I Hear an Army Lil Paula-Danielle Nterful The Poem 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? Introduction James Joyce presenting an overt and powerful poem, makes a statement about the fearsome nature of heartbreak through his presentation of a surreal scene of an army charging towards him. Historical Context • The first world war brought about significant social and political changes and influenced the work of many writers, as they grappled with the horrors of war. Joyce was a prominent figure in the modernist literary movement. This period saw a shift away from traditional literary forms and a focus on experimentation with language and narrative structure. "I Hear an Army" reflects some of the modernist tendencies in Joyce's work. • The poem's themes of isolation, longing, and the search for meaning can be seen as reflective of the uncertainty and turmoil of the early 20th century. Joyce is known for his exploration of the human psyche and the inner thoughts and emotions of his characters in his writing, which could include themes related to dreams, nightmares, and the subconscious. His works often delve into the complexities of the human mind, and dream-like sequences and symbolism can be found in his writing. Form and Structure ● Pace: The first stanza of the poem utilises a regular iambic meter to maintain a lyrical pace to the poem. The enjambment also propells readers from line to line to show the urgency the speaker feels as if to cry for help. ● Rhyme: The use of a consistent rhyme scheme gives the poem a steady pace as if to show that the poet has put much thought into putting into words this army that he beholds so he can clearly convey this image to us. ● Fragmentation: The effect of psychic harm is suggested by caesura, especially in the first two stanzas; for example, Arrogant, in black armour, behind them stand. Meaning a deliberate break in the middle of a line of poetry, Joyce uses all kinds of caesuras – commas, semi-colons and colons – to ‘fracture’ his lines and stanzas in a way that evokes the ‘breaking’ of a heart or the terrible, stuttering fear suffered during such a vivid nightmare. Form and Structure ● Iambs and Anapests: This poem is a mixture of iambs and anapests. This adds to the galloping affect of the hooves of the horses. ● Consonance/Assonance: The repetition of hard consonant sounds creates a cacophony, adding to the chaos of this poem. The usage of soft consonants while describing the author shows how vulnerable he is. ● Onomatoepia: Several words ‘whip’, ‘moan’, ‘clanging’ etc. which add to the atmosphere Content 01 02 Themes Generalised Ideas 03 04 Conclusion Line-by-line analysis In-depth understanding Wrapping up Further Psych your mind and additional resources 01 Themes Generalised Ideas about the poem Themes The Nature of Loss The Pain of Heartbreak Heart vs Mind Saturn has beautiful rings The Power of Emotions 02 Line-by-line analysis In-depth analysis to understand the poem “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.” - Stanza One Analysis ● The poem begins powerfully as the poet appeals to our sense of hearing to create a jarring image of an army he is threatened by. “I hear an army charging upon the land, And the thunder of horses plunging, foam about their knees:” We are introduced to a frightening scene as the word “army” often connotes a violent group of people who can harm you once you are deemed an enemy therefore the poet may be communicating the feeling this army evokes in him. ● The use of onomatopoeia in “thunder” not only solidifies the imagery but creates an atmosphere of chaos because one can imagine the sheer size of the army that would make the footfalls of these horses mirror a stormy day. This word choice could allude to the army stirring up a myriad of emotions that are negative to the speaker. ● The scene takes on a sense of surrealism with the addition of “foam about their knees” as it is possible to assume that this army rises out a body of water which is not logically possible. This begs the question of whether this scene is in any means realistic or symbolic of the themes the poem aims to convey Analysis ● The second part of this stanza presents the readers some rather unsettling characters. The words choice here is very key to the overall atmosphere created to characterise the army. They are “arrogant in black armour”. Not only does the adjective show the prowess these beings seem confident in possessing, colours such as “black” often reflect serious themes like intensity, fear and like skilled military operatives, a uniform indicative of a veteran. ● This description seems to put forward the intimidating picture of this army that our poet hears and by “disdaining the reins”, we realise that these people do not aim to maintain control of these powerful horses. Not only does the poet make a villain out of these scary characters, he seems to use them to mirror the inner lack of control these beings can induce on his emotions. ● The “fluttering whips” reflect the general action that the poet makes the army maintain. Envision the wind blowing these whips around menacingly. Words like this in addition to the “thunder”, “plunging” and “charging” keep the poem moving and allude to a sense of hysterical urgency, the kind one gets in moments of intense fear. ● In addition, the present tense “hear” being used could perhaps connote the inability of the poet to cease relating with this army or experiencing them. It may also signify a cry for help as a warning can sometimes be told using the present tense. “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.” - Stanza Two Analysis ● “They cry unto the night their battle-name:” The word choice here ramps up the feeling of fear created in this stanza. It cements the idea that this army is here for the speaker by the use of “cry” as can be linked to a battle cry. This subtly links the army to