ary, but it presents a danger of
distracting
from it!
McHugh-Roland-1976-The-Sigla-of-Finnegans-Wake
The reader without
LO m. onuscripIS had best avoid tr""ting poot-Vly. . . . n li,erature
? ? SourCC material for Joye. . .
In reading the Buff. lo Notebook. one acquires a feeling for the
relative gravity of the principal themes of FW, because one observes the amount of notebook space they command. The con- viction that FW i. exclusively dominattd hy . . particular diacipline is very common amongSt exp licatOrs today. Some pe. -. on. experi- e"'"" ? series of mutually contradictory obsessions: perusal of the
"". . boob i. a good . ntidote.
Despite all this I would stress the urgency of p u forming several
basic exegetical task:l; currently ou{Standin&, whi~h I consider of greater importance than further ",udy of the manuscripto. The Italian and Spanish dements in FW arc in iT""t need of a"ention.
Ifth. tt:adcr i. then to ignou the noteboob, how i. he 10 uliliu their sigla in his own meareh?
I consider the adoplion ohigla concepts to be fundamental to the correct appreciation of FW. But beyond reinforcing the im- pression I have given I Iltt1. dubious ? ? to the utility of"""'t note- book entri". W. can hardly claim that they possess the power to disprove whcn, for in5l11nce, the chara<:ter of the serpe. " i. in different places attributed to S, ~ I: and A . I think the mOOt hope_ ful direction in which to procoed is bad< to the p. inted lext. W e nuy . ubstan! iate and opand on. nouo"" of b<lil. nce and inter- action by referring new diacoveries 10 the sigla . ystem a. repre_ scn. . d in the foregoing.
It is likely to be objected that my technique ,ubsd"'t" ciphe. . for establi. hed lerminology willlout really telling us anything new. Why no! call m Earwickcr, I: Shcm, A Shaun and 110 on,. , Joyce d id in h i! original lettet defining his abbreviations? In many cases
this . . . . "'" reasonable: the nominal approach is however liable to e. . rtain ambiguio" avoidable only by u,ing terms unrelated to any
local point in FW. In? discussing structure there is a ,reat. r need for thi. kind of precision than there is in simply gloo,jog worda.
.
? ? We need 10 ~ especially conscious oflymparny be. . . . . . . ,n ,ilia. I haw for a&mplc lhown that x as nan,"on of boo! < I Ire: ;,,~ f1ue~d in f. vnur of 1\ and;" OJIpoIitiOtl to C, and that th;,
aligJUfleP' is ~. -. ffl in book III. "1k loJiaoI con<:lw;ioo i. that everylim<:Xlren:amcdIho:y_ $I'&llIlyd,ft"trm? ? andthai? level exi. . . wllere Ihi. may alII<> be said of all the other "'il? . MOIl' pcr? IORI. I",m. . . inFWonlyappeua. i1IgIctime:ifthatbercgarMd . . . ""pant,. individualilia t"" ast bc:. . . . . "a cnonnC>UI. .
T his vi"", reprtscnll one 8trtlTlc or a irad;enl. A. rhe other a t r c m e c v c r y p c n o N g e i s r e g a r d e d . . 1 f a c e t o f Iho: c o n s c i o u s n n s of m : t""boo! < then portrays Iho: rtpcrwirc of. soIitaory otcWt".
At a Ilia;h. tly more liberal plane the scheme i. Ihe nighl'l repose: of m and 4 : in dU, world IU nWt:S are aspccu of In, all ftmal"" ? ? pccu of . . Ik'iiccn ! he ",,"<n el one <<. :ogni= . . . riouJ numbert ohill. . . . ' real'. Perhap" tM 1DOIi\ importanl Icvcll<X:epU IDe twelvco questions of 1. 6 as the ablOlule valuct, bul W( thm omit tha. O>OIt u$d"ul liglwn L and arc obligtd 10 tAke ~ and 0 as quite dil1;nct. From I utilitarian viewpoint I ""'Illd lul! iC1' the followlni fourteen . iaJl a. conatilUtina a furtdamanll alphabet for future srudia :
m4CI\-tt-C.
