FAO tweebianmonkey
Forgive me. I confused the novel (Finnegans Wake) with the song that weaves through it (Finnegan's Wake). A schoolboy error for which I'll strap myself with barbed wire later - having previously skinned myself and bathed in lemon juice.

As for "why", we are dealing with Joyce here so there won't be one answer. A wake is a party for the dead like the one that starts the novel. Or the disturbance that follows a ship - referring the aquatic qualities of Anna Livia Plurabelle. Or it could refer to the initial protagonist coming back to life. Or Humphrey Earwicker not being strong (weak/wake in a certain accent). Or it could be a call to all Finnegans (working men) to rise up. There'll no doubt be something about Egyptian mythology and Irish legend as well.

It's perfectly summed up by the words of a friend who also did English Lit at uni: "Everybody hide, it's that f*cking lunatic Joyce!"

It's cool he coined the word "quark" though... (Joyce not my mate.)
( calgacus Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, Thu 17 Mar 2005, 16:18, Reply)