Dream Within a Dream is a poem written by Edgar Allen Pope. Loss of Love is the theme of the respective poem that is defined by sadness, heartbreak, and the non-existence of the person whom you love the most. But there is a lot more to this poem that makes it popular among the readers.
One of the primary aspects of the respective poem is the way it has been presented. The poet’s unique techniques and unique representing format certainly catch your attention and keeps you hooked till the end. The context is quite complicated and emotional, but the poet has not only presented the same clearly but very uniquely.
This poem revolves around the loss of love. The lack of love experienced is presented all throughout the context of the poem, and it has been done with the use of concealed format and structure. The unique techniques used during the process are quite visible, and all these aspects make this entire piece quite fascinating till the end.
When it comes to the structure of the respective poem, it comes with two stanzas. These two stanzas come with two different but still connected scenes precisely. In the first stanza of the poem, you come to know about the point of view of the first person. That means you get to understand what the narrator is experiencing while separating from the lover.
But, when it comes to the second stanza, the narrator has moved to the beach and is trying to get hold of the sand in his hand. The scenes are very different from each, and that too in a number of ways. As the poem moves ahead, you are going to realize how things change from being calm and soothing to solemn and then towards the passionate zone in the second stanza.
You will realize how the first stanza features a more sensible agreement. The scene in the seashore comes with expletives that include exclamations. You might also find rhetorical questions in the process that shows how the soul of the narrator has been tormented or shattered in the process.
This shows how different are the two stanzas of the respective poem. But, still, they are linked to each other ironically because of the fading attribute. When you are going through the first stanza, you come to know how the narrator is getting away from his lover. This means showing mortality to their love forever. But, moving on to the second stanza, where the narrator is at the beach and holding sand, it shows the image of the hourglass. This means that it represents the passage of time.
As the sand goes out of his hand, the time is passing on, and the lover is slowly and steadily disappearing from his life. But, somehow, the narrator is not that happy about the same. He wants love to be in his life, and the desire of being loved is also within the narrator. But, as per narration, nothing is permanent in this world.
In many of Poe’s early poems, the sea is used as a setting for the purpose of discussing decay and death. So, this shows how the narrator is using the sea setting to assess the end of the time in his life with love gone out of context. All these context shows how the narrator is depressed and sad with love not there in life. He wants nothing of it in his life but still is missing all of it. He is just watching the time goes by as his love disappears, but he doesn’t know what the respective thing to happen. So, all that he wants and all that he sees are not identical, and this is why the poet comes up with the title in the name of A Dream Within a Dream.
It is important for one to understand that the phrase A Dream Within A Dream carries a big value to the overall piece. The title comes up with a realistic interpretation of the meaning of the respective poem. At first, the poet takes the idea of daydreaming ahead, but later, things change—the narrator then twists the plot so that the perception of reality comes into the context. But, the reality also arrives with the two angles that bring detachment away from the respective reality. This context of reality basically shows all about the narrator through the medium of a dream. But, it is becoming difficult for the narrator to differentiate the causality over his views and perceptions.
The poet is also showing how the narrator is fully distressed over his views and observations. But, this is done to zoom in on the world of risks and uncertainty. It is done to assess the probable changes this can bring to the narrator’s life and identity as well. The poet puts focus on time and how it is not only a powerful force but also quite mysterious as well. It is time that inspires cognitive dissonance among his comprehension abilities and protagonist self.
The overall context of daydreaming has been seen to be ensnared in his abilities. In fact, the entire poem might be acknowledged as an outermost dream. If that has to be considered, then without a doubt, how the narrator’s mind is functioning has to be the inner dream.
Hopefully, you have got a clear analysis of A Dream Within A Dream. It is all about the narrator’s mind, who is feeling lost after a lack of love in his life.
Author: Michael Heine
Profile: English Literature & Essay Writing Help Expert At LiveWebTutors
