THE NATURE OF NIGHTMARE: A READER RESPONSE ANALYSIS OF

JAMES JOYCE’S “I HEAR AN ARMY CHARGING UPON THE LAND”

We live in an imperfect world far different from the one Thomas Moore imagined
when he wrote Utopia. Forces surround people that threaten their livelihood and
existence. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, and floods destroy
property and devastate people’s lives. Diseases ravage people’s bodies despite
yearly advances in medicine, and pathogens like AIDS and Meningitis kill millions
each year. Individuals suffer the pangs of rejection and lost love, turning to drugs,
alcohol, and/or suicide to escape their pain. And all of these forces are beyond
anyone’s direct control.

James Joyce addresses the effects such uncontrollable forces may have on an
individual in his poem “I Hear an Army Charging Upon the Land”. Joyce presents
a man waking from a nightmare to the sound of a vast force of charioteers riding
out of the ocean. This army plunges wildly out of the foam, complete with black
armour and green hair—a grotesque and violent calvary bent on destruction. Still,
the speaker remains steadfast against the fearsome charge of the many soldiers—
though utterly alone. Joyce implies that when calamities do occur, they often do so
in multitudes, leaving a person with an intense feeling of isolation and
disillusionment.

Joyce’s army of the sea is one of a vast and relentless power. The soldiers stand
“arrogant” in their chariots, whipping their steeds while they “disdain the reins” so
as to focus on their battle-cries. They come “shaking in triumph their long green
hair” (Line 12) and “cleave the gloom of [the speaker’s] dreams” (Line 10). The
spiraling images of the army’s “fluttering whips” and “whirling laughter” suggest
the force that threatens the speaker is both unbridled and uncontrollable.
Furthermore, Joyce’s repetition of phrases like “They cry… They cleave… and
“They come…” expresses the relentless aggression of a vast army; of a force that
cannot and will not stop until it has obliterated the man. Clearly the speaker is in
danger and has little chance of escaping his fate.
One must question what exactly the nature of this threatening force is. Possibly
Joyce is personifying the ocean as an impassive force of nature capable of
destroying man. We have seen the destructive potential of nature in the aftermaths
of Hurricane Katrina and the recent earthquake in Japan. There is little man can do
to survive such calamities. The images of the horses (like whitecaps), the green
hair of the soldiers, and the wave-like rhythms intensify my own deep-seated fears
of mother nature—a force very much beyond my control.

Then again, the soldiers may also be symbolic of any kind of uncontrolled disaster
that could befall an individual. The speaker tells us his love has left him alone.
Why? Has she left because of the impending calamity soon to claim the life of the
unfortunate man? I think it is human nature to avoid pain, and regrettably we see
many people desert their own friends, family, wife, husband—even country, when
things go awry or forces threaten them. How often do people stow their aging
mothers and fathers in senior citizens’ homes rather than care for their aging
parents themselves? It is painful to see a loved one pass into senility and eventual
death. I recognize how indeed their condition threatens us by reminding us of our
own mortality. But do these loved ones not deserve better? For the speaker
presented in Joyce’s poem, his love has abandoned him well before the threatening
horseman have even stepped from the ocean. We do the same when we begin
saving for the day we must put our parents in the infirmary.

Despite all of these threatening forces, I still feel relatively safe living in rural
Southern Alberta. I watch reports of war on television and read statistics
concerning death and disease, and yet, at the end of the day, I still sleep soundly
each night. I suppose I am not afraid because I have been fortunate thus far not be
have been accosted by these dangers. What does scare me are forces of a less
tangible nature; that is, those inner fears which surely and stealthily wreak havoc
upon the dreams of one’s heart. Practical concerns like mortgages, debt load, and
keeping up appearances work together to force me toward the “middle road” of
life, moving me into a conservative, square, and conventional lifestyle. This is the
true fight: to maintain one’s individuality against those bent on molding you into
one of their own. The green horsemen will always be out there. The secret is not to
run away.
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