Ep 545 - Thunder Fish

Joseph Campbell's "Finnegan's Wake: A Skeleton Key" is a guide to understanding James Joyce's challenging novel, "Finnegan's Wake. " Campbell, a renowned mythologist, uses his expertise to unravel the complex symbolism and allusions within Joyce's work. He provides insights into the novel's structure, characters, and themes, making it more accessible to readers. The book is valuable for both those familiar with Joyce's work and those new to it, offering a fresh perspective on a notoriously difficult text. Campbell's approach emphasizes the mythological and archetypal elements present in "Finnegan's Wake," connecting it to broader patterns of human experience.

Finnegans Wake is James Joyce's final and most complex work, written over a period of seventeen years. The novel is set in a dream world where the protagonist, Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker (HCE), and his family—wife Anna Livia Plurabelle (ALP) and their children Shem, Shaun, and Issy—undergo various transformations and identities. The book is known for its innovative use of language, combining elements from multiple languages and creating new words through portmanteaus and puns. It explores themes of identity, history, and the cyclical nature of life, drawing on Irish mythology, biblical narratives, and personal experiences. The novel's structure is circular, ending with the sentence that begins the book, creating a continuous loop.