English 30

Mr. Edmund Wilson - An Introduction to James Joyce

Lectures

Reading

1. Introduction

Robert Louis Stevenson, "On Some Technical Elements of Style." [In his *Essays in Travel and in the Art of Writing* (New York, 1909); also in W. T. Brewster, ed., *Representative Essays on the Theory of Style* (New York, 1905), and Lane Cooper, ed., *Theories of Style* (New York, 1909).]

2. Virgil

(1) *Eclogue* I

(2) *Georgic* IV (Recommended translation of the end of this selection: *Oxford Book of Latin Verse*, p. 468.)

(3) *Aeneid* V, from 1. 797 to end of Book.

(4) *Aeneid* VI (Recommended translation: "Virgil's *Aeneid* Book VI," in *Collected Poems of James Elroy Flecker*, ed. J. C. Squire (New York, 1916).)

3. Dante

(1) *Inferno*, Canto I through V, Canto XXXIII (Recommended translation: *The Inferno of Dante Alighieri* (London, 1903) / *The Temple Classics.*)

(2) *Purgatorio* V (Recommended translation: The *Purgatorio*, ed. Gollancz (London, 1924) / *Temple Classics.*)

4. Shakespeare

(1) *Merchant of Venice*, Act V

(2) *Romeo and Juliet*, II, 2 and 3

(3) *Hamlet*, I, 1

(4) *Macbeth*, II

(5) *Othello*, V, 2

(6) *Cymbeline*, II, 2

Note: Passages should be read in this order.

5. Pushkin

(1) Chapter on Pushkin in Maurice Baring, *An Outline of Russian Literature* (London, 1915).

(2) "Pushkin," in D. S. Mirsky, *A History of Russian Literature* (New York, 1927.) Ch. IV, sec. 4.

(3) "The Bronze Horseman," in Avrahm Yarmolinsky, tr. and ed., *The Works of Alexander Pushkin* (New York, 1936).

(4) "In Honor of Pushkin," in Edmund Wilson, *The Triple Thinkers* (New York, 1938).

English 30

Lectures

Reading

1. Introduction

Robert Louis Stevenson, "On Some Technical Elements of Style." (In his *Essays in Travel and in the Art of Writing* (New York, 1909); also in W. T. Brewster, ed., *Representative Essays on the Theory of Style* (New York, 1905), and Lane Cooper, ed., *Theories of Style* (New York, 1909).)

2. Virgil
(1) *Eclogue* I

(2) *Purgatorio* V (Recommended translation: *The Purgatorio*, ed. Gollancz (London, 1924) / *Temple Classics.*)

(3) *Hamlet*, I, 1

(4) *Macbeth*, II

(5) *Othello*, V, 2

(6) *Cymbeline*, II, 2

English 30

Lectures

Reading

1. Introduction

2. Virgil

(1) *Eclogue* I

3. Dante

(1) *Inferno*, Canto I through V, Canto XXXII (Recommended translation: *The Inferno of Dante Alighieri* (London, 1903) / *The Temple Classics.*)

4. Shakespeare

(3) *Hamlet*, I, 1

(4) *Macbeth*, II

(5) *Othello*, V, 2

(6) *Cymbeline*, II, 2

5. Pushkin

1

Quiz

1. Analyze these lines from _Macbeth_, Act III, Sc.IV, so as to show how the effect is obtained through x_y_x_x rhythm and through the arrangement of vowels and consonants:

Duncan is in his grave,
After life's fitful fever he sleeps well.
—from Pope's _Windsor Forest_

2. Discuss the following passage from the point of view of what is represented and how it is represented:

Oft in her glass the musing shepherd spies
The headlong mountains and the downward skies,
The watery landscape of the pendent woods,
And absent trees that tremble in the floods;
In the clear azure gleam the flocks are seen,
And floating forests paint the waves with green,
Through the fair scene roll slow the ling'ring streams,
Then foaming pour along, and rush into the Thames.

Her glass refers to the waters of the river Loddon.

3. Discuss the following passage from the Proteus episode of Ulysses from the same point of view:

* In long lassoes from the Cock lake the water flowed full, covering green-goldenly lagoons of sand, rising, flowing. My ashplant will float away. I shall wait. No, they will pass on, passing chafing against the low rocks, swirling, passing. Better get this job over quick. Listen: a fourworded wavespeech: seesoo, hrss, rsseeiss oocos. Vehement breath of waters amid seasnakes, rearing horses, rocks swirling, passing.

2

In cups of rocks it slops: flop, slop, slap: bounded in barrels. And,
spent, its speech ceases. It flows purling, widely flowing, floating
foampool, flower unfurling.

4. Discuss in the same way the following passage from the *Haveth Childers*
*Everywhere* episode of Finnegans Wake:

... and thirdly, for ewigs, I did reform and restore for my smuggy
piggiesknees, my sweet coolocked, my auburn coyquailing one, her paddy-
palace on the crossknoll with massgo bell, sixton clashcloshant, duominous
and muezzatinties to commind the fitful: doom adimdim adoom adimadim: and
the oragel of the lauds to tellforth's glory: and added thereunto a shal-
low laver to slub out her hellfire and posied windows for her oriel house;
gospelly *pewmillieu*, pewmillieu, Christous pewmillieu: zackbutts babazound-
ed, ollguns tararulled: and she sass her nach, chillybombom and forty
bonnets, upon the altarstane. May all have mossyhonours.

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

in his beam

6. Earwicker, identifying himself with his sensual and successful son Kevin-Shaun, has just eaten an excellent meal. Can you see what this passage is about?

