Rather confused when reading a poem by Joyce

Gibran · 08-18-2009, 05:38 AM

Hi everyone, I came across a poem today by James Joyce, below is one passage of the poem All day I hear the noise of waters.

All day I hear the noise of waters
Making moan,
Sad as the sea-bird is when, going
Forth alone,
He hears the winds cry to the water's
Monotone.

I'm a bit confused by the plural "waters", what does it mean here? I looked up my dictionary and find several meanings, but I'm not sure which one fits this. Or it just stands for something flowing (a symbol of "mind") here?

Many thanks.

catatonic · 08-18-2009, 06:34 PM

Maybe he liked the sibilance at the end of the line, grammar be damned. That would be my guess.

JBI · 08-18-2009, 06:49 PM

Waters and water are sort of interchangeable - when you are personifying the water here, as making moans, it works better to use the plural - so a sailor would say something like, "These are rough waters" whereas water as a singular refers to water in general, the plural refers to a part of the whole, a section, that is moaning. Notice the switch to the singular - that is because he is talking about a general thing - water in general, whereas before, by personifying the water, he made it plural - just a weird English convention I guess.

mortalterror · 08-18-2009, 07:35 PM

That would be a poem from Joyce's Chamber Music. Since he claimed that the title was a pun about urinating against the side of a chamber pot, the use of words such as waters, moan, and going may have hidden ribald connotations.

dolon · 08-22-2009, 03:03 AM

can anyone help me with ullyses i have read it and have certain understanding problems in some places..........

thank you

ed_shaw · 10-10-2009, 07:31 PM

I might think that could be the sound of the sea.

08-18-2009, 05:38 AM	#1
Gibran Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 62	Rather confused when reading a poem by Joyce Hi everyone, I came across a poem today by James Joyce, below is one passage of the poem All day I hear the noise of waters. All day I hear the noise of waters Making moan, Sad as the sea-bird is when, going Forth alone, He hears the winds cry to the water's Monotone. I'm a bit confused by the plural "waters", what does it mean here? I looked up my dictionary and find several meanings, but I'm not sure which one fits this. Or it just stands for something flowing (a symbol of "mind") here? Many thanks. __________________ We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting. Last edited by Gibran; 08-18-2009 at 05:49 AM.

08-18-2009, 06:49 PM	#3
JBI Bibliophile Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 4,069	Waters and water are sort of interchangeable - when you are personifying the water here, as making moans, it works better to use the plural - so a sailor would say something like, "These are rough waters" whereas water as a singular refers to water in general, the plural refers to a part of the whole, a section, that is moaning. Notice the switch to the singular - that is because he is talking about a general thing - water in general, whereas before, by personifying the water, he made it plural - just a weird English convention I guess. __________________ S'i' Fosse Foco, arderei 'l mondo - Cecco Angiolieri c. 1260-1312

08-18-2009, 07:35 PM	#4
mortalterror Know Thyself Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 613 Blog Entries: 3	That would be a poem from Joyce's Chamber Music. Since he claimed that the title was a pun about urinating against the side of a chamber pot, the use of words such as waters, moan, and going may have hidden ribald connotations. __________________ Life is short, should hope be long? -Horace Ode 1.11 O Charidas, what of the under world? Great darkness. And what of the resurrection? A lie. And Pluto? A fable; we perish utterly. -Callimachus Epigram 14 Your lost friends are not dead, but gone before, advanced a stage or two upon that road which you must travel in the steps they trod. -Aristophanes

08-22-2009, 03:03 AM	#5
dolon Registered User Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: india Posts: 4	can anyone help me with ullyses i have read it and have certain understanding problems in some places..........thank you

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08-18-2009, 06:34 PM	#2
catatonic Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 31	Maybe he liked the sibilance at the end of the line, grammar be damned. That would be my guess.

10-10-2009, 07:31 PM	#6
ed_shaw Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 5	I might think that could be the sound of the sea.

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