oO ae ? ? K
Admittedly this i,lncomp lete: we lack coavmtions fOI Ihe four_ fold and xv<nfold coodilionl oC -I as . . . ,11 as for the unai,,;6ed nternben of512. 11-513. 31, luch at Magnolh and Father Michael. 'lit arc abo ianorina; other ,Igla bt<:ow;e their mtllnina;1 IttIn oupcrfI""nn, fot eumplc W, mcsnil1l m ISI. cp or dead. 1"her< exill yet O1Mrt whole mylU:ry . tnUlil\ll closed, for eumplc the lalerally in""rtcd pain of F, 10 be encountued at 018. 36, 121. 03, <TJ and :>66. :2. VI. 8,11. 39 has 'F:t (talki"l mgc1hcr)'. Th~rc is abo3,uw:lbym10~"I theCOld. 10)6. '7. Ifthecadis Magrath, ~ COlnlXtitOI and oomplcrnmt of In, tm. might be taket 10 ronIinn his di. lincrioa from In, but the noccbooh hardly IUppon lhe view:
VI. B. ' . IS3' VI. 8. 1'. 45:
rcsinicl" E ,"inim 3
3 Watahov~'1 Clock 3 no PllXr
VI,B. ljl. lh:
Unfortunately, dClpi. e my diffao:ntialion of the 'iata in thi,
? ? I
I
The Sigl. Approach to Finmgan. Wak. E"c~il 137
ao:ount, then: i. no abwlule determinant as 10 what is, or what is not, a ,iglum in lhe manuscript? . Joyce made num<<oua odd sij! :ns and doodle. which miltllI theoretically qualify for inclusion but which do not aosi" our unden;llInding of FW, as far as I am able to judge.
II ,,,,,,ms . . pity to rrail off in rbis ",ay bUI of cou"" (he bJu=d margin is a prediClllble asptt( of Joyce. My object in any <011'" ha, been to i~ua", the acce"ibility of FW to the reader . . . . ther than to dictate rules for ",,"Set. . . Exege. is is nece. .
ary, but it presents a danger of distracting from it! ! subject: there is no . ubstitute for direct contact with the text. I muat . 1. 0 observe that to appreciate the book fully one n"",ds to live in Dublin. I earnestly recommend
Finnqan. Wak. ! , as a human e~perience unlike any other.
? Bibliography
Ad. m~, Rob<:rt M. , SurflU' imd I>ymho! : The Co~,i"mcy 0/Jam? ? J(! )Ice'. 'UIy. ",'. O:. ford Univcl'Oity P m . '96z.
Arbo;, de Jub. ain~ill<:, Marie Henri d', lri,}' My,h4loti<<;zi Cych, Ir. R L lkst. Dublin, Gill '903.
Alhcrt()l\, J. S. , Tht Books at ,h. Wak? . London, Fab<:rand Faber 1959?
'SponandGam. . inFinlltl{"mWale'inT_~and"Tilly, cd. Jack P. Dalton. nd Oive Harl. London, Faberand Falx.
,</66, 5H4e
'A Man of I'our Watch"" Macrobiu. in FW', A W N IX. 3
(1972),39-40.
'Avalon, Arthur' (pseud. ), Tiu S. rpc<' P~
, 919_
.
London, Luzac
Baring-GJuld, S. , CUT;"'" My'los ol'),' Middh Ag? ? . London, Rivinglom 1868.
Harrington, Sir Jonah, P. . . """I Sketch. . of lfi, Ow~ Tinu. Lon? don, Colburn ,832.
Beckett, Samuel, and othen, Our Ex4gmi"ml"" R"""J his Facriji_ <<z"Ctl for lncami"""j"" 0/ Work in P<ocr. . . . London, Faber and Faber '9~9;'ocond edition '\llS! .
Berkeley,~, Sir;" in W""i. ,cd. A. A. LuceandT. E. Jessop. London, Nelson ,967.
Blav:l[. ky, H . P. , I,i, Unwj/~d. London, Thc<:>s<:>phical P"nbli1hiDj; Soci<:ty ,877.
Bonheim, Helmut, A lArictm of 'h, German i~ 'Fi_allS W. ,. . . . . . Berkeley and Los Angeles, Univel"Si,y of California Press
1967?
Br-own, A. C L , T~ Origin of th. 0,,,,1 l-egtnd. Cambridge,
Mus. , Harned Univ. . . . ity Pres1 1943.
? 140 BibJ iOCl'l p h y
Bruno, GiolllllllO, Tiu H. ruic ENrA"';",. . , If. L Willi. aml. Lon- don" RedwlY . 887.
~, SirE. A. Wallis,God. ojduqyprw. . . London,MedIum ,-
1M 800h/ilu Dead. Second edition, London, Routlcd. ge and
Kogan Ptiul '938.
