"a wail went forth"

(474.1-476.2)  In introducing the third chapter of Book III of Finnegans Wake, Tindall writes that, despite its length (81 pages), this chapter is "one of the easier ones" in the book and asserts, "If the chapter were shorter, we should miss a lot of fun."  Here's hoping he's right.

Following the Viconian cycle, this chapter represents the third age of human existence, the democratic age of the people.  It mirrors the third chapter in Book II of the Wake, which presented HCE among his customers in his pub and traced the interweaving action and discussion throughout the evening until closing time.  This chapter begins with Shaun -- now called "Yawn" to indicate his exhaustion -- lying on a hillock, wailing.  His "dream monologue" (the sermon he delivered to the girls in the previous chapter) is over, but his "drama parapolylogic" has not yet begun.

Hearing the wailing, the four old men reappear and come to see Shaun.  There has been a fair amount of language likening Shaun to Christ throughout Book III, and here the four old men take on the form of the Three Magi ("three kings of three suits and a crowner") come to see the reclining Shaun/Jesus.  This also fits in with the idea that Shaun is growing younger as Book III progresses:  He was an adult in the first chapter, was an adolescent in the second chapter, and is now an infant in the third chapter.  Having found Shaun, the four old men express fear seven times:  "Feefee!  phopho!!  foorchtha!!!aggala!!!!jeeshee!!!!!paloola!!!!!!ooridiminy!!!!!!!"  (McHugh notes that these words translate to "fear," "death," or "The Mad Dog" in a variety of languages.)  Shaun's body is at the center of Ireland:  "one half of him in Conn's half" (McHugh notes that ancient Ireland was divided into "Conn's half" and "Owen's half") and "the whole of him nevertheless in Owenmore's five quarters" (McHugh notes that Ireland was once divided into five parts, but now is divided into four parts).  Wild potatoes grow over his body, which incorporates elements of the cosmos (e.g., "And his veins shooting melanite phosphor, his creamtocustard cometshair and his asteroid knuckles, ribs and members.").

The four old men have come to conduct an inquiry regarding Shaun.  Here, they're introduced as Shanator Gregory (Matthew), Shanator Lyons (Mark), Dr Shunadure Tarpey (Luke), and Shunny MacShunny, MacDougal the hiker (John).  It appears that two of these men are aligned in a sense with Shaun, while the other two are aligned with Shem.  First, there is the space-time division.  Gregory is "seeking spoor through the deep timefield," indicating that he, like Shem, is concerned with time.  Lyons is "trailing the wavy line of his partition footsteps," indicating that he, like Shaun, is concerned with space.  The sleepy Dr Shunadure (move the "a" up two spots and you've got Shaundure) Tarpey is aligned with Yawn/Shaun.  And the outcast or shunned Shunny MacShunny MacDougal is aligned with Shem.  The four men are trailed by their ass, which seems to be taking on a more prominent role in this chapter.