''A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'' is a 1944 work of

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

mythologist Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

and

Henry Morton Robinson Henry Morton Robinson (September 7, 1898 – January 13, 1961) was an American novelist, best known for '' A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake'' written with Joseph Campbell and his 1950 novel ''The Cardinal'', which ''Time'' magazine reported w ...

. The work gives both a general critical overview of ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction whi ...

'' and a detailed

exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

outline of the text. According to Campbell and Robinson, ''Finnegans Wake'' is best interpreted in light of

Giambattista Vico Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista Vico ; ; 23 June 1668 – 23 January 1744) was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist during the Italian Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationali ...

's philosophy, which holds that history proceeds in cycles and fails to achieve meaningful progress over time. Campbell and Robinson began their analysis of Joyce's work because they had recognized in ''

The Skin of Our Teeth ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' is a play by Thornton Wilder that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942, at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, ...

'' (1942), the popular play by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

, an appropriation from Joyce's novel not only of themes but of plot and language as well. They published a pair of reviews-''cum''-denunciations of ''Skin of Our Teeth'', both entitled "The Skin of ''Whose'' Teeth?" in '' The Saturday Review''.For the texts of these articles, see For Campbell's story of the "Skin of Our Teeth Affair" and how it led to the publication of ''A Skeleton Key'', see

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