Greetings! We valiantly worked our way through more than five pages of the Wake this week. Although much of it (and especially 24 and 25) remained opaque, as usual the insights of the group were intensely valuable to trying to grasp (at least parts of) the whole. So, a few thoughts:
24 to 26: seem to incorporate four separate cosmologies/belief systems; the Buddhist, Islamic, Egyptian and Irish. Thus the onomatopoeiac 'clankatachankata' (024.23) combines, according to McHugh, the names of Buddha and Mohammed's horses. 025.05-9 incorporates the milk and honey of the Islamic heaven, whilst 'Totumcalmum' (026.18) is invoked amongst references to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Perhaps most interesting, however, is the possibility of 'the Liffey that's in Heaven!' (026.08). This facilitates Joyce's allusion to Finnegan and the creation of Dublin, but also strikes me as congruent with the sometimes buried admiration for Dublin that I believe Joyce shows (I'm just about to finish reading Dubliners so perhaps I have the city on my mind.)
026.11-14: A series of allusions here to a mythical being, presumably Finnegan, of enormous stature, whose head is in the heavens, and whose feet are in Dublin. 'Copricapron' (026.12-13) not only incorporates a further astrological reference for the giant being's feet, but is very close to the Greek for 'pig shit'; so perhaps my assumption of Joyce's love for Dublin might not be as justified as I believe!
This section is also notable for the series of references to Twain's Huck Finn.
029.02 'buaboabaybohm' repeats the '4' motif that began to emerge earlier. This time we felt as if the cry was akin to the 'fee, fi, fo, fum' of the archetypal giant. We struggled, however, to incorporate the number of scales that seem to co-exist in this section.
For, less than a page earlier, we have the image of a female character, perhaps ALP, perhaps not, 'sewing a dream together' (028. 07). This appears, at the least, to allude to a growing awareness on ALPs part of the transgression of her husband. This transgression is laid out most clearly for us at the conclusion of Chapter 1, with 'Humme the Cheapner, Esc' (029.18-19) 'ensectuous from his nature' (029.30-31) and 'ultimendly respunchable for the hubbub caused in Edenborough.' (029.35-36).
HCEs trangression is 'cursed and recursed' and he was 'everseen'. (029.09). This suggest both Vico's cyclical view of the world, but the inevitable recourse of this novel, both in its overarching structure (viz. the first sentence continuing the last) but also the continued repetition that we have encountered (and, presumably, will continue to).
I'd be delighted in anybody would like to add some thoughts to my feeble readings. Please comment below.
Our next meeting will be on the 2nd of November, reading from 030.01 to 033.13. See you there! JG
Thursday 20 October 2011
Thursday 6 October 2011
021.05 to 024.15
After the relative simplicity of last week we indulged (I would say) in a little bit of wallowing this week. Not to say that our meeting was without benefit, for it was completely the opposite.
We were examining the episode of Jarl van Hoother and the Prankquean, occurring immediately after the coming together of HCE and ALP for the first time in the text. It's still unclear to me if we are given a specific viewpoint over the course of this brief episode—the complexities had us chasing our tales/tails!
Thus, simply a few short observations:
21.18-9: 'Mark the Wans, why do I am alook alike a poss of posterpease?' is the first of a number of iterations of this phrase that introduce the drinkers (four?) knocking on the door of HCEs pub after closing time, asking for more drink. Over the next two pages this phrase is repeated two more times, incorporating a number of additions that make the phrase both static but simultaneously altered each time it is read. This repetition affirms the cyclical nature of the van Hoother/Prankquean section which, from 21 to 23 is reiterated three (or four?) times.
23.5-7 'Perkodhuskurunbarggruauyagokgorlayogromgremmitghundhurthrumathunaradidillifaititillibumullunukkunun' is the second 'thunder word' we encounter in FW. There are 11 throughout the text, the first 10 of 100 letters, the 11th with 101. {Check me out and see if I transcribed it correctly!} I was really excited to see in McHugh's Annotations that this thunder word is essentially the combination of a whole number of (generally) northern European words of thunder. Pretty simple really!
