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Poe isdescribing feelings of desperation and sadness at the passing of time, andcomparing it to a dream. He wishes he could hold on to just a moment of hislife. He questions if anything in life is real or is it all "But a dreamwithin a dream?" A Dream Within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe was firstpublished in 1849.
By Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss uponthe brow! I stand amid the roar
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
Voice
Theeffect is the frustration of the narrator who is comparing one grain of sand toa dream. The narrator has a handful of sand and is struggling to separate onefrom many grains but cannot do so. This sense of frustration refers to linesnineteen to twenty-four. Poe also tries to make the reader feel hopeful. In thebeginning of the poem the narrator is in a state of hopelessness because hefeels that he is trapped in his own dream and there is no way out. One knowsthat he feels there is no way out by referring to lines ten and eleven in whichthe word all is emphasized. As an example of Poe’s use of personification, thesand can be compared to sand in an hourglass, and his hand can be compared toan hourglass. As the sand passes between his fingers, time is running out. Poetries to create suspense by saying, “O God! can I not save One from thepitiless wave?” By using the adjective pitiless to describe the wave, Poeindicates that the narrator may be losing an item of importance, whichone-grain of sand symbolizes.
Althoughhe may be losing an item of importance he still seems hopeful as Hyatt Waggonerrefers to the first stanza in which the narrator says, “is all that we see orseem but a dream within a dream.” Approaching the end of the poem, this samestatement is in the form of a question, indication that there may be some hope.The particular mood of this poem is somewhat intense. One may feel tense as a resultif the narrator’s frustration however, because of the effect of hope, the moodmay also be some what optimistic. His reputation of the phrase “Oh God!”creates suspense show in the agony of the narrator.
Furthermore, hisreputation of the title and phrase A Dream Within A Dream” put emphasis on whathe is trying to prove. “While I Weep” also repeated twice indicates that thenarrator is crying and possibly in pain. At the same time, the reputation ofthis hopeless phrase creates a feeling of depression. Poe often used repetitionto create a feeling of melancholy. Edgar Allen Poe’s strong use of adjectivesthroughout the poem helps the reader to create an image of the poem in his orher head.
“ADream Within A Dream” is determined from frustration of the narrator who istrying relentlessly to separate one gain of sand from a handful of grains, evencrying, but he continues. He sees hope and enlightenment to keep going. He preserversas Poe did in Arduous Life. While creating his poems, Edgar Allan Poe developedcharacteristic techniques and themes such as those displayed in hid poem “ADream Within A Dream.”
:
This poem isGothic. Gothic poems are characterized as extremely emotional, inherentlysublime, and disturbing in atmosphere. They are psychologically anxious,mysterious and dark caused by frustration, despair, madness, and death. Thosecharacterizations are presented in two lines: “O God! Can I not save (21) /‘One’ from the pitiless waves?” (22) Extreme emotion, frustration, despair andfear of death, is present when the author cries, “O God!” (21). Awe inherent inthe sublime is present when the author realizes he cannot “save (21) / ‘One’”(22). The atmosphere is disturbing when the author refers to the waves as“pitiless” (22). The author identifies his psychological anxiety when he saysthe memories cannot be saved not even “One” (22). Mystery and darkness appearswhen the author cries, “O God!” (21) Madness and death is present when theauthor realizes he cannot save even one reality, but time will take it awaylike the “pitiless wave” (22). The author cries to a supernatural being isdesperate with psychological anxiety, for he cannot save one memory, the wavestake on personification for being pitiless: they are without regard for hisdesires. Like the grains of golden sand life and life’s golden memories slipthrough his fingers with the passage of time, much like waves eroding the sandon a beach.
Stanza
This poem has two stanzas, and twocouplets. The first stanza is linesone through nine, and the second stanza is twelve through twenty-two. Thecouplets are lines ten and eleven, and twenty-three and twenty-four. The firststanza is a response to a proposition posed by a beloved and farewell to the beloved.He asserts an agreement: “You are not wrong, who deem” (4) / That my days havebeen a dream” (5): the rest of the poem is a response to that assertion. The authorposes a question as hope flies during the night or day without presentvision―is it gone?
The second stanza is lines twelvethrough twenty-two. It is written in the first person coupled with verbs: “Istand” (12), “I hold” (14), “I weep” (18), and “can I” (21). The author stands,holds, weeps and then begs the question―can he not save one memory from thepassage of time? How does he address this question? He stands amid a violentshore. What does the author try to hold? He tries to hold “golden sand” (15).What happens to the sand? The sand creeps “through [his] fingers” (17). Whathappens when he loses those memories? He weeps. What can the author do aboutthis loss? He calls out to God to save just one precious memory from thepassage of time.
Rhyme
Lines ten andeleven, and twenty-three and twenty are couplets. They consist of two linesthat rhyme with “seem” and “dream,” but they do not have the same feet ormeter. This couplet is an epigram: it is brief, clever, and memorable. Forexample, “’All’ that we see or seem (10) / Is but a dream within a dream” (11),and the next: “Is ‘all’ that we see or seem (23) / But a dream within adream?”(24) are memorable lines that rhyme with alliteration and assonance.
Alliterationis with the “s” sound in the words “see” and “seem”(10) and (23), and “d” soundin the words “dream” and “dream” (11) and (24). Assonance is presented with the “ee” sound in “see,” “seems,”“dream,” and “dream” (10), (11), (23), and (24). The alliteration andassonance within each of those lines are referred to as an internal rhyme.The first couplet is a response to a question: are memories gone? The responseis an affirmative statement. The second couplet is a response to a question:can he not save one memory from the passage of time? The response begs thequestion.
