chapters 4 and 5, p. 93-117 - Days 12-15 (?)

(Parenthetical Apology:  My blog maintenance has suffered in the last week from work (wine shop), babysitting, attendance at the Rutgers Writers Conference, reading in Chaucer (Parlement of Fowls) and so forth.  My logging in terms of "Days" is losing accuracy. I may change the labeling to date of the post.  However, the Wake continues to inform my waking and unwoken hours. It is an incredible phenomenon of lingual fluidity and a master-course in inventive poesy, sentence structure and composition. Each page calls upon me as a reader to be a creative interpreter, translator, philosopher, poet, linguist. Nearly ever sentence stuns, surprises, amazes and informs me. Each day my appreciation for Joyce as a consummate, passionate artist grows.)

The end of chapter 4 continues the discussion of the trial and failings of Humphrey, in vivid Dublinesque.

Entering chapter 5, we get a blast of detail about Anna Livia Plurabelle, the female side of the Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker story.  Page 104 - Joyce writes;

"Her untitled mamafesta memorializing the Mosthighest has gone by many names in disjointed time"

He then gives us a dizzying, almost 4 pages of alternate names, titles and epithets for Anna Livia Plurabelle in an italicized list. This list does indeed swerve through disjointed time,, describing her over time and from many contexts.

On page 109, we get reintroduced to "the Letter" as an entity in the long riddle of the FW history - this is the letter that indicts Humphrey, along with many other manifestations.

On page 113, Joyce gives us another gigantic, wonderful compound word:

 "Thingcrooklyexineverypasturesixdixlikencehimaroundhersthemaggerbykinkinkankanwithdownmindlookingated"

Let me pause and say how much Joyce is crushing it with touches like this.  As I read along and I hit such a word and try to read it aloud, the following things happen:

1. its a sort of singing breath exercise to pronounce such a word.
2. its a sort of pronunciation puzzle, it takes many tries to even make your way through it, either
a. read silently or b. read aloud.  It reminds me of a rock climbing sequence.
3. putting meaning to the word.
4. putting context to the word
5. Interpreting the word - is this another onomatopoeic approximation of thunder (like page 1)?

Pretty interesting, pretty complicated.

Also, there is the wonderful fragment from page 115 (for example):

"And it is surely a lesser ignorance to write a word with every consonant too few than to add all too many. The end? Say it with missiles then and thus arabesque the page. You have your cup of scalding Souchong, your taper's waxen drop, your cat's paw, the clove or coffinnail you chewed or champed as you worded it your lark in clear air. So why, pray, sign anything as long as everyword, letter, penstroke, paperspace is a perfect signature of its own?"

this is a wonderful passage on composition, letter writing, words and written art............perhaps

I am stunned anew on every page.