Joyce-Flomenbaum

           Throughout Finnegan’s Wake, Joyce pushes the use of polysemy to a whole new level. Polysemy refers to when a word or phrase has multiple and connected meanings. While many authors utilize this literary tool, Joyce takes it to a new level by giving words and phrases many different meanings as opposed to just two or three, as many authors do. Similarly, it’s important to note that in Joyce’s writing, it seems as though many of these references are accidental, though at the same time extremely profound and intentional. One might believe that it would be impossible for one person to have devised so many different meanings and references, however, Joyce does. This relates to the fact that Finnegan’s Wake is nonsense because it has too much meaning for any one person to truly understand. Finnegan’s Wake contrasts nicely to other nonsense writing such as Lear’s or Carroll’s, where this is a lack of deeper polysemy and come off as more childish.
            Throughout this piece, Joyce makes many references to the Old Testament, both explicitly and implicitly. From almost the first word, Joyce makes a reference to Adam and Eve: “past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.” This reference is interesting and important in so many different ways. For one, as the beginning of the piece, it is very reminiscent of the bible itself, being that Adam and Eve were the first humans created. Similarly, Joyce references Adam and Eve because they committed the original sin, which relates to Finnegan’s fall. In another regard, Joyce uses this phrase to epitomize HCE through the final phrase of the sentence “Howth Castle and Enviorns”. HCE has a wife; together they are the real main characters in this novel, though most people assume Finnegan is the main character. This confusion in regards to who the main character of the novel is relates to the story of Adam and Eve because most people do not realize that the rest of the bible, and arguably human history, is based on these two characters. Adam is the true patriarch of history, as opposed to Abraham or Moses, who most people believe are the patriarchs of human kind. HCE is portrayed throughout the novel as many different biblical characters as well as other history figures. Here, this connection to Adam is meant to set up the rest of the novel by foreshadowing that HCE, as well as the other characters, will continue to struggle with their own original sins.
            This text differs from Lear’s and Carroll’s because both of these latter texts are meant to mimic children’s books and songs. If a child were to pick up Finnegan’s Wake, it is very unlikely that said child would truly enjoy it. While all three of these texts are nonsense, Lear’s and Carroll’s writings are much more accessible for most people, especially children. One difference is that Joyce creates nonsense both through content as well as through form, while Lear and Carroll create nonsense solely through content.