarity to the 'Circe' section of Ulysses, in which Bloom's wanderings through the night are slowly populated by more and more characters (including all those who have previously appeared in the text; cf. "supercrowd" (42.22)) before the entire scene explodes in rhapsody. This build up to celebration (or a song in FW's case) appears to owe much to musical theatre in which characters slowly gather on stage, the narrative continuing, until a musical cue (like 44.23) stops time, and all the characters present sing a song.
Although the temporal structure of FW is in no way clear to me yet, the temporal disruption of the 'The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly' definitely suggests that time is not simple within the novel. Staggering observation I know... However, the temporal disruption of musical theatre is doubled here by the various other disruptions of space and geography that Joyce includes. Most notably on 42 and 43 what began in the previous pages as a group of drunks badgering HCE for drink quickly expands to include all of Dublin, then the UK, and into Gaul and (ancient) western Europe.
Our next meeting is on 22 May at 1 pm, reading from 44.24 to 47.29 (the end of chapter two). Progress is being made!
As usual, I plead for comments, which can be entered below this post. I'd also appreciate you 'following' my blog. This will get you regular updates and more (perhaps). There's a button somewhere on your right for it. Finally, Lou sent me this link, which encapsulates some of the many emotions I've had whilst reading the Wake. http://biblioklept.org/2012/05/07/finnegans-wake-with-bunny/ Check it out!
JG
42.17 "lieder" When we discussed how we would approach the lead in to 'The Balled of Persse O'Reilly' Lou observed that the final paragraph before the song appeared to owe much to songwriting and musicality in general. I think that we lucked out beginning where we did, because 'lieder' in the first line of our reading is the German for 'songs.' So, we are immediately inducted by Joyce into a musical register.
42.20 "(Eleutheriodendron! Spare, woodmann, spare!)" A very neat metaphor for freedom that is initially developed from the comparison between HCE and ALP pursued in the previous couple of lines, then reiterated by the linking of freedom and the tree (both from the Greek). Also of note: Beckett's first play (written in 1947, published after his death in 1995) is Eleutheria.
This short section suggested to me a strong similarity to the 'Circe' section of Ulysses, in which Bloom's wanderings through the night are slowly populated by more and more characters (including all those who have previously appeared in the text; cf. "supercrowd" (42.22)) before the entire scene explodes in rhapsody. This build up to celebration (or a song in FW's case) appears to owe much to musical theatre in which characters slowly gather on stage, the narrative continuing, until a musical cue (like 44.23) stops time, and all the characters present sing a song.
Although the temporal structure of FW is in no way clear to me yet, the temporal disruption of the 'The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly' definitely suggests that time is not simple within the novel. Staggering observation I know... However, the temporal disruption of musical theatre is doubled here by the various other disruptions of space and geography that Joyce includes. Most notably on 42 and 43 what began in the previous pages as a group of drunks badgering HCE for drink quickly expands to include all of Dublin, then the UK, and into Gaul and (ancient) western Europe.
Our next meeting is on 22 May at 1 pm, reading from 44.24 to 47.29 (the end of chapter two). Progress is being made!
As usual, I plead for comments, which can be entered below this post. I'd also appreciate you 'following' my blog. This will get you regular updates and more (perhaps). There's a button somewhere on your right for it. Finally, Lou sent me this link, which encapsulates some of the many emotions I've had whilst reading the Wake. http://biblioklept.org/2012/05/07/finnegans-wake-with-bunny/ Check it out!
JG
Friday, 27 April 2012
038.09 to 042.16
Greeting all. We made significant process in our last meeting, moving through almost 5 (!) pages! As usual, a few brief comments from me, and as usual, I'd appreciate any comments. Let me know what I've missed, what I misunderstood, what I didn't get at all...no claims to understand absolutely here.
38.23: 'the gossiple so delivered in his epistolear' McHugh tells us that the gospel and the epistle are the opposite sides of a Christian altar. Not really what we were interested in though. I really appreciate Joyce's means of building up layers of allusions miles before the fact; that is, the 'gossiple' and the 'epistolear' both seem to question the truth of the written document, a fact that will be important to us when we come across a letter again...
39 and 40: No specific references here, but a more general comment on Joyce's references to horse racing. Joyce has shown his interest in the sport of kings previously (see 'Lotus Eaters' in Ulysses). There's almost a sense of repetition here, with a cast of characters remonstrating and sympathising after being unsuccessful on the punt. Except perhaps for W.W. (Winny Widger (39.11)), who 'goes through the card', which, according to McHugh is to get up on every race at the meet.
