Class Notes 1/27: Finnegans Wake with Ben

Books on Finnegans Wake: Joyce's Book of the Dark by John Bishop is a good one.

Finnegans Wake page 613 the page we spent 40 minutes with, this is as far as we got, barely half a page! Click on the image to enlarge it to read the notes (I think that will work). The idea I understood, or meaning was the Eternal Recurrence talked about in Monday's lecture. All this has already happened! Every morning when we wake up and start our day there is a regeneration of the universe. Ben linked this back to Vico's cyclical ideas, especially recourso, cycle back and start over which of course Joyce drew from this idea.

This is a picture of my Finnegans Wake book after class today, keep in mind I had not marked in it bfeore class:

Then with 10 minutes left in class Jennie Lynn performed/recited the last few pages of Finnegans Wake for the class. Talk about intimidating! It was beautiful and moving.
Special thanks to Ben and Jennie Lynn for a captivating, enrapturing, and inspiring introduction to Finnegans Wake. Hopefully now for each of us in the class owning a page of Finnegans Wake is a task we approach with recklessness and abandon, rather than fear and loathing.

P.S. Jennie Lynn inspired me to start memorizing my section and this is what I've got kind of memorized from page 183, "You brag of your brass castle or tyled house in ballyfermont? Niggs, niggs, and niggs again. For this was a stinksome inkenstink, quite puzzonal to the wrottle. Smatterafact, Angles aftanon browsing there thought not Edam reeked more rare. My wud!" It is 40 words, but it would be cool to get the whole page.