My Poet Pages | Poet Links

James Joyce (1882-1941)


		I Hear an 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 into 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 grey 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?

	[Des Imagistes, 1914]
	Note: a version with different lineation appears as Chamber Music XXXVI.

Bibliography

Discography

I've compiled the above information referring to some standard reference materials, including The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Grolier Encyclopedia, etc.


Joyce Text

For an annotated list, with copyright problems, of e-text versions of Joyce's works, see Electronic Texts, compiled by Rob Callahan.


Joyce Pages


Joyce Journals


Misc.


Last updated: 5 December 2001

Joyce class syllabus

20th-century Poetry Page

Quid prodest hoc ad aeternitatem
Professor Eiichi Hishikawa
Faculty of Letters, Kobe University