James Joyce structured Finnegans Wake into four books, each unfolding like a dream, shifting and spiraling through themes, characters, and linguistic play:
• Book I (Chapters 1-8): The introduction of the main figures and the dream logic that governs the narrative.
• Book II (Chapters 9-16): A shift toward family dynamics, education, and conflicts.
• Book III (Chapters 17-20): The fall, judgment, and crisis—a descent into chaos.
• Book IV (Chapter 21): The return to the river, renewal, and the cycle beginning again.
As with Ulysses, we will take what serves us and let the rest flow past. Since Finnegans Wake is erratic, so too will be our coverage.
The First Line: A Dream in Motion
The novel’s famous opening line picks up mid-sentence, continuing from the book’s ending—a perfect representation of its endless cycle:
“A way a lone a last a loved a long the riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay…”
Joyce, in his dreamworld, is painting a scene—not with straight lines and clear boundaries, but with spirals and currents, as if the words themselves were swept along by the river. The image expands outward, first anchoring itself in a specific Dublin location and then unfurling into something more cosmic.
• “Riverrun” — The River Liffey courses through Dublin, both a literal and symbolic lifeline.
• “Past Eve and Adam’s” — A reference to the Adam and Eve Church in Dublin, but Joyce reverses the biblical phrase, hinting at his novel’s cyclical nature.
• “From swerve of shore to bend of bay” — The river’s winding path leading to the bay, which opens up to Howth, a northern peninsula crowned with a castle and history.
The way Joyce structures the sentence makes you feel as though you’re soaring above Dublin, tracing the river’s meandering course. You’re not just observing—you’re swept into its flow, moving from land to sea, from past to future, from the intimate details of a city to the vastness beyond. It’s as if you are an angel drifting over the landscape, seeing it all at once—its history, its myths, and its eternal movement. A sense of magical overview, where time and place dissolve into one continuous stream.
Overview of time:
Joyce takes us through a torrent of words and order, a whirlpool that allows us to understand everything and nothing at the same time. If I attempt to write this in pure English:
Sir Tristram, a troubadour of love, crossed the short sea and returned from Brittany to this side of Europe’s rugged edge, ready to fight a peninsula war. Meanwhile, the highest rocks along the Oconee River hadn’t yet exaggerated their stories to Laurens County’s grand tales, even as they kept doubling their confusion all the while. No voice from a distant fire had yet shouted “hurry, hurry” to Saint Patrick. Not yet, though soon after, had a young rascal mocked an old Isaac. And not yet, despite the fairness of Vanessa, had sisters Sosie and wrathful Nathaniel-Joseph begun their quarrel. Not a grain of malt from their father’s stash had Jhem or Shen brewed under electric light, and no glorious rainbow could yet be seen reflected on the water’s surface.
This gives us a feeling of a timewarp—a snapshot of the world’s history in motion. Joyce’s wordplay makes us feel as though we are experiencing various key historical moments while existing in a dream. Let’s look at some of the wordplay:
Sir Tristram (Tristan) - A legendary figure from the tale of Tristan and Isolde, a story of love, loss, and cyclical fate. Tristram’s return to Brittany and his relationship with Isolde adds to the theme of recurring cycles in Finnegans Wake.
Penisolate War - a play on words, supported by the ego (penis) of Napoleon's French vs the allied forces of Spain, Portugal, and Britan on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal). The war was famously led by the Duke of Wellington, an important figure in the novel’s broader historical context.
Doublin their mumper - A wordplay on Dublin, doubling (repetition), and mumping (trickery). This phrase also nods to Dublin, Georgia, a town founded by an Irishman along the Oconee River, whose motto “Doubling all the time” referred to the rapid population growth.
mishe mishe - Literally “mise mise” in Irish, meaning “I, I,” a declaration of self. This phrase may hint at the murmuring flow of the river, symbolizing the unconscious or the stream of consciousness.
thuartpeatrick - A playful rephrasing of “Thou art St. Patrick,” invoking the saint who brought Christianity to Ireland. This wordplay blends religious and historical allusions with the dreamlike structure of the narrative. Whoa the fun of Joyce's language!
venisson after - This phrase plays on venison (deer meat), a reference to Tristram’s wounding by a poisoned spear while hunting. Venir (French for “to come”) adds another layer, signaling something imminent or following closely behind. Joyce intertwines movement and arrival with cyclical fate—just as Tristram’s tragic love story loops, the flow of time in Finnegans Wake is always on the brink of continuation. The idea of “soon after” evokes not only the inevitability of the next moment but the recurrent nature of experience, where the end always leads back to the beginning. It’s a signal that the dream-like journey through the narrative is ever-moving, like the river, drawing you forward but always returning to its point of origin.
though all's fair in vanessy - Venison, all's fair in love and war, Vanity Fair: continuing venison from Tristans hunting acident, all fair in love and war, when something is important enough, rules do not apply, like this story is not a usual novel. Vanity Fair, from John Bunyan's 1678 allegory The Pilgrim's Progress" signifying a society which is obsessed with materialist and superficiality. In a world that seems outwardly driven by pleasure and materialism, but where deeper truths (or the lack thereof) are constantly obscured, represents Finnegans Wake
pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed - A reference to the brewing of beer, possibly hinting at the brewing of ideas. Jhem and Shen represent popular Irish names, further linking the phrase to Irish culture.
aquaface - Top of the water, supporting our flight over the River Liffey, skimming across the water’s surface. This evokes the sensation of flying above the river, reflecting the sense of fluidity and continuous movement throughout Finnegans Wake.
Phew, only 1 paragraph in.
References:
Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake. 1939.
Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. 1678.
“Vanity Fair.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Oct. 2021, www.britannica.com/topic/Vanity-Fair.
“Tristan and Isolde.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Sept. 2020, www.britannica.com/topic/Tristan-and-Isolde.
“Finnegans Wake: A Brief Overview.” James Joyce Centre, 2022, www.jamesjoyce.ie/finnegans-wake-overview.
Finwake. “Finnegans Wake Chapter 1.” Finwake, www.finwake.com/1024chapter1/fw01.htm. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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