The Sound of "Finnegans Wake"
by P. Myers
Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

An analysis of all aspects of sound in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. The author considers phonetic symbolism, rhythm, pitch-contours, motifs and songs in a way which shows how Joyce's work has a genuinely musical layer that is particularly apparent when the book is read aloud. The assumption (very common among literary critics but less common among linguists) that there is no relationship, other than an arbitrary one, between sound and meaning is seriously challenged. A long final chapter analyses Joyce's reading from his own work.