40.05: 'alcoh alcoho alcoherently' I've previously posted on stutters within the text (motivated much by Chris Eagle's work on same) but I've got to say I think this is the best stutter I've come across so far.
42.09-10: 'I want money. Pleasend.' A moment very reflective of the author, who lived for the best part of his life in a hand to mouth existence. From memory, this was one of JJ's less polite means of requesting a top up from his brother Stanislaus when things were getting tight.
We're meeting on the 8th of May to read from 42.17 to 44.21. As usual all are welcome. Please comment below!
JG
38.23: 'the gossiple so delivered in his epistolear' McHugh tells us that the gospel and the epistle are the opposite sides of a Christian altar. Not really what we were interested in though. I really appreciate Joyce's means of building up layers of allusions miles before the fact; that is, the 'gossiple' and the 'epistolear' both seem to question the truth of the written document, a fact that will be important to us when we come across a letter again...
39 and 40: No specific references here, but a more general comment on Joyce's references to horse racing. Joyce has shown his interest in the sport of kings previously (see 'Lotus Eaters' in Ulysses). There's almost a sense of repetition here, with a cast of characters remonstrating and sympathising after being unsuccessful on the punt. Except perhaps for W.W. (Winny Widger (39.11)), who 'goes through the card', which, according to McHugh is to get up on every race at the meet.
40.05: 'alcoh alcoho alcoherently' I've previously posted on stutters within the text (motivated much by Chris Eagle's work on same) but I've got to say I think this is the best stutter I've come across so far.
42.09-10: 'I want money. Pleasend.' A moment very reflective of the author, who lived for the best part of his life in a hand to mouth existence. From memory, this was one of JJ's less polite means of requesting a top up from his brother Stanislaus when things were getting tight.
We're meeting on the 8th of May to read from 42.17 to 44.21. As usual all are welcome. Please comment below!
JG
Monday, 16 April 2012
034.30 to 038.08
Greeting all!
At our last meeting we read the bulk of HCEs encounter with the cad, a hilarious section that highlighted the ironies of HCEs character. As usual, simply a couple of observations from me; it'd be great to hear your comments (which can be made below).
35.01-02 'They tell the story (an amalgam as absorbing as calzium chloereydes and hyrdrophobe sponges could make it)...' I think one of my most regular observations on the wake is the importance of irony and sarcasm to the presentation of the narrative. As the narrator introduces the reader to the encounter between the two characters, Joyce jumps between complexity and simplicity. The parenthetical interruption presents a doubled sort of irony, the first the distinction between a 'hydrophobe sponge' and calcium chloride (which absorbs water). This almost paradoxical comparison is then applied to the story we're about to read, an ironic questioning (as least for me) of some of the more wacky of Joyce's narratological techniques.
35.01-11 Similar to my observation above, in establishing the scene for the encounter builds layer upon layer of detail. This appears to be undermined by the very simplicity of the conclusion to the sentence, in which we are finally told that "he [HCE] met a cad with a pipe." This combination of ambiguity and clarity works effectively with HCEs blundering attempts to explain himself whilst simultaneously attempting to interpret the cads intentions.
35.32-36.13 Perhaps the combination of clarity and obfuscation should be interpreted as Joyce's representation of HCEs speaking style; a combination of pomposity and simplicity. The passage I'm referring to here is only part of HCEs response to the cad's request for the time (for which HCE consults his 'chronometrum drumdrum' whilst also hearing the church bells and exclaiming that it is 'twelve of em sidereal and tankard time'. Most crucial (or perhaps just funny) to me is a bracketed interjection in which the narrator pokes fun at HCEs style, describing an imaginary tome, 'the Sayings Attributive of H. C. Earwicker'. Definitely not the saviour here, but Joyce again seems to poke fun at himself and his characters simultaneously.
A very brief series of observations, with much more possible from the very famous passage. Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
We're meeting on Tuesday the 24th of April, at 1 pm, reading from 38.09 to 42.16 (although I'm sure we'll get nowhere near to the end!)
JG
At our last meeting we read the bulk of HCEs encounter with the cad, a hilarious section that highlighted the ironies of HCEs character. As usual, simply a couple of observations from me; it'd be great to hear your comments (which can be made below).
