# V: Lean Out of the Window explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James Joyce.

## What happens

The narrator, absorbed in reading by the fire, is drawn away by the sound of a beloved figure singing a merry air outside. Leaving book and room behind, they are compelled to respond to the joyful call, urging the singer to lean out of the window.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Longing

The narrator is irresistibly drawn to the beloved's singing, leaving his solitary activity to be near her.

### Art and Creativity

The beloved's song and the narrator's response highlight the power of music and artistic expression to move and connect.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker who abandons reading and his room to follow the sound of singing.

### Beloved

Addressed as 'Goldenhair,' the singer whose merry air draws the narrator out.

## Key lines

> Lean out of the window, Goldenhair, I hear you singing A merry air.

Come to the window, fair one; your cheerful song has reached me.

_The narrator calls out to the beloved, acknowledging her singing._

> My book was closed, I read no more, Watching the fire dance On the floor.

I stopped reading and set my book aside, instead watching the firelight flicker on the ground.

_The narrator abandons his quiet activity, captivated by the moment._

> I have left my book, I have left my room, For I heard you singing Through the gloom.

I have abandoned my book and my room because your song reached me through the darkness.

_The narrator explains his motivation for leaving his solitary space._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters/v-lean-out-of-the-window
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters