I Hear an Army
By James Joyce
“I” lets us know the speaker is relaying a first- hand account.
“Army”: There is a battle going on. By the end of the poem, we see that it is an internal battle
James Joyce
The poem was published in 1907as part of a collection entitled Chamber Music, when Joyce was 25 years old and a maturing writer. These poems were originally intended to be set to music, so they have a musical quality to their rhythm. He said of the collection: “When I wrote [Chamber Music], I was a lonely boy, walking about by myself at night and thinking that one day a girl would love me.” �
Structure
Mark the rhyme and meter and note the stanza lengths.
Theme
Love, Heartbreak, Unrequited Love
I hear an army charging upon the land, A� And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: B �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, A � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers. C
They cry unto the night their battle-name: D� I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. E�They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, D� Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil. F
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: G� They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. H�My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? G� My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone? I
Mostly written in iambic feet but has some anapests and trochees.
Three stanzas of quatrains. The steady structure mimics the rigid organization of an army, each stanza representing a separate unit.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Auditory imagery
The first two words tell the reader to listen. Joyce creates a litany of frightening, cacophonous sounds throughout the poem. The onomatopoeia/�simile of the heart being beaten as though it were an anvil is especially vivid.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Powerful
diction
The inflected words ending in –ing fuel this poem with strong action and movement. The powerful words almost shake the poem, so that you can hear the charging horses.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Anaphora
The anaphoras go back and forth between the speaker “I” and the army “they.” The “I” and “My” of the speaker are reactions to the actions of “They” the army.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Epizeuxis
“Clanging, clanging” cacophonous alliteration (add in “cry” and “cleave”), creates the auditory image of the heart being beaten on an anvil relentlessly.
“My love, my love, my love” repeated three times shows the ultimate despair of the speaker of the loss of his love.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Biblical Allusion
To the four horsemen of the apocalypse, who appear in the Book of Revelation as a harbinger of the destruction of the world. In this case, they are signaling his own personal world’s destruction with the loss of a relationship.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Visual Imagery
The horses and their charioteers rise out of the ocean, likening them to mythical gods. They rush through the dream, clad in black armour wielding fluttering whips. They sneak into dreams like a blinding flame, bringing gloom. They shake their green hair triumphantly.
I hear an army charging upon the land, � And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees: �Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand, � Disdaining the reins, with fluttering whips, the charioteers.
They cry unto the night their battle-name: � I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter. �They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame, � Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.
They come shaking in triumph their long, green hair: � They come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore. �My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair? � My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?
Volta & Rhetorical questions &
Parallel structure
The volta and the rhetorical questions occur simultaneously. It is here where we learn that this dream is a nightmare involving a lost love. The parallel structure emphasizes the idea that he has probably asked the questions over and over, but the answer never returns.
Today’s Question
How does the author use war �to convey heartbreak?