Budam, Fra>tk,}_}(1JI<<-a 1M AfaJrDw of'Ulyn4'. BIoom_
ingron, Indima University ~
Bl. lrr, Malrolm, 'F,arwial. ore', DiWlfJD)' (Much 1937), 89-9', Byrne, F. J. , in'<A K;/'ff' aM HigA,Ki",? . London, Bars(ord '913.
CampbeU, Jotepb and Robim<:>n, H enry Mor\OI'I, A Sltd#<. . . . K 9 10'F;. . . . . ,"N'W"",,'. NowYOB;,IUrool. lrtBn. CC'J~cb
'9+4; London, Faber and Fiber '947.
Clllyle, 'IlIomu, S"",,,, Raar"", in Ccllu:ItJ W"," VI . l. ondoct,
Chapman and Hall . 857.
Chrinianl, Do1. mia Bl. lIlil, SalMi""";"" Elnnmu "I ' Fiomqam
Wd. '. E""nuon, Northwn,nn UniWOriity PTeu 1965. Connolly, Thomio. E. , 1M P. . . ",,<>J Library of}"",. . }(/JI'" Unl-
ftRity ol8uffalo, 19)7.
}(JJPKj Joyu'. ~1IlIbbJ? . E""mton, NonhWfl(ftn Um-
w:nity Pr". . '961.
Coslilrl"e, Dillon, NorlA Dubli", Ci/jl tJnd E"";r<WU. Dublin, Cath-
olic Trull! Socitty 19o:).
Cowan, 'IlIom. . A. , 'Jdl' EarwKk"', AWN X. 5 ('973), 69-'75. CroIr. er, T . Crofton, KiI/(JNU,)' /. . qllld? . London, Fi. lln ,83"
D 'Ahon, J. , 1M Hisloryo{w Cmaoly 0{ DoibIiN. Dublin, Hod! ;;es and Smith 1838.
Oilton, Jad: P. , 'Advcrlillal1eftl for the Restoration', in TtlIdw {DId(J Ti/ljl,cd. JackP. DallonandOiveHan. London, Faber
and Fiber '966, "9-"37?
'M"";c I ='00', in A W. . . . . . Dilm, cd. Oi. . . . Han Ind Fril3.
SerIn. Sydney Unl\tCnity PrCIa t968, 1)-16.
D. ni~lou, A l l i n , H i l t d u P o I y t l u i . . . .
LO m. onuscripIS had best avoid tr""ting poot-Vly. . . . n li,erature
? ? SourCC material for Joye. . .
In reading the Buff. lo Notebook. one acquires a feeling for the
relative gravity of the principal themes of FW, because one observes the amount of notebook space they command. The con- viction that FW i. exclusively dominattd hy . . particular diacipline is very common amongSt exp licatOrs today. Some pe. -. on. experi- e"'"" ? series of mutually contradictory obsessions: perusal of the
"". . boob i. a good . ntidote.
Despite all this I would stress the urgency of p u forming several
basic exegetical task:l; currently ou{Standin&, whi~h I consider of greater importance than further ",udy of the manuscripto. The Italian and Spanish dements in FW arc in iT""t need of a"ention.
Ifth. tt:adcr i. then to ignou the noteboob, how i. he 10 uliliu their sigla in his own meareh?
I consider the adoplion ohigla concepts to be fundamental to the correct appreciation of FW. But beyond reinforcing the im- pression I have given I Iltt1. dubious ? ? to the utility of"""'t note- book entri". W. can hardly claim that they possess the power to disprove whcn, for in5l11nce, the chara<:ter of the serpe. " i. in different places attributed to S, ~ I: and A . I think the mOOt hope_ ful direction in which to procoed is bad< to the p. inted lext. W e nuy . ubstan! iate and opand on. nouo"" of b<lil. nce and inter- action by referring new diacoveries 10 the sigla . ystem a. repre_ scn. . d in the foregoing.
It is likely to be objected that my technique ,ubsd"'t" ciphe. . for establi. hed lerminology willlout really telling us anything new. Why no! call m Earwickcr, I: Shcm, A Shaun and 110 on,. , Joyce d id in h i! original lettet defining his abbreviations? In many cases
this . . . . "'" reasonable: the nominal approach is however liable to e. . rtain ambiguio" avoidable only by u,ing terms unrelated to any
local point in FW. In? discussing structure there is a ,reat. r need for thi. kind of precision than there is in simply gloo,jog worda.
.
