Jealousies, Persephone, and Funerals

“Yet jackticktating all around her about his poorliness due to pannellism and grime for that he harboured her when feme sole, her zoravarn lhorde and givergenral, and led her in antient consort ruhm and bound her durant coverture so as she could not steal from him, oz her or damman, so as if ever she's beleaved by checkenbrooth death since both was parties to the feed it's Hetman MacCumhal foots the funeral.”

P: 243 L: 8-14

Just think of the rape of Persephone, or at least that's what I think is going on here, or perhaps a man being jealous or envious of some woman's charms "her zoravarn lhorde and givergenral" seems to imply that she's easy? So I may have missed the mark, tell me what you think.

Long Sites No See

It has been quite awhile since I last posted here, but I find no real purpose in “catching up” with my fellow readers since I don't seem to get many, if ANY readers! So, needless to say, if this is your first time here, I would strongly suggest that you read from the bottom (ie. My First post). I would Like to thank Stephen Crow from Wake in Progress, for bringing the views that I DO get, you should go check out his works with Finnegans Wake, really great work.

What do I do with this Finagain's Wake!?

In simplest terms I use the Ancient Scoundrel's technique of Bibliomancy, in which I find a random line and explicate it for my benefit, but I don't ask for Indulgences, I just state the line/s and give a usually brief “summary” of what that particular line means to me, without imposing or making you think what I think. I want you, the reader, to give me your “Take on the Wake” (I will trade mark that someday, I figure since S-H-I-T My Dad Says got some sort of popularity, I just think that I am a way better writer...I'm even better at being Self involved and pretentious!!!)What I am saying is that this blog requires comments!

Schizophrenic Languages and Study books!

‘(v. Some Forestallings over that Studium of Sexophonologistic Schizophrenesis, Vol. xxiv, pp. 2-555)’

                                   (P: 123 L: 17-19)

   Being the critical analyzer that I want to be, I immediately think of some huge expansive (or expensive) study book on Linguistics (a subject I wish to study, thanks to Joyce) and with that, stalling to get things done, I am very lazy.

   Now, being the critical analyzer that I should be, I would only focus on the combination of ‘sexo’ and ‘phonologistic’ and then go one to say that with this combination possible, sex and speech go hand and hand and can cause a schizophrenic rip between the two, and I would  then go on to say that ‘studium’ is a stadium of critical study...

But being the immature ‘Crit-Anal’ that I really am, I just shake my head, Laugh at Joyce’s words (in a manner he would find appropriate) and think upon one quote by Laurence Sterne:

    “Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world -- though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst -- the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!”

Study hard or not at all… which ever works!

Lowly Wails and Yawn-ing

'Lowly, longly a wail went forth. Pure Yawn lay low. On the mead of the hillock lay.'

                                                  (P: 474 L: 1-2)

     Regarding the fact that Yawn is really just another name for Shaun the Post, who’s brother,  Shem is the greater one in the family, (they are ALWAYS depicted as feuding brothers all throughout the histories, not unlike the famed ‘brother dynamic’ Joseph Campbell talks about and many writers use as plots… Universality of Words, I guess) Yawn is now alone, but all I can think about is a river (Damn River!) and a barrel floating down it in a day break kind of morning, and then something comes to completion- ‘On the mead of the hillock lay’ it seems the peaceful ride is over and more ‘night’ things have to happen, maybe Yawn will get some peace (he won’t though, he is never destined for it).

     I want to point out the first six words ‘Lowly, longly a wail went forth.’ Now only the first two words ‘Lowly, longly’ I just love the sort of rhythm that those two words can pack together . Then we look at ‘a wail went forth’ sounding like ale ent orth disrupts the more natural sounding rhythms’ flow you could say, with the first two words going –ly -ly then  -ale –ent –orth combine these together and you have this sensation of bobbing up and down a river bend, or at least I do, which adds to the scene more. (And people think Joyce didn’t have an ear for rhythm Ha!)

In the Foreign tribe of Victory!

'And Dub did glow that night. In the Fingal of victories'

                                (P:329 L: 13)

     According  to the dictionary (most anyway) the word ‘fingal’ comes from (of course) the Irish word ‘Fine Gall’ or as I will point out the possible significant meaning(s) ‘Foreign tribe’ and an administrative county founded in 1994 (with references to giants as all of Ireland seems to make from time to time).

      I first noticed Fingal when I heard Joyce himself (‘Pace bee with him’) recite it in 1929 with the River or ALP chapter (many river names are hidden in that particular chapter… I can only count ten!)  ‘of fingalls and dotthergills’ (P:  215 L: 14) and for me, in this context (above quote) can only mean a sort of foreign tribe winning a victory by night fall (a Norse ballad could be written about this, as many were recorded in song) and war kind of penetrates  all throughout The Wake don’t forget the top of the second page ‘what clashes here… something fishy gods” .

     I would have loved to go into the county its self and maybe I will someday… but one problem remains when you take things into (not out of) context, the country was founded in 1994 WAY after Finngeans Wake was published… so only two possible images pop up; that of a tribal victory or of a massive (Irish) giant… so I leave you with those and hope you can come up with some more… watch out for footsteps!

Talk About Muck!

‘Talk of Paddy barke’s echo! Kick nuck, Knockcastle!  Muck!’

                                      (P: 378 L: 36-37 (379))

This reminds me of dirty mud (have you heard of clean mud) or a dirty castle, as compared to Howth castle which is supposed to be clean. Now I vaguely recall reading about a Castle on Loch Ness and that this Knockcastle is in reference to it, but that is the denotative meaning, I’m looking for inspiration and all I am getting is some Irish guy’s echo and kicks in the head! But perhaps that is what I am supposed to get from it.

Putting the Fear of the Wake in 'ya

To pump the fire of the lewd into the soulths of bauchees havsouedovers, tillfellthey deadwar knootvindict

(P:370 L:31)

This line, in the third book seems to me to be a sour bitter sermon; to pump, let us assume is really a description of mass market religiosity, in that I mean that people are being 'pumped' with religion everyday until they die in a war, a dead war at that.  Everyday we are fed this message of 'cleanliness is next to godliness' that is just not true sometimes. And the word 'soulths' adds to this image of a 'sermon by fire' sort of like a trail by fire (war?), although, why not a sermon by thunder?