A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe, Analysis, Summary, Themes
This study guide provides a detailed analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "A Dream." It examines the poem stanza by stanza, explores the major themes present, offers a critical analysis, identifies symbols, analyzes the language, structure, and sound devices used, and discusses the attitudes and feelings conveyed. Additionally, it suggests similar poems that share common elements with "A Dream."
The Poem Text
In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.
Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?
That holy dream—that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding.
What though that light, thro' storm and night,
So trembled from afar—
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth's day-star?
Summary & Explanation Stanza 1:
In th…