What is the meaning of ながむれば?

Question

I saw it in a tanka:

ながむれば霞みはてては絶絶にまたあらはるるかりのひとつら

Also what is the "ra" after "hitotsu"?

Answer 1

ながむれば comprises two elements, ながむれ + the particle ば.

• ながむれ is the 已{い}然{ぜん}形{けい} of the 下{しも}二{に}段{だん} verb 眺む{ながむ}, which is the classical equivalent of the modern Japanese verb 眺める{ながめる}.

• When the particle ば is combined with the 已然形, it means "because/since" or "when/as."

In this case, it's the "when/as" meaning of ば that suits the context, so we can translate ながむれば as "when I look out" or "as I gaze out," etc.

ひとつら is a group of like things, animals, or people arranged in a line or row.

• Sometimes this word is rendered in kanji as 一連, 一列, or 一行.

• The two elements ひとつら comprises aren't actually ひとつ + ら, as the wording of your question implies, but ひと + つら, where ひと means "one" and つら means "line" or "row." (cf. the modern verbs 連{つら}なる and 連{つら}ねる.)

In the poem, かりのひとつら refers to a skein of wild geese flying in the sky.

You can read a bit about the usage of ば in classical Japanese here. Note that ば has a very different meaning when combined with the 未{み}然{ぜん}形{けい} instead of the 已然形.)