Joyces ten thunders
"The Ten Thunders" in James Joyces "Finnegans Wake"
Joyce's Wake is claimed to be a gigantic cryptogram that reveals a cyclic pattern for the whole history of man as revealed through Ten Thunders. Each thunder below is a (very long) portmanteau of other words used to create a statement that likens to an effect that each technology has on the society into which it is introduced.
In order to glean the most understanding out of each, the reader must break the portmanteau into separate words (and many of these are themselves portmanteaus of words taken from multiple languages other than English) and speak them aloud for the spoken effect of each word. There is much dispute over what each portmanteau truly denotes."
"McLuhan claims that the ten thunders in the Wake represent different stages in the history of man (pg 46):
"Another interpretation I would give this first historical period is the transition or change from doing art (paleolithic) and knowing how to do art (neolithic). Not unlike the current transitionary period in art between modernity and post modernity where the artist has resorted to looking for something that hasn't already been said by resorting to making statements about the statement or resorts to statements about nature."-Terry
Thunder 1: Paleolithic to Neolithic.
Speech. Split of East/West. From herding to harnessing animals.
Finnegan Phraseology
bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronnton
neronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawn
skawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk
Thunder 2: Clothing as weaponry.
Enclosure of private parts. First social aggression.
Finnegan Phraseology
Perkodhuskurunbarggruauyagokgorlayorgrom
gremmitghundhurtthrumathun
aradidillifaititillibumullunukkunun
Thunder 3: Specialism.
Centralism via wheel, transport, cities: civil life.
klikkaklakkaklaskaklopatzklatschabattacrepp
ycrottygraddaghsemmihsammih
nouithappluddyappladdypkonpkot
Thunder 4: Markets and truck gardens.
Patterns of nature submitted to greed and power.
Bladyughfulmoecklenburgwhurawhorascortast
rumpapornanennykocksapast
ippatappatupperstrippuckputtanach
Thunder 5: Printing.
Distortion and translation of human patterns and postures and pastors.
Thincrooklyexineverypasturesixdixlikencehi
maraundhersthemaggerbykinki
nkankanwithdownmindlookingated
Thunder 6: Industrial Revolution.
Extreme development of print process and individualism.
Lukkedoerendunandrrraskewdylooshooferm
oyportertooryzooysphalnabortra
nsporthaokansakroidverjkapakkapuk
Thunder 7: Tribal man again.
Both all choractors end of separate, private man. Return of choric.
Bothallchoractorschumminaroundgansumum
inarumdrumstrumtruminahumpta
dumpwaultopoofoolooderamaunsturnup!
Thunder 8: Movies.
Pop art, pop Kulch via tribal radio. Wedding of sight and sound.
Pappappapparassannuaragheallachnatullaghm
onganmacmacmacwhackfallther
debblenonthedubblanddaddydoodled
Thunder 9: Car and Plane.
Both centralizing and decentralizing at once create cities in crisis. Speed and death.
husstenhasstencaffincoffintussemtossemdam
andadmnacosaghcusaghhobixh
atouxpeswchbechoscashlcarcarcaract
Thunder 10: Television.
Back to tribal involvement in tribal mood-mud. Last thunder =
turbulent, muddy wake, and murk of non-visual, tactile man.
Ullhodurdenweirmudgaardgringnirurdrmolni
rfenrirlukklilokkibaugimando
drrerinsurtkrinmgernrackinarockar
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