? ? We need 10 ~ especially conscious oflymparny be. . . . . . . ,n ,ilia. I haw for a&mplc lhown that x as nan,"on of boo! < I Ire: ;,,~ f1ue~d in f. vnur of 1\ and;" OJIpoIitiOtl to C, and that th;,
aligJUfleP' is ~. -. ffl in book III. "1k loJiaoI con<:lw;ioo i. that everylim<:Xlren:amcdIho:y_ $I'&llIlyd,ft"trm? ? andthai? level exi. . . wllere Ihi. may alII<> be said of all the other "'il? . MOIl' pcr? IORI. I",m. . . inFWonlyappeua. i1IgIctime:ifthatbercgarMd . . . ""pant,. individualilia t"" ast bc:. . . . . "a cnonnC>UI. .
T his vi"", reprtscnll one 8trtlTlc or a irad;enl. A. rhe other a t r c m e c v c r y p c n o N g e i s r e g a r d e d . . 1 f a c e t o f Iho: c o n s c i o u s n n s of m : t""boo! < then portrays Iho: rtpcrwirc of. soIitaory otcWt".
At a Ilia;h. tly more liberal plane the scheme i. Ihe nighl'l repose: of m and 4 : in dU, world IU nWt:S are aspccu of In, all ftmal"" ? ? pccu of . . Ik'iiccn ! he ",,"<n el one <<. :ogni= . . . riouJ numbert ohill. . . . ' real'. Perhap" tM 1DOIi\ importanl Icvcll<X:epU IDe twelvco questions of 1. 6 as the ablOlule valuct, bul W( thm omit tha. O>OIt u$d"ul liglwn L and arc obligtd 10 tAke ~ and 0 as quite dil1;nct. From I utilitarian viewpoint I ""'Illd lul! iC1' the followlni fourteen . iaJl a. conatilUtina a furtdamanll alphabet for future srudia :
m4CI\-tt-C.
oO ae ? ? K
Admittedly this i,lncomp lete: we lack coavmtions fOI Ihe four_ fold and xv<nfold coodilionl oC -I as . . . ,11 as for the unai,,;6ed nternben of512. 11-513. 31, luch at Magnolh and Father Michael. 'lit arc abo ianorina; other ,Igla bt<:ow;e their mtllnina;1 IttIn oupcrfI""nn, fot eumplc W, mcsnil1l m ISI. cp or dead. 1"her< exill yet O1Mrt whole mylU:ry . tnUlil\ll closed, for eumplc the lalerally in""rtcd pain of F, 10 be encountued at 018. 36, 121. 03, <TJ and :>66. :2. VI. 8,11. 39 has 'F:t (talki"l mgc1hcr)'. Th~rc is abo3,uw:lbym10~"I theCOld. 10)6. '7. Ifthecadis Magrath, ~ COlnlXtitOI and oomplcrnmt of In, tm. might be taket 10 ronIinn his di. lincrioa from In, but the noccbooh hardly IUppon lhe view:
VI. B. ' . IS3' VI. 8. 1'. 45:
rcsinicl" E ,"inim 3
3 Watahov~'1 Clock 3 no PllXr
VI,B. ljl. lh:
Unfortunately, dClpi. e my diffao:ntialion of the 'iata in thi,
? ? I
I
The Sigl. Approach to Finmgan. Wak. E"c~il 137
ao:ount, then: i. no abwlule determinant as 10 what is, or what is not, a ,iglum in lhe manuscript? . Joyce made num<<oua odd sij! :ns and doodle. which miltllI theoretically qualify for inclusion but which do not aosi" our unden;llInding of FW, as far as I am able to judge.
II ,,,,,,ms . . pity to rrail off in rbis ",ay bUI of cou"" (he bJu=d margin is a prediClllble asptt( of Joyce. My object in any <011'" ha, been to i~ua", the acce"ibility of FW to the reader . . . . ther than to dictate rules for ",,"Set. . . Exege. is is nece. .
ary, but it presents a danger of distracting from it! ! subject: there is no . ubstitute for direct contact with the text. I muat . 1. 0 observe that to appreciate the book fully one n"",ds to live in Dublin. I earnestly recommend
Finnqan. Wak. ! , as a human e~perience unlike any other.
? Bibliography
Ad. m~, Rob<:rt M. , SurflU' imd I>ymho! : The Co~,i"mcy 0/Jam? ? J(! )Ice'. 'UIy. ",'. O:. ford Univcl'Oity P m . '96z.
Arbo;, de Jub. ain~ill<:, Marie Henri d', lri,}' My,h4loti<<;zi Cych, Ir. R L lkst. Dublin, Gill '903.
