The Ballad of Pierce O'Reilly (Humpty Dumpty)

The Ballad of Persse O'Reilly - a poem from the book Finnegans Wake written by James Joyce.

Explanatory notes on verses 9 and 10 of the poem

These verses continue the narrative of the downfall of the figure H.C. Earwicker (HCE), often referred to by the epithet "Humpharey" in the ballad. They describe the central, scandalous event-the alleged sexual indiscretion in the park-and the subsequent moral condemnation.

Here are explanatory notes on Verse 9 and Verse 10:

Verse 9: The Alleged Indiscretion

This verse introduces the act that forms the basis of HCE's public shame. It treats the event with a characteristic mixture of vulgarity, ambiguity, and mock-journalistic authority.

• "It was during some fresh water garden pumping"

• This is the initial, vague, and highly suggestive description of the setting and action.
• Garden pumping: Refers to the setting of the public park (most likely the Phoenix Park in Dublin as he refers to Wellinton's monument in verse 11, which is situated in the Phoenix Park) where the indiscretion allegedly occurred.
• "Pumping" is a clear sexual innuendo, linking the mechanical act (water pumping) with the sexual act.
• This is the initial, vague, and highly suggestive description of the setting and action.
• Garden pumping: Refers to the setting of the public park (most likely the Phoenix Park in Dublin as he refers to Wellinton's monument (Wellington monument) in verse 11, which is situated in the Phoenix Park) where the indiscretion allegedly occurred.
• "Pumping" is a clear sexual innuendo, linking the mechanical act (water pumping) with the sexual act.

• "Or, according to the Nursing Mirror, while admiring the monkeys"
• Nursing Mirror: This is a playful nod to tabloid sensationalism, contrasting the weighty historical narrative with the trivia of a professional magazine (a real British nursing publication). It mocks the source of the gossip.
• Admiring the monkeys: This provides an alternative, more innocent cover story for HCE's presence, while simultaneously suggesting the primal, bestial nature of the act that followed. And Dublin Zoo is also nearby in the Phoenix Park where he could admire the monkeys.

• "That our heavyweight heathen Humpharey / Made bold a maid to woo"

• heavyweight heathen Humpharey: This epithet for HCE establishes him as massive ("heavyweight"), unchristian ("heathen"), and sets up the allusions to Humpty Dumpty and other great figures (Humphrey). The alliteration emphasizes his crude bulk.
• "Made bold a maid to woo": The euphemism for the sexual encounter-he dared to court (or accost) a young woman.

• "Woohoo, what'll she doo! / The general lost her maidenloo!"

• Woohoo, what'll she doo!: A chorus of sensationalist excitement and moral panic.
• The general lost her maidenloo!: The most vulgar pun in the stanza.
• "general": The victim is generalized to "the maid" or "the girl. Or it refers to Napoleon (the General) at Waterloo"
• "maidenloo": A crude pun on "maidenhead" (virginity) and the French word l'eau (water), perhaps linking back to the "fresh water garden." The phrase satirically announces that the girl lost her virginity. Could be related as well to the phrase "She met her Waterloo" meaning she lost like The General (Napoleon) at Waterloo. "loo" is also slang for toilet.

Verse 10: Moral and Phylogenetic Condemnation

This verse delivers the poem's moral judgment on HCE, placing him in a lineage of primeval, foolish figures.

• "He ought to be ashamed for himself, the old hayheaded philosopher,"
• old hayheaded philosopher: A mocking description of HCE. "Hayheaded" suggests stupidity, confusion, or a tangled mass of thoughts (like a haystack). "Philosopher" is ironic, labeling him an ancient, bumbling thinker.

• "For to go and shove himself that way on top of her."
• A bluntly physical and common-language summary of the alleged sexual assault or indiscretion, using simple, damning verbs.

• "Begob, he's the crux of the catalogue / Of our antediluvial zoo,"

• Begob: A common Irish exclamation/mild oath."
• crux of the catalogue: HCE is presented as the central, defining problem or enigma (crux) of humanity's history.
• antediluvial zoo: A reference to the time before the Great Flood (Noah's time). This expands HCE's identity from an individual to a primeval type, a specimen in humanity's ancient, animalistic history, connecting him to the idea of original sin and the Fall.

• "Messrs Billing and Coo. / Noah's larks, good as noo."

• Messrs Billing and Coo: The classic phrase for lovers making soft, intimate sounds, here turned into a business firm ("Messrs")-perhaps suggesting the transactional nature of the act.
• Noah's larks, good as noo: A final linking of HCE to the Biblical era.

• Noah's larks: Birds (or perhaps just primal, animalistic figures) associated with Noah's Ark (the zoo).
• good as noo: Irish colloquialism for "good as new." The phrase sarcastically implies that humanity's primeval, foolish, and sinful nature (HCE) has been around since the Ark and remains unchanged, "good as new."

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