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Glossary

Key terms used in discussing Finnegans Wake.

A​

ALP​

Anna Livia Plurabelle. The mother figure, HCE's wife, the River Liffey. Sigla: ∆

Anna Livia Plurabelle​

The chapter (I.8, pp. 196-216) featuring two washerwomen discussing ALP. Also the character herself. Joyce recorded this section in 1929.

Annotations​

Line-by-line explanatory notes. See McHugh's Annotations to Finnegans Wake or FWEET.

C​

Census​

Adaline Glasheen's Third Census of Finnegans Wake (1977), indexing all characters and their appearances.

Concordance​

An alphabetical index of all words in a text with their locations. Clive Hart published the first Concordance to Finnegans Wake in 1963.

D​

Dream​

The Wake represents one night's dream of HCE (and/or ALP, and/or the reader). Dream logic explains the fluid transformations of character, time, and language.

F​

FWEET​

Finnegans Wake Extensible Elucidation Treasury. Online database of 101,670+ annotations at fweet.org.

Fall​

The central event of the Wake. HCE's transgression in Phoenix Park, echoing Adam's fall, Humpty Dumpty's fall, Tim Finnegan's fall, and all human failure.

Finn MacCool​

Irish mythological giant who sleeps under Dublin, awaiting resurrection. HCE as Finn = "Finnegan" = "Finn again."

G​

Genetic Criticism​

Study of a work's composition through drafts and manuscripts. The James Joyce Digital Archive enables genetic study of the Wake.

H​

HCE​

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker. The father figure, Dublin publican, dreamer. Also "Here Comes Everybody," "Howth Castle and Environs," etc. Sigla: ⊓

Howth​

Promontory north of Dublin. "Howth Castle and Environs" is one expansion of HCE. The Wake's final sentence returns "to Howth Castle and Environs."

I​

Issy​

Isolde. The daughter figure, often doubled with her mirror image. Object of inappropriate desire. Sigla: ⊣

J​

JJDA​

James Joyce Digital Archive at jjda.ie. Presents the complete compositional history of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

L​

Letter​

A letter written by ALP defending HCE, found in a rubbish heap by a hen. Analyzed in I.5. The letter may be the Wake itself.

Liffey​

Dublin's river. Anna Livia is the Liffey personified. The name contains "Livia" (ALP) and sounds like "life."

M​

Mamalujo​

The four old men (Matt Gregory, Marcus Lyons, Luke Tarpey, Johnny MacDougall), representing the four evangelists. The name comes from their initials: M.M.L.J.

McHugh​

Roland McHugh, author of Annotations to Finnegans Wake (1980/2016), the standard reference.

P​

Phoenix Park​

Large park in Dublin where HCE's crime allegedly occurred. "Phoenix" suggests resurrection; the park contains many Wake locations.

Portmanteau​

A word combining two or more words, like "chaosmos" (chaos + cosmos). Lewis Carroll coined the term; Joyce perfected the technique.

R​

Ricorso​

Vico's term for the "return" phase of historical cycles—chaos leading back to a new theocratic age. Book IV represents the ricorso.

Riverrun​

The Wake's famous first word, combining "river run" with Vico's "ricorso" (return). The book's final incomplete sentence ("A way a lone a last a loved a long the") flows into "riverrun."

S​

Shaun​

Shaun the Post. The extrovert twin, postman, man of action. Opposite of Shem. Also appears as Jaun, Yawn, Juan. Sigla: ⌐ (reversed)

Shem​

Shem the Penman. The introvert twin, artist, Joyce's self-portrait. Opposite of Shaun. Also appears as Jerry, Glugg, Dolph. Sigla: ⌐

Sigla​

Symbols Joyce used to represent characters in his notebooks:

  • ⊓ = HCE
  • ∆ = ALP
  • ⌐ = Shem (reversed for Shaun)
  • ⊣ = Issy
  • X = The Four

Skeleton Key​

Joseph Campbell and Henry Morton Robinson's A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake (1944), the first comprehensive guide.

T​

Thunderwords​

Ten 100-letter words scattered through the Wake, representing Vico's thunder that initiated each historical cycle. The ten total 1001 letters.

Tristan and Isolde​

Medieval romance that pervades the Wake. HCE = King Mark; Shem/Shaun = Tristan; Issy = Isolde.

U​

Ulysses​

Joyce's previous novel (1922). The Wake continues and transforms many Ulysses themes and techniques. Leopold Bloom occasionally surfaces in HCE.

V​

Vico, Giambattista​

Italian philosopher (1668-1744) whose New Science proposed cyclical history: theocratic → aristocratic → democratic → ricorso (return). Joyce structured the Wake on this pattern.

W​

Wake​

Both a funeral vigil (Irish tradition) and an awakening. Tim Finnegan's wake is his funeral; but he wakes (rises) when whiskey is spilled on him. The book is both a death watch and a celebration of renewal.

Waywords and Meansigns​

Project that set the complete Wake to music (2015-2017). 70+ hours of audio, free at waywordsandmeansigns.com.

Work in Progress​

Joyce's title for the Wake during its seventeen years of composition (1922-1939). Published in fragments in magazines before the complete book appeared.

See Also​