35.01-02 'They tell the story (an amalgam as absorbing as calzium chloereydes and hyrdrophobe sponges could make it)...' I think one of my most regular observations on the wake is the importance of irony and sarcasm to the presentation of the narrative. As the narrator introduces the reader to the encounter between the two characters, Joyce jumps between complexity and simplicity. The parenthetical interruption presents a doubled sort of irony, the first the distinction between a 'hydrophobe sponge' and calcium chloride (which absorbs water). This almost paradoxical comparison is then applied to the story we're about to read, an ironic questioning (as least for me) of some of the more wacky of Joyce's narratological techniques.
35.01-11 Similar to my observation above, in establishing the scene for the encounter builds layer upon layer of detail. This appears to be undermined by the very simplicity of the conclusion to the sentence, in which we are finally told that "he [HCE] met a cad with a pipe." This combination of ambiguity and clarity works effectively with HCEs blundering attempts to explain himself whilst simultaneously attempting to interpret the cads intentions.
35.32-36.13 Perhaps the combination of clarity and obfuscation should be interpreted as Joyce's representation of HCEs speaking style; a combination of pomposity and simplicity. The passage I'm referring to here is only part of HCEs response to the cad's request for the time (for which HCE consults his 'chronometrum drumdrum' whilst also hearing the church bells and exclaiming that it is 'twelve of em sidereal and tankard time'. Most crucial (or perhaps just funny) to me is a bracketed interjection in which the narrator pokes fun at HCEs style, describing an imaginary tome, 'the Sayings Attributive of H. C. Earwicker'. Definitely not the saviour here, but Joyce again seems to poke fun at himself and his characters simultaneously.
A very brief series of observations, with much more possible from the very famous passage. Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below.
We're meeting on Tuesday the 24th of April, at 1 pm, reading from 38.09 to 42.16 (although I'm sure we'll get nowhere near to the end!)
JG
Thursday, 15 March 2012
033.14 to 034.29
Greetings all! We're back amongst the Wake. We had a good turnout last week (thanks to all who came along), but if you'd prefer we operate on a different day let me know, and hopefully we can be available to all. Here goes on my (minimal) thoughts on what was a diverting page and a half.
33.16-17: 'the stinks of Mohorat are in the nightplots of the morning' Although this is one of those bracketed phrases that you might be tempted to ignore, I reckon a little thinking is useful for this one. We're in the thick of the various revelations of HCEs crime, at this point being revealed as a 'baser meaning...by certain wisecrackers'. The insertion in brackets then appears inevitably ironic. "Mohorat" is glossed by McHugh as pertaining to the Hebrew for tomorrow. So HCEs crime ('the stink' of tomorrow) appears to take place also in the dream of that specific day. I sense a real temporal manipulation on Joyce's part, and one that will be crucial later in the text.
33.28: 'Faun and Flora' Not a huge revelation, but the first of a series of related pairs that occur within the next page or two; cf. 'wapt from weft' (34.24) and 'vert or venison' (34.25). The distinction is between opposites, and for both the first and third, is between the animal and the vegetable.
33.32-34.09: Another passage too long to quote (beginning 'Truth, beard on prophet...') Of note is the number of Latin words that appear, mimicing the legalese and cant of the court system. Although HCE is not on trial yet, the narrator adopts the legal tone for a large section of these pages, assaying a defence that always seems on the verge of revealing precisely what it is seeking to deny.
34.28-9: 'an abnormal Saint Swithin's summer and, [...] a ripe occasion to provoke it.' The failed justification for HCEs crime. Coming hot on the heels of a series of references to fertility and fecundity, it is no surprise that the weather on Saint Swithin's day (15 July) is popularly supposed to recur for the following forty days. The wetness of the season appears to prompt the distinctions above between plant and animal; perhaps there's something to be made of Swithin's name appearing to derive from "swine", although I'm not so sure whether it's HCE who's the pig or if it's the viewers.
As usual I'd love to read any feedback you have. Please comment below!
We're next meeting on March 20, at 1 pm unless I post changing the time. We're reading 34.30 to 38.08. JG
33.16-17: 'the stinks of Mohorat are in the nightplots of the morning' Although this is one of those bracketed phrases that you might be tempted to ignore, I reckon a little thinking is useful for this one. We're in the thick of the various revelations of HCEs crime, at this point being revealed as a 'baser meaning...by certain wisecrackers'. The insertion in brackets then appears inevitably ironic. "Mohorat" is glossed by McHugh as pertaining to the Hebrew for tomorrow. So HCEs crime ('the stink' of tomorrow) appears to take place also in the dream of that specific day. I sense a real temporal manipulation on Joyce's part, and one that will be crucial later in the text.
