Monday, 15 October 2018, Pages 499 - 502

Our reading stopped at "... Foxrock to Finglas." (502.35)

We covered almost 3 pages as what we read consisted mostly of single sentences and occasionally very short paragraphs.

An enquiry /examination is still going on. Many voices are speaking. Their exclamations/comments are intercepted again and again with the 'word' Zinzin. Well, I again consulted Joseph Campbell's book as to its meaning. He writes: 'This theme is associated throughout with the noise of jubilee at the wake; it accompanies the Fall theme; it is the sound of a dry leaf scratching Earwicker's bedroom window.'

The section we read hints at Tristan and Isolde and Wagner. Lewd's carol (Lewis Carroll or Xmas carols) is also alluded to. It is fun to decode the popular xmas carols from the following:
1. jusse as they rose and sprungen (502.7)
2. Lieto galumphantes (502.10)
When the above can be decoded it is easy to decode the sentence, 'Hail many fell of greats!' (502.22)

By the way, today was the 6th anniversary of our starting to read FW. Some of us celebrated the event in style here after the reading!

Monday, 8 October 2018, Pages 497 - 499

Our reading stopped at "Watch!" (499.29)

Apart from learning from McHugh that the paragraph starting with 'Bappy-go-gully' contains 29 words for death in at least 15 different languages, (don't ask for their significance! All I know is that Finnegan's Wake deals with wake i.e., death), we recognised that the four old men are still at their cross examination of Shawn, whose voice has by now been taken over by ALP, who is defending her husband against the rumours of the Phoenix park incidence.

We also thought we recognised Finnegan at his wake (Funnycoon's wick/p. 499) BUT Joseph Campbell says "... the scene is strangely amplified and magically transformed; the body on the bier seems to be, not Finnegan of primeval times, but HCE in the full glory of his empire." (P. 250 in A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake)

Monday, 1 October 2018

Apologies for not posting anything about what we read on October 1. When I synced my iPad with my Mac last week, I lost my copy of Finnegan's Wake on the iPad!

Monday, 24 September 2018, Pages 494 - 495

We stopped the reading with 'Plunk!' (495.20)

In the last post, I had written that it is pointless to ask why Joyce uses Indian origin words in one paragraph and then moves on to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Many of us were also unsure as to who is talking. This chapter started with four old men interrogating Yawn (aka Shawn). But the voice  on page 491 was no longer Shawn's. So I took refuge in Joseph Campbell's 'A Skeleton Key to Finnegan's Wake.'

Campbell identifies this new voice has the ring of the voice of ALP. He says, 'From a deeper level of Yawn's subconsciousness a female voice now is heard.' ALP takes on the role of the two girls in the Phoenix park, the two temptresses. One of them talks with the voice using the Indian origin words. Campbell continues: 'When ALP has her say as India, one the Four Old Men, in a prayer re-echoing the periods of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, bids the other temptress aspect to let herself be heard. She speaks forth now with the voice of Ireland....'

Monday, 17 September 2018, Pages 492 - 494

We stopped at "... lazul." (494.5)

The first paragraph (starting with Capilla, Rubrilla, ...) we read today contains so many 'modified/corrupted'  Indian words that I decided to concentrate on them. (The next paragraph(s) takes things from the Egyptian Book of Dead. I guess it is pointless to ask why Joyce uses Indian origin words in the first paragraph, and Egyptian in the second!)

Capilla: The sage Kapila, who is said to have lived around 500 BC, is revered as the founder of one the important schools of Indian philosophy, the Samkhya philosophy.
backhaul of Coalcutter: The black hole of Calcutta, an incident that occurred on June 20, 1756
hindustand: Hindustan, a Persian name for India.
Surager Dowling: Siraj-ud- Daulah, Nawab of Bengal at the time when the incidence of the black hole took place. It was Siraj-ud-Daulah, who imprisoned the Britishers in the black hole.
Sahib: A polite form of addressing a man
Syringa padham: The town, Srirangapattana, near Mysore in Southern India is known for its temple and for its ruler, Tipu Sultan, who fought with the British in 1799
Alleypulley: A city in Kerala, South India, whose original name was Alleppey, known today as Alappuzha.
rupee: Rupee, the Indian currency
riputed: ripu, a Sanskrit word, which means enemy
sambat: Samrat in Sanskrit, which means emperor
annaversary: Till India adapted the decimal system, the currency consisted of rupees, annas and paise. 16 annas made a rupee, and 4 paise made an Anna.
mayarannies: Maharanis. A maharani is a queen, the wife of a maharaja. A maharaja is a higher raja (king). Above him is the emperor (Samrat).
rawjaws: Rajas. A raja is a king.
Vikramadityationists: Vikramaditya was an emperor of ancient India. Many legends are associated with this wise emperor. More information here.
gulughurutty: Gujarati (?), the language spoken in the state of Gujarat, in Western India.

Monday, 10 September 2018, Pages 490 - 492

Our reading stopped at "... ara poog neighbours!"  (492.12)

Does 'ara poog neighbours!' stand for 'our poor neighbours!'or is the line, 'ora pro nobis' (pray for us) from Ave Maria or 'Arrah na Pogue' (Annah of the kiss) or for all the three or for something else totally different? Who is to decide?

On these pages Shaun continues to be subjected to an enquiry by the four old men. One of them is asking Shaun about his brother, Shem (your contraman).

There are hidden references to
- Ireland as sow, perhaps referring to the chapter 5 of The Portrait, where Stephen says, 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.'
- King Mark in the stanza starting with 'Marak! Marak! Marak!'

and much more!

Monday, 3 September 2018, Pages 488 - 490

The last reading stopped at: “Of a redtettetterday morning” (490.27)