armies such as that of the Roman legion as James’ work was influenced by these ideas as well as emphasizes the real threat they posed. “battle-name” used so generally could be symbolic of how the speaker finds it hard to describe what the emotion is. ● This stanza takes the poem in a different direction and seeming to tell us that the speaker is dreaming. “I moan in sleep when I hear afar their whirling laughter.” Suddenly, this whole scene becomes a figment of his mind, causing him obvious distress through the use of the “moan” sound. Not only does this army permeate his reality but the speaker has their laughter “whirling” around him. We see that the speaker perhaps cannot escape this myriad of feelings even in his waking hours. It surrounds him as shown by the movement of the laughter in “whirling”. ● The image of someone struggling with a feeling of loss or anything more potent is made here. “They cleave the gloom of dreams, a blinding flame”. Assuming the army represents the emotions that the poet is attacked by, we can infer that this is an ongoing ordeal for the speaker. He is constantly stuck in this nightmare that suffocates him with feeling as the army “cleave” to his subconscious moments. Analysis ● The oxymoronic “gloom of dreams” further conveys the speaker’s struggle. Dreams often associated with peace and positivity and hope are rather characterized by “gloom”. This hopeless tone links back to the first stanza and explains the present tense “hear”; the speaker is going through this and has not yet overcome it. ● This atmosphere of despair takes on a visceral intensity through the use of “a blinding flame”. The poet describes the arrival of these people as a flame which is intense and leaves a burn. By making the flame “blinding”, the poet seems to suggest that he cannot look away from this despair and onslaught of emotions regardless of how much it ruins him, which perhaps influences the garish and vivid pictures he paints for the readers to make them empathise with him. ● The sound created by “clanging, clanging” brings to mind a blacksmith bending something into shape. It is an unpleasant and incessant sound, just like the arrival of the army. We see the poet does not welcome them in any way. ● The introduction of what this army truly symbolizes occurs at the end of this stanza, “Clanging, clanging upon the heart as upon an anvil.” The poet brings in a familiar theme of the heart going through pain or suffering. We can infer from this that the army reflects the emotions of heartbreak, loneliness and suffering that comes from the heart. Using metaphor to compare it to an anvil, the poet suggests that how these feelings are breaking him in an almost ruthless manner. “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?” - Stanza Three Analysis ● . Long, green hair is arguably the strangest and most lurid visual image, creating the impression that army is alien, anathema to human happiness. The poet attempts to separate himself from these creatures, personifying them as some type of curse. This is perhaps a commentary of the alien nature of heartbreak as it shows no compassion at all for those it affects and invades every aspect of one’s self as most believe aliens can. ● In addition to the “they come out of the sea and run shouting by the shore”, their “long, green hair” using green to indicate the vitality and energy of these people. ● There’s a real ‘them-and-us’ opposition in the poem, created by the repetition of the word ‘they’ throughout the poem. This disassociation adequately shows the dislike of the poet towards these feelings. It fails to hint at him assuming his lover will come back to assuage this, he simply wishes they would go away. He hopes to let the readers hate this feeling just like he does. ● The ending lines of this poem not only give clarity to the poem but also add a gravity to this visceral and intense scene the readers are so familiar with. “My heart, have you no wisdom thus to despair?” The heart more often than not speaks to an object of affection but conversely may literally mean the heart. Analysis ● The poet is demanding answer from his heart as to why it has allowed him to be assuaged by this army. Not only does it become clear that these frightening entities are personifications of his heartbreak, “heart” could also speak to his love that has left him in despair. ● The tone of desperation is shown in the use of the word “wisdom” seems to bite back against his lover to show how unwise the decision to leave him subject to this despair was. ● The final lines of the poem use repetition to connote the cry for help that the poet is sounding to his love. ● By ending on a rhetorical question, it leaves a sense of dissatisfaction and the lack of an answer shows that after this attack and this morbid experience, t he speaker finds himself alone in his dark room with nothing to hold on to. ● “My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone?” Conclusion In conclusion, by thrusting his readers into a visceral and intense scene, James Joyce creates a lasting image of the reality of heartbreak and the struggle between heart and mind in a manner that gives depth and understanding to the struggles of love. Further Resources Here’s an assortment of alternative resources whose analysis fits that of this presentation: ● https://poetryprof.com/i-hear-an-army/ ● https://poemanalysis.com/james-joyce/i-hear-an-army/ ● https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/james-joyce/i-hear-an-army ● https://langara.libguides.com/c.php?g=710370&p=5061803#:~: text=In%20%22I%20Hear%20An%20Army%22%20by%20James% 20Joyce%2C%20the,you%20left%20me%20alone%22)%3F ● https://poetryprof.com/i-hear-an-army/ Exemplary Questions? • • Considering imagery and choice of language, how does Joyce create atmosphere in this poem? Comment closely on the ways in Joyce presents loneliness in this poem. Thank You