33.28: 'Faun and Flora' Not a huge revelation, but the first of a series of related pairs that occur within the next page or two; cf. 'wapt from weft' (34.24) and 'vert or venison' (34.25). The distinction is between opposites, and for both the first and third, is between the animal and the vegetable.
33.32-34.09: Another passage too long to quote (beginning 'Truth, beard on prophet...') Of note is the number of Latin words that appear, mimicing the legalese and cant of the court system. Although HCE is not on trial yet, the narrator adopts the legal tone for a large section of these pages, assaying a defence that always seems on the verge of revealing precisely what it is seeking to deny.
34.28-9: 'an abnormal Saint Swithin's summer and, [...] a ripe occasion to provoke it.' The failed justification for HCEs crime. Coming hot on the heels of a series of references to fertility and fecundity, it is no surprise that the weather on Saint Swithin's day (15 July) is popularly supposed to recur for the following forty days. The wetness of the season appears to prompt the distinctions above between plant and animal; perhaps there's something to be made of Swithin's name appearing to derive from "swine", although I'm not so sure whether it's HCE who's the pig or if it's the viewers.
As usual I'd love to read any feedback you have. Please comment below!
We're next meeting on March 20, at 1 pm unless I post changing the time. We're reading 34.30 to 38.08. JG
Friday, 9 March 2012
To begin again...
Hi all,
After a break over the summer we're back on the horse.
We're meeting on Tuesday the 13th from 1 in the Writing and Society lounge to read 033.14 to 036.34.
Would love to see you there.
Cheers,
JG
After a break over the summer we're back on the horse.
We're meeting on Tuesday the 13th from 1 in the Writing and Society lounge to read 033.14 to 036.34.
Would love to see you there.
Cheers,
JG
Thursday, 3 November 2011
030.01 to 033.13
Greetings again! We've valiantly charged through Chapter 1 (including some very perplexing moments toward the end) and yesterday met to discuss this beginning of Chapter 2. As always, simply some brief comments and thoughts from me. And yes, please comment, it'd be great to get some further dialogue happening.
Re-reading this section again, it appears as if the links to Beowulf that we briefly touched on are more relevant than I first thought. So, aside from the first word of the chapter, 'Now', which operates similarly to the first word of Beowulf ('So') in immediately dropping you into the middle of the narrative (in media res?), two other themes seem to fit in. Firstly, the desire to name HCE. You'll remember that Beowulf is absolutely concerned with making his name and fulfilling the familial honour that was so important at that time. I guess when we consider HCEs naming, there is the obvious sense of dishonour which colours the name—at the same time, however, I get the sense that HCEs flippancy (cf. 'honest blunt Haromphreyld' (031.8-9) is supposed to be a joyous rebellion—the Irish 'up yours' to the idea both of a British ruler, but also of the associated suggestion of the destruction of independence.
Secondly, the historical references to Vikings and to the Low Countries as a whole resonates with the world of Beowulf.
031.11-28 Obviously I can't quote this entire sentence, but I thought this was a really important indication of the strangeness of Joyce's narratological approach here. This sentence has (on my count) around 25 clauses in it. And despite the proliferation of commas throughout, there is still a real sense of ambiguity as to the exact meaning of the sentence, especially when you consider that the first clause: 'Our sailor king' appears only to be taken up again on line 24, with 'remarked dilsydulsily'. So aside from the inventiveness that Joyce showcases in the language used, there is a further sense of difficulty created with the amount of detail one must retain just in reading a sentence. From what I understand this is not a fleeting issue either; we're in for page long questions with one word answers when we get to the 'Night Letters'.
031.35-36: 'Are those their fata which we read in sibylline between the fas and its nefas?' This is an intriguing sentence. I'm assuming we're referring here to HCE still, although there could be some biblical/Egyptian Book of the Dead references as well. 'Fata' is the Latin fate, while '(ne)fas' are right and wrong or possible and impossible. My interest stems primarily from Joyce's inclusion of 'sibylline', which immediately raises in my mind an allusion to Coleridge's 1817 book of verse Sibylline Leaves. This also resonates then with Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the debates that have carried on over what the leaves stand for in the title. I guess what I'm trying to get to is that 'sibylline' implies the leaves of the book, which suggests that this sentence is far more indicative of the purposes of FW than we may first consider.