Mass and meat mar no man's journey. Eat a missal lest. Nuts for
the nerves, a flitch for the flue and for to rejoice the chambers of
the heart the spirits of the spice isles, curry and cinnamon, chutney
and cloves. All the vitalmines is beginning to sozzle in chewn and the
hormonies to clingleclangle, fudgem, kates and *xxxxx* eaps and naboc and
*xxoxoxxoxxx* till
erics and oinnos on kingclud and xoxxoxo and xooxox/*xxxxEXxxEXxx*-
I'm fustfed like fungstif ...

## Quiz

1. Analyze these lines from *Macbeth*, Act III, Sc. IV, so as to show how the effect is obtained through rhythm and through the arrangement of vowels and consonants:

Duncan is in his grave,

3. Discuss the following passage from Pope's Windsor Forest from the point of view of what is represented and how it is represented:

Oft in her glass¹ the musing shepherd spies

Through the fair scone roll slow the ling'ring streams,

¹ Her glass refers to the waters of the river Loddon.

In long lassoes from the Cock lake the water flowed full, covering green-goldenly lagoons of sand, rising, flowing. My ashplant will float away. I shall wait. No, they will pass on, passing chafing against the low rocks, swirling, passing. Better get this job over quick. Listen: a fourworded wavespeech: seesoo, hrss, rsseeiss ooes. Vehement breath of waters amid seasnakes, rearing horses, rocks. In cups of rocks it slops: flop, slop, slap: bounded in barrels. And, spent, its speech ceases. It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.

2

4. Discuss in the same way the following passage from *Haveth Childers Everywhere*
episode of *Finnegans Wake*:

... and thirdly, for ewigs, I did reform and restore for my smuggy piggiesknees,
my sweet coolocked, my auburn coyquailing one, her paddy-palace on the crossknoll
with massgo bell, sixton clashcloshant, duominous and muezzatinties to commind the
fitful: doom adimdim adoom adimadim: and the oragel of the lauds to tellforth's
glory: and added thereunto a shallow laver to slub out her hellfire and posied
windows for her oriel house: gospelly pewmillieu, christous pewmillieu: zackbutts
babazounded, ollguns tararulled: and she sass her nach, chillybombom and forty
bonnets, upon the altarstane. May all have mossyhonours!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

6. Earwicker in his dream, identifying himself with his sensual and successful son Kevin-Shaun, has just eaten an excellent meal. Can you see what this passage is about?

Mass and meat mar no man's journey. Eat a missal lest. Nuts for the nerves, a
flitch for the flue and for to rejoice the chambers of the heart the spirits of the
spice isles, curry and cinnamon, chutney and cloves. All the vitalmines is begin-
ning to sozzle in chewn and the hormonies to clingloclangle, fudgem, kates and eaps
and naboc and erics and oinnos on kingclud and xoxxoxo and xooxox xxoxoxxxx till
I'm fustfed like fungstif ...

## Quiz

1. Analyze these lines from _Macbeth_, Act III, Sc. IV, so as to show how the effect is obtained through rhythm and through the arrangement of vowels and consonants:

2. Discuss the following passage from Pope's Windsor Forest from the point of view of what is represented and how it is represented:

Oft in her glass¹ the musing shepherd spies
The headlong mountains and the downward skies,
The watery landscape of the pendent woods,
And absent trees that tremble in the floods;
In the clear azure glean the flocks are seen,
And floating forests paint the waves with green,
Through the fair scene roll slow the ling'ring streams,
Then foaming pour along, and rush into the Thames.

In long lassoes from the Cock lake the water flowed full, covering green-goldenly lagoons of sand, rising, flowing. My ashplant will float away. I shall wait. No, they will pass on, passing chafing against the low rocks, swirling, passing. Better get this job over quick. Listen: a fourworded wavespeech: seesoo, hrss, rsseeiss oocos. Vehement breath of waters amid seasnakes, rearing horses, rocks. In cups of rocks it slops: flop, slop, slap: bounded in barrels. And, spent, its speech ceases. It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.

2

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

Mass and meat mar no man's journey. Eat a missal lest. Nuts for the nerves, a
flitch for the flue and for to rejoice the chambers of the heart the spirits of the
spice isles, curry and cinnamon, chutney and cloves. All the vitalmines is begin-
ning to sozzle in chewn and the hormonies to clingloclangle, fudgen, kates and eaps
and nabob and erics and oinnos on kingclud and xoxxox and xooxox xxoxxxxxx till
I'm fustfed like fungstif ...

2

... and thirdly, for ewigs, I did reform and restore for my smuggy piggiesknees,
my sweet coolocked, my auburn coyquailing one, her paddy-palace on the crossknoll
with massgo bell, sixton clashcloshant, duominous and muezzatinties to commind the
fitful; doom adimdim adoom adimadim: and the oragel of the lauds to tellforth's
glory: and added thereunto a shallow laver to slub out her hellfire and posied
windows for her oriel house: gospelly pewmillieu, christous pewmillieu: zackbutts
babazounded, ollguns tararulled: and she sass her nach, chillybombom and forty
bonnets, upon the altarstane. May all have mossyhonours!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

-Hoke!

Mass and meat mar no man's journey. Eat a missal lest. Nuts for the nerves, a
flitch for the flue and for to rejoice the chambers of the heart the spirits of the
spice isles, curry and cinnamon, chutney and cloves. All the vitalmines is begin-
ning to sozzle in chewn and the hormonies to clingleclangle, fudgem, kates and eaps
and naboc and erics and oinnos on kingclud and xoxxox and xooxox xxoxoxxxx till
I'm fustfed like fungstif ...