The Finnegans Wake Crash Course focuses on a single paragraph out of an entire novel. Finnegans Wake was James Joyce’s final novel before his death in 1941, published in 1939. It is widely considered one of the most challenging books to read. Joyce uses a language affectionately known as Wakese which is an amalgam of dozens of languages, primarily English, crammed together in a portmanteau of various, nearly limitless, meanings. The book begins with the second half of the final sentence of the book, giving it a cyclical nature. Joyce’s novel is nearly a compendium of the world in words, incorporating world religions, customs, languages, mythologies, folktales, histories, events, and figures. Its endless enigma of meaning and story is filled with puns and humor as well as life lessons. This is far from the study of this single paragraph. However, it is comprehensive and is designed to show one the elasticity and infinite uses of language as Joyce wields the written word with the mastery of someone who comprehends linguistics and the art of communication in a way few people can even begin to understand. This crash course also has the potential for academic remediation.
Students can also perform this beautiful and dramatic dialogue between the washerwomen in the first paragraph. HERE is the script format and HERE is a video of the students performing the dialogue on either side of their digital River Liffey in the classroom. The standards for the performance would be: ELA.10.R.1.1, ELA.10.R.1.2, ELA.10.R.3.1, ELA.10.R.3.3, ELA.10.C.2.1, ELA.10.C.5.1, ELA.10.C.5.2, ELA.10.V.1.1. ELA.10.V.1.2, ELA.V.1.3.
Time Frame: unknown (be flexible)
Standards: ELA.10.R.1.1, ELA.10.R.1.2, ELA.10.R.1.3, ELA.10.R.1.4, ELA.10.R.2.1, ELA.10.2.4, ELA.10.R.3.1, ELA.10.R.3.2, ELA.10.R.3.3, ELA.10.R.3.4, ELA.10.C.2.1, ELA.10.C.4.1, ELA.10.V.1.1, ELA.10.V.1.2, ELA.10.V.1.3
Students can also perform this beautiful and dramatic dialogue between the washerwomen in the first paragraph. HERE is the script format and HERE is a video of the students performing the dialogue on either side of their digital River Liffey in the classroom. The standards for the performance would be: ELA.10.R.1.1, ELA.10.R.1.2, ELA.10.R.3.1, ELA.10.R.3.3, ELA.10.C.2.1, ELA.10.C.5.1, ELA.10.C.5.2, ELA.10.V.1.1. ELA.10.V.1.2, ELA.V.1.3.
Time Frame: unknown (be flexible)
Standards: ELA.10.R.1.1, ELA.10.R.1.2, ELA.10.R.1.3, ELA.10.R.1.4, ELA.10.R.2.1, ELA.10.2.4, ELA.10.R.3.1, ELA.10.R.3.2, ELA.10.R.3.3, ELA.10.R.3.4, ELA.10.C.2.1, ELA.10.C.4.1, ELA.10.V.1.1, ELA.10.V.1.2, ELA.10.V.1.3
"First Draft" ~ HERE is a link to the earliest draft of the opening lines of the Anna Livia Plurabelle chapter (Book I, Chapter8) which shows Joyce's initial version as well as some of his early edits. It can be used to compare and contrast with the final version after well over a thousand hours of edits and revisions.
Finnegans Wake Crash Course Contract ~ This is the course contract which explains the purpose of the crash course, a breakdown of its value, and not only grants permission from legal guardians for participation, but ensures that students understand their roles and responsibilities in the group as well.
| finnegans_wake_crash_course_contract.docx |
ALP Paragraph 1 (student copy) ~ This is the student copy of the first paragraph of the ALP chapter of Finnegans Wake. It contains a brief synopsis of the novel and chapter for context. Beyond that, it is simply a copy of the original text. This allows for students to make their own annotations and discoveries.
| alp_chapter_student_copy.docx |
ALP Paragraph 1 (annotated copy) ~ This copy of the ALP paragraph 1 excerpt includes a color coding annotation that corresponds with the notes.
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ALP Paragraph 1 (notes for annotated copy) ~ These are the notes that correspond with the color-coding annotations. These are by far not a complete compendium of annotations (it is doubtful one could ever exist), but it is incredibly thorough and is a great jumping off point. After all, we don't want to focus so much on the leaves that we miss the forest.
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River Names ~ This is a list of identified river names from the first paragraph of the ALP chapter. They are highlighted in light blue in the annotated text and are listed here by page number to correspond appropriately.
| river_names.docx |
Finnegans Wake Approach ~ This is a document informing the students how we will approach the text. We will engage this text as linguists from a deconstructionist perspective with the understanding that we are all language learners.
| fw_approach.docx |
The Three Faces of Anna Livia Plurabelle ~ This document compares, side-by-side, the three versions of the first paragraph of the Anna Livia Plurabelle chapter of Finnegans Wake. James Joyce, himself, oversaw the translating of this chapter into French and Italian. However, given the complexity of translation (particularly in a text such as his), his linguistic choices were based more on rhythm, meter, and sound than meaning, connotation, and denotation. This created a completely different experience for the reader. It is a fascinating look a translation and the use of language.
| the_three_faces_of_anna_livia_plurabelle.docx |
This document shows four paintings by Wassily Kandinsky, an acclaimed painter and someone who experienced synesthesia, a condition of crossed senses in which he literally saw colors when he heard music and heard music when he painted. These paintings are great for showing students ahead of time. Have a discussion about how one can appreciate a painting, or aspects of a painting, without fully comprehending it or its meaning. This is a nice exercise to prepare students for reading Finnegans Wake.
| kandinsky_paintings.docx |
A Little Help...
The purpose of this reading group is to make as many discoveries within the text on your own as possible which will connect you with the words and bind you to their meanings and revelations. It is the journey that makes the discovery have any value. However, for those truly struggling or simply overly curious AFTER you've made your best attempts, here are some helpful links.
* Disclaimer: No set of annotations is ever complete and/or 100% correct, especially regarding Finnegans Wake. These are not cheat sheets as none exist. However, they are helpful guides in an otherwise dark forest.
Finwake
The Digital Collection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
John Gordon's Finnegans Wake blog
* Disclaimer: No set of annotations is ever complete and/or 100% correct, especially regarding Finnegans Wake. These are not cheat sheets as none exist. However, they are helpful guides in an otherwise dark forest.
Finwake
The Digital Collection of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
John Gordon's Finnegans Wake blog