032.31,32: 'homedromed and enliventh' 'millentury': I'm most interested by the first quotation, which sounds suspiciously (and is glossed by McHugh as) 111. This is important because we've already stumbled across the significance of 1132, and the millentury (1100) previously. In English cricket, 111 is considered an unlucky score for a batsman, and is known as the 'Nelson', reputedly because Lord Nelson had one arm, one leg and one eye. Spectators watching a game where the batsman makes it to 111 are encouraged to stand upon one leg until the batsmen has moved on from that score. If you think I'm making it up, have a look at the Wikipedia link.
033.02 'veritable Napolean the Nth': a great name, and one that is absolutely appropriate for the man otherwise known as 'Here Comes Everybody' (032.18-19). A subtle reference to infinity by Joyce here, the number line being constituted by the equation n+1. Even HCE can't escape from the inevitability of Vico's ricorso.
As I said above, please comment on my ramblings and let me know where I've gone wrong! We're reading 033.14 to 036.34 meeting at 1 pm on the 16th of November. See you there. JG
Re-reading this section again, it appears as if the links to Beowulf that we briefly touched on are more relevant than I first thought. So, aside from the first word of the chapter, 'Now', which operates similarly to the first word of Beowulf ('So') in immediately dropping you into the middle of the narrative (in media res?), two other themes seem to fit in. Firstly, the desire to name HCE. You'll remember that Beowulf is absolutely concerned with making his name and fulfilling the familial honour that was so important at that time. I guess when we consider HCEs naming, there is the obvious sense of dishonour which colours the name—at the same time, however, I get the sense that HCEs flippancy (cf. 'honest blunt Haromphreyld' (031.8-9) is supposed to be a joyous rebellion—the Irish 'up yours' to the idea both of a British ruler, but also of the associated suggestion of the destruction of independence.
Secondly, the historical references to Vikings and to the Low Countries as a whole resonates with the world of Beowulf.
031.11-28 Obviously I can't quote this entire sentence, but I thought this was a really important indication of the strangeness of Joyce's narratological approach here. This sentence has (on my count) around 25 clauses in it. And despite the proliferation of commas throughout, there is still a real sense of ambiguity as to the exact meaning of the sentence, especially when you consider that the first clause: 'Our sailor king' appears only to be taken up again on line 24, with 'remarked dilsydulsily'. So aside from the inventiveness that Joyce showcases in the language used, there is a further sense of difficulty created with the amount of detail one must retain just in reading a sentence. From what I understand this is not a fleeting issue either; we're in for page long questions with one word answers when we get to the 'Night Letters'.
031.35-36: 'Are those their fata which we read in sibylline between the fas and its nefas?' This is an intriguing sentence. I'm assuming we're referring here to HCE still, although there could be some biblical/Egyptian Book of the Dead references as well. 'Fata' is the Latin fate, while '(ne)fas' are right and wrong or possible and impossible. My interest stems primarily from Joyce's inclusion of 'sibylline', which immediately raises in my mind an allusion to Coleridge's 1817 book of verse Sibylline Leaves. This also resonates then with Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and the debates that have carried on over what the leaves stand for in the title. I guess what I'm trying to get to is that 'sibylline' implies the leaves of the book, which suggests that this sentence is far more indicative of the purposes of FW than we may first consider.
032.31,32: 'homedromed and enliventh' 'millentury': I'm most interested by the first quotation, which sounds suspiciously (and is glossed by McHugh as) 111. This is important because we've already stumbled across the significance of 1132, and the millentury (1100) previously. In English cricket, 111 is considered an unlucky score for a batsman, and is known as the 'Nelson', reputedly because Lord Nelson had one arm, one leg and one eye. Spectators watching a game where the batsman makes it to 111 are encouraged to stand upon one leg until the batsmen has moved on from that score. If you think I'm making it up, have a look at the Wikipedia link.
033.02 'veritable Napolean the Nth': a great name, and one that is absolutely appropriate for the man otherwise known as 'Here Comes Everybody' (032.18-19). A subtle reference to infinity by Joyce here, the number line being constituted by the equation n+1. Even HCE can't escape from the inevitability of Vico's ricorso.
As I said above, please comment on my ramblings and let me know where I've gone wrong! We're reading 033.14 to 036.34 meeting at 1 pm on the 16th of November. See you there. JG
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