23.10 'flamend floody flatuous world'. I really like this phrase. I was initially most taken by the combination of flame and flood in the first two words of the phrase. I assume it indicated a kind of alchemical (Lou's word) explanation for the existence of Ireland, the combination of fire and water also being important in the van Hoother/Prankquean section. Interestingly enough, the four words produce not just two of the four elements, but all four (fire, water, air, earth). That is, if you're happy to accept that flatulence constitutes air.
23.23-4 'With lipth she lithpeth to him all to time of thuch on thuch and thow on thow.' Following on from Chris Eagle's very interesting seminar on speech pathology in FW, this sentence is important to us. It is the first summary of ALPs speech impediment which occurs throughout the novel. I'm pretty sure a recording of Chris' paper will be made available: definitely worth a listen. If I hear any more I'll post a link here.
24.7 'Unfru-Chikda-Uru-Wukru' appeared completely mystifying to me. McHugh glosses this phrase as Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, our venerable pseudo-protagonist. As Chris demonstrated, it definitely sounds more like HCEs name when your first is in your mouth!
As always, please comment! Whether it be to tell me I've got it wrong or that I've missed something. There's very little chance I've got anything right!
Next meeting will be 19 October, reading 24.16 to 29.36. (and then onwards to Book I, Chapter 2!) JG
We were examining the episode of Jarl van Hoother and the Prankquean, occurring immediately after the coming together of HCE and ALP for the first time in the text. It's still unclear to me if we are given a specific viewpoint over the course of this brief episode—the complexities had us chasing our tales/tails!
Thus, simply a few short observations:
21.18-9: 'Mark the Wans, why do I am alook alike a poss of posterpease?' is the first of a number of iterations of this phrase that introduce the drinkers (four?) knocking on the door of HCEs pub after closing time, asking for more drink. Over the next two pages this phrase is repeated two more times, incorporating a number of additions that make the phrase both static but simultaneously altered each time it is read. This repetition affirms the cyclical nature of the van Hoother/Prankquean section which, from 21 to 23 is reiterated three (or four?) times.
23.5-7 'Perkodhuskurunbarggruauyagokgorlayogromgremmitghundhurthrumathunaradidillifaititillibumullunukkunun' is the second 'thunder word' we encounter in FW. There are 11 throughout the text, the first 10 of 100 letters, the 11th with 101. {Check me out and see if I transcribed it correctly!} I was really excited to see in McHugh's Annotations that this thunder word is essentially the combination of a whole number of (generally) northern European words of thunder. Pretty simple really!
23.10 'flamend floody flatuous world'. I really like this phrase. I was initially most taken by the combination of flame and flood in the first two words of the phrase. I assume it indicated a kind of alchemical (Lou's word) explanation for the existence of Ireland, the combination of fire and water also being important in the van Hoother/Prankquean section. Interestingly enough, the four words produce not just two of the four elements, but all four (fire, water, air, earth). That is, if you're happy to accept that flatulence constitutes air.
23.23-4 'With lipth she lithpeth to him all to time of thuch on thuch and thow on thow.' Following on from Chris Eagle's very interesting seminar on speech pathology in FW, this sentence is important to us. It is the first summary of ALPs speech impediment which occurs throughout the novel. I'm pretty sure a recording of Chris' paper will be made available: definitely worth a listen. If I hear any more I'll post a link here.
24.7 'Unfru-Chikda-Uru-Wukru' appeared completely mystifying to me. McHugh glosses this phrase as Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, our venerable pseudo-protagonist. As Chris demonstrated, it definitely sounds more like HCEs name when your first is in your mouth!
As always, please comment! Whether it be to tell me I've got it wrong or that I've missed something. There's very little chance I've got anything right!
Next meeting will be 19 October, reading 24.16 to 29.36. (and then onwards to Book I, Chapter 2!) JG
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)