# At That Hour When All Things Have Repose explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James Joyce.

## What happens

The narrator addresses a lonely watcher of the skies, asking if they hear the night wind and harps playing to Love at the hour of repose. The harps play to open the pale gates of sunrise, and the night wind answers in antiphon until night ends. The narrator calls on the invisible harps to continue playing to Love, whose path in heaven glows as soft lights and music fill the air and earth.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Longing

The harps play to Love, and the entire poem is a longing invocation for Love's arrival at dawn.

### Nature and Mood

The night wind, harps, and the transition from night to sunrise create a mood of repose and anticipation.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker who addresses the lonely watcher and invokes the harps.

### Love

The entity to whom the harps play, whose way in heaven is aglow.

## Key lines

> At that hour when all things have repose, O lonely watcher of the skies, Do you hear the night wind and the sighs Of harps playing unto Love to unclose The pale gates of sunrise?

In the quiet hour when everything rests, you who watch the sky alone, do you hear the wind and the harps that play to Love, asking him to open the pale gates of dawn?

_The narrator questions the lonely watcher about the sounds of night and the harps' plea to Love._

> Play on, invisible harps, unto Love, Whose way in heaven is aglow At that hour when soft lights come and go, Soft sweet music in the air above And in the earth below.

Keep playing, unseen harps, for Love, whose path through the sky shines at the hour when gentle lights flicker and sweet music fills both heaven and earth.

_The narrator urges the harps to continue their music for Love as dawn approaches._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters/iii-at-that-hour-when-all-things-have-repose
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters