A Dream
In visions of the dark nightI have dreamed of joy departed—But a waking dream of life and lightHath left me broken-hearted.
Ah! what is not a dream by dayTo him whose eyes are castOn things around him with a rayTurned back upon the past?
That holy dream—that holy dream,While all the world were chiding,Hath cheered me as a lovely beamA lonely spirit guiding.
What though that light, thro’ storm and night,So trembled from afar—What could there be more purely brightIn Truth’s day-star?
Words in this poem
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Dream is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, Project Gutenberg ebook #79019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream, in The Complete Poetical Works (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/a-dream.html, id L04189.
Form and metre
A Dream is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 44% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB nightA · departedB · lightA · heartedB
- 2 ABAB dayA · castB · rayA · pastB
- 3 ABAB dreamA · chidingB · beamA · guidingB
- 4 ABAB nightA · afarB · brightA · starB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In visions of the dark night | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I have dreamed of joy departed— | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| But a waking dream of life and light | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Hath left me broken-hearted. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Ah! what is not a dream by day | 8 | ········ |
| To him whose eyes are cast | 6 | ······ |
| On things around him with a ray | 8 | ········ |
| Turned back upon the past? | 7 | ·˘····· |
| That holy dream—that holy dream, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| While all the world were chiding, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Hath cheered me as a lovely beam | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A lonely spirit guiding. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| What though that light, thro’ storm and night, | 8 | ········ |
| So trembled from afar— | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| What