"A Dream Within a Dream" is a poem written by American poet
Edgar Allan Poe, first published in
1849
Events
January–March
* January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps.
* January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...
. The poem has 24 lines, divided into two stanzas.
Analysis
The poem dramatizes the confusion felt by the narrator as he watches the important things in life slip away.
[Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 402 ] Realizing he cannot hold on to even one grain of sand, he is led to his final question whether all things are just a dream.
[Sova, Dawn B. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A to Z''. New York: Checkmark Books, 2001: 73. ]
It has been suggested that the "golden sand" referenced in the 15th line signifies that which is to be found in an
hourglass
An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...
, consequently time itself.
[Poe, E. A. (1969). Poems Collected in 1829. In T. O. Mabbott (Ed.), ''Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Volume I: Poems'' (pp. 130). Massachusetts: Belknap Press.] Another interpretation holds that the expression evokes an image derived from the 1848 finding of
gold in California.
[ The latter interpretation seems unlikely, however, given the presence of the four, almost identical, lines describing the sand in another poem " To ——," which is regarded as a blueprint for "A Dream Within a Dream" and preceding its publication by two decades.][
]
Publication history
The poem was first published in the March 31, 1849, edition of the Boston-based story paper ''The Flag of Our Union
__NOTOC__
''The Flag of Our Union'' (est.1846) was a weekly story paper published in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. In addition to news it featured works of fiction and poetry including contributions from notable writers such as ...
''.[ The same publication had only two weeks before first published Poe's short story " Hop-Frog." The next month, owner Frederick Gleason announced it could no longer pay for whatever articles or poems it published.
]
Adaptations
*'' Picnic at Hanging Rock'', a story about a group of girls disappearing while on a field trip to a rock formation in the early 20th century, begins with a voice over that states "''What we see and what we seem is but a dream. A dream within a dream''".
* The Alan Parsons Project's album '' Tales of Mystery and Imagination Edgar Allan Poe'' opens with an instrumental homage to the poem. Its 1987 re-release included a narration by Orson Welles.
*The Propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
album '' A Secret Wish'', released in 1985, opens with the track "Dream Within A Dream". The poem is recited in spoken-word form by vocalist Susanne Freytag.
*''Biological Radio
''Biological Radio'' is the third album by the British band Dreadzone, released in 1997 by Virgin Records. Although less successful than its predecessor, ''Biological Radio'' represents a mellowing of style, none of the tracks being as energetic ...
'', the 1997 Dreadzone album, features the track "Dream Within A Dream" which quotes lines from the poem.
* The Yardbirds' recorded a musical adaptation for their 2003 album '' Birdland'', adding a new verse of their own.
References
External links
*
*
A Dream Within A Dream
from about.com.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dream Within A Dream, A
Poetry by Edgar Allan Poe
1849 poems
Works originally published in The Flag of Our Union