Finnegans Wake is an experimental novel that pushes stream of consciousness and literary allusion to their extremes. Although the work can be read from beginning to end, Joyce's writing transforms traditional ideas of plot and character development through his wordplay, allowing the book to be read nonlinearly. Much of the wordplay stems from the work being written in peculiar and obscure English, based mainly on complex multilevel puns. This approach is similar to, but far more extensive than, that used by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky and draws on a wide range of languages. The associative nature of its language has led to it being interpreted as the story of a dream.
Finnegans Wake is an experimental novel that pushes stream of consciousness and literary allusion to their extremes Although the work can be read from beginning to end Joyce's writing transforms traditional ideas of plot and character development through his wordplay allowing the book to be read nonlinearly Much of the wordplay stems from the work being written in peculiar and obscure English based mainly on complex multilevel puns This approach is similar to but far more extensive than that used by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky and draws on a wide range of languages The associative nature of its language has led to it being interpreted as the story of a dream