Meter
This poemrhymes:in the first stanzait is―AAABBCCDDBB, and in the secondstanza―EEFFGGGHHIIBB. It has feet and is metered:
lines one hasthree feet, and all feet are trochaic;
line two hasthree feet, and all feet are trochaic;
line three hasthree feet, and all feet are iambic;
line four hasthree feet, and all feet are iambic;
line five hasfour feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line six hasfour feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line seven hasfour feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line eight hasfour feet, and three trochaic with a final spondee;
line nine hasfour feet, and three are iambic with a final spondee;
line ten hasthree feet, and three are iambic;
line eleven hasfour feet, and four are iambic;
line twelve hasfour feet, and four are iambic;
line thirteenhas four feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line fourteenhas four feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line fifteen hasthree feet, and one is trochaic with the final two as iambic;
line sixteen hasthree feet, and three are iambic;
line seventeenhas four feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line eighteen has four feet with a caesurae in themiddle as indicated by the hyphen, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line nineteenhas three feet, and three are iambic;
line twenty hasthree feet, and three are iambic;
line twenty-onehas three feet, and three are iambic;
line twenty-twohas three feet, and three are iambic;
linetwenty-three has four feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee;
line twenty-fourhas four feet, and three are trochaic with a final spondee.
The variationsin feet and meter do not match the changes in the rhyming scheme. The coupletsdo not match in feet and meter, but do match in rhyme. The author has sixvariations: the feet vary between three and four, and the meter variationinclude―iambic, trochaic, and spondees. For the reader, the iambic meterexpresses a passive, a more natural gait than the trochaic. The trochaic metertends to be more urgent and insistent. The spondees highlight important words,such as “dream” (5), “away” (6), “day” (7), “none” (8), “gone” (9), “shore”(13), “hand” (14), “deep” (17), “weep” (18), “seems” (23), “dream” (24). When Idream away my day are all those memories gone? I stand upon the shore as dreamsslip beyond my reach into the deep hollows of death. I weep for what itseems―those memories are but a dream. This poem is one of despair as indicatedby the accentuated words of ‘gone’ (9), ‘All’ (10), ‘One’ (22), and ‘all’ (23).The reader is left with the question―through the passage of time, are ourdreams that we see or seem gone one and all?
Biography:
Poe’slife began in Boston, Massachusetts. Struggling and living in poverty, Davidand Elizabeth Poe, an actor and an actress who lived in Boston at that time,gave birth to Edgar Poe on January 19. 1809. Whether or not his parents raisedyoung Poe with and religious affiliation is unknown; however according to Poe’spoems, he was most likely an atheist, practicing no religion. William HenryLeonard, Poe’s brother, was two years old when Poe was born, and about one yearfollowing Poe’s mother Elizabeth gave birth to a little girl whom she calledRosalie, During the summer of 1809 while the family traveled to New York, somecritics believe that David, Edgar Allan Poe’s father left his wife andchildren. Nearly two years later in 1811, Elizabeth passed away as a result oftuberculosis, leaving all children of the Poe family separated.
Edgar Poe was taken in by prosperousscotch merchant, John Allan, who lived in England. In 1836 Edgar Allan Poemarried his cousin Virginia Clemm who was merely fourteen years old. Livingwith Virginia, whom he loved dearly, and his aunt, Poe worked to financiallysupport them. Although Poe was unsuccessful at trying. Poe enjoyed the relaxedenvironment and peaceful comfortable house that the women provided him.Although Poe was living in a relaxed and comfortable environment, Poe himselfwas not noticeable relaxed. Until 1826 Poe’s life was pleasant and enjoyable.But upon entering the University of Virginia, Poe quickly began drinking andgambling, gaining many debts. Poe had a sensitive temperament; there fore hewas emotional. This is probably the reason for Poe writing poetry with noparticular meaning but only to have an effect on the reader as Hyatt Waggonersuggest: “Poe appears to be not even trying to say anything but only to achievean “effect”- to make us shiver or to bring tears.” Poe believed that theimportance of the poem was more important than the poet himself. Poe’s theory,applied to writing poetry in that the writing must have an effect on the readerand the author must intentionally write the effect into the poem. In Poe’spoem, “A Dream Within A Dream,” Poe tries affect the reader in several ways.
Poe’s Characteristic techniques, themes,and poetry were greatly influenced by his life. Edgar Allan Poe accredits hisparents, his mother particularly, with giving him the ability to recite verse(Minor 2240). When Poe was fourteen, he fell in love with a fellow student’smother but was severely depressed when, a year later, the benevolent womanpassed away. This depression most likely caused him to write poems withprofound melancholy. “One of the most important events of his early life wasthe death of his mother when he was not yet three, and his poetry bears thememory.” (Minor 2240). Virginia’s death in 1846 destroyed Poe’s sprit, causinghim to go mad and drink excessively (Roth 2). Several deaths influenced hissorrowful poetry. Although his poetry was sorrowful, his poetry was recognizedby many people.
Edgar Allan Poe was not recognizedinstantly. He was greatly criticized in America until he was older. Developingskills and recognition took time. During this period Poe became a celebratedpoet not only for his poems but also for inspiring society in America andinternationally in Latin America, Scandinavia, Japan, and the Soviet Union.Although he was immediately popular in America, “Poe is considered the fatherof the French Symbolist Movement, even though he never had any contact withFrench writers.” In 1835 Poe wrote for the Southern Literary Messenger, developingthe reputation of the magazine. By contributing numerous essays, stories, andpoems he and the magazine wanted recognition.
