Bibliophile
New Member
What type of level might "Finnegans Wake," and "Pale Fire" be? Are they of the highest level, or of a lower level? Thank you.
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Finnegans Wake, and Pale Fire
- Thread starter Bibliophile
- Start date
Ell
Well-Known Member
Meaning of level?
Bibliophile wrote:
Depends what you mean by level.
Are you talking about level of reading difficulty and therefore one's level of understanding? In which case, I'd answer, yes they are of a high level of difficulty.
Or are you talking about level of literary merit? In which case, they'd be wide open to interpretation and personal opinion.
Bibliophile, please elaborate.
Bibliophile wrote:
Depends what you mean by level.
Are you talking about level of reading difficulty and therefore one's level of understanding? In which case, I'd answer, yes they are of a high level of difficulty.
Or are you talking about level of literary merit? In which case, they'd be wide open to interpretation and personal opinion.
Bibliophile, please elaborate.
Bibliophile
New Member
The level I was describing is in fact of the reading level, and the level of sophistication, and understanding one needs to throughly comprehend these books.
But then to be pedantic, even if one is a seasoned avant garde reader one still cannot fully understand "Finnegans Wake."
Regards,
Bibliophile
But then to be pedantic, even if one is a seasoned avant garde reader one still cannot fully understand "Finnegans Wake."
Regards,
Bibliophile
I couldn't agree more. pale fire, canto one
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
By the false azure in the windowpane;
I was the smudge of ashen fluff--and I
Lived on, flewon, in the reflected sky.
And from the inside, too, i'd duplicate
Myself, my lamp, and an apple on a plate:
Uncurtaining the night, I'd let dark glass
Hang all the furniture above the grass,
And how delightful when a fall of snow
Covered my glimpse of lawn and reached up so
As to make chair and bed Exactly stand
Upon that snow, out in that crystal Land!
as i was reading, i wished it could have snowed outside, that snow flakes could have flowed to pat my window, that snow could have been as deep as to bury the house........<<---------------Did i repeat someone who once said this or did i just repeat myself, again??!!
I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
By the false azure in the windowpane;
I was the smudge of ashen fluff--and I
Lived on, flewon, in the reflected sky.
And from the inside, too, i'd duplicate
Myself, my lamp, and an apple on a plate:
Uncurtaining the night, I'd let dark glass
Hang all the furniture above the grass,
And how delightful when a fall of snow
Covered my glimpse of lawn and reached up so
As to make chair and bed Exactly stand
Upon that snow, out in that crystal Land!
as i was reading, i wished it could have snowed outside, that snow flakes could have flowed to pat my window, that snow could have been as deep as to bury the house........<<---------------Did i repeat someone who once said this or did i just repeat myself, again??!!
warm_enema
New Member
It is a wonderful book. It only gets more insane from there, lots of fun.
downthrough
New Member
Finnegans Wake, what a crazy cool book. Good book to get band names from.
Ou Be Low hoo
New Member
I think part of the beauty of 'Finnegan's Wake' is it's lyrical, almost musical quality...Sure, the content is there, but the sound of the words is beautiful in itself:
'riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.'
When I studied Joyce, I found I could read short passages of both 'Ulysses' and 'Finnegan's Wake', but I would have to stop regularly to understand what the hell was going on with the help of lecture notes and other essays on the books. I don't think you can simply 'read' and understand either book, they both demand a lot research for comprehension purposes. However, the poetry of the words can be appreciated by anyone.
'riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.'
When I studied Joyce, I found I could read short passages of both 'Ulysses' and 'Finnegan's Wake', but I would have to stop regularly to understand what the hell was going on with the help of lecture notes and other essays on the books. I don't think you can simply 'read' and understand either book, they both demand a lot research for comprehension purposes. However, the poetry of the words can be appreciated by anyone.