Alhcrt()l\, J. S. , Tht Books at ,h. Wak? . London, Fab<:rand Faber 1959?
'SponandGam. . inFinlltl{"mWale'inT_~and"Tilly, cd. Jack P. Dalton. nd Oive Harl. London, Faberand Falx.
,</66, 5H4e
'A Man of I'our Watch"" Macrobiu. in FW', A W N IX. 3
(1972),39-40.
'Avalon, Arthur' (pseud. ), Tiu S. rpc<' P~
, 919_
.
London, Luzac
Baring-GJuld, S. , CUT;"'" My'los ol'),' Middh Ag? ? . London, Rivinglom 1868.
Harrington, Sir Jonah, P. . . """I Sketch. . of lfi, Ow~ Tinu. Lon? don, Colburn ,832.
Beckett, Samuel, and othen, Our Ex4gmi"ml"" R"""J his Facriji_ <<z"Ctl for lncami"""j"" 0/ Work in P<ocr. . . . London, Faber and Faber '9~9;'ocond edition '\llS! .
Berkeley,~, Sir;" in W""i. ,cd. A. A. LuceandT. E. Jessop. London, Nelson ,967.
Blav:l[. ky, H . P. , I,i, Unwj/~d. London, Thc<:>s<:>phical P"nbli1hiDj; Soci<:ty ,877.
Bonheim, Helmut, A lArictm of 'h, German i~ 'Fi_allS W. ,. . . . . . Berkeley and Los Angeles, Univel"Si,y of California Press
1967?
Br-own, A. C L , T~ Origin of th. 0,,,,1 l-egtnd. Cambridge,
Mus. , Harned Univ. . . . ity Pres1 1943.
? 140 BibJ iOCl'l p h y
Bruno, GiolllllllO, Tiu H. ruic ENrA"';",. . , If. L Willi. aml. Lon- don" RedwlY . 887.
~, SirE. A. Wallis,God. ojduqyprw. . . London,MedIum ,-
1M 800h/ilu Dead. Second edition, London, Routlcd. ge and
Kogan Ptiul '938.
Budam, Fra>tk,}_}(1JI<<-a 1M AfaJrDw of'Ulyn4'. BIoom_
ingron, Indima University ~
Bl. lrr, Malrolm, 'F,arwial. ore', DiWlfJD)' (Much 1937), 89-9', Byrne, F. J. , in'<A K;/'ff' aM HigA,Ki",? . London, Bars(ord '913.
CampbeU, Jotepb and Robim<:>n, H enry Mor\OI'I, A Sltd#<. . . . K 9 10'F;. . . . . ,"N'W"",,'. NowYOB;,IUrool. lrtBn. CC'J~cb
'9+4; London, Faber and Fiber '947.
Clllyle, 'IlIomu, S"",,,, Raar"", in Ccllu:ItJ W"," VI . l. ondoct,
Chapman and Hall . 857.
Chrinianl, Do1. mia Bl. lIlil, SalMi""";"" Elnnmu "I ' Fiomqam
Wd. '. E""nuon, Northwn,nn UniWOriity PTeu 1965. Connolly, Thomio. E. , 1M P. . . ",,<>J Library of}"",. . }(/JI'" Unl-
ftRity ol8uffalo, 19)7.
}(JJPKj Joyu'. ~1IlIbbJ? . E""mton, NonhWfl(ftn Um-
w:nity Pr". . '961.
Coslilrl"e, Dillon, NorlA Dubli", Ci/jl tJnd E"";r<WU. Dublin, Cath-
olic Trull! Socitty 19o:).
Cowan, 'IlIom. . A. , 'Jdl' EarwKk"', AWN X. 5 ('973), 69-'75. CroIr. er, T . Crofton, KiI/(JNU,)' /. . qllld? . London, Fi. lln ,83"
D 'Ahon, J. , 1M Hisloryo{w Cmaoly 0{ DoibIiN. Dublin, Hod! ;;es and Smith 1838.
Oilton, Jad: P. , 'Advcrlillal1eftl for the Restoration', in TtlIdw {DId(J Ti/ljl,cd. JackP. DallonandOiveHan. London, Faber
and Fiber '966, "9-"37?
'M"";c I ='00', in A W. . . . . . Dilm, cd. Oi. . . . Han Ind Fril3.
SerIn. Sydney Unl\tCnity PrCIa t968, 1)-16.
D. ni~lou, A l l i n , H i l t d u P o I y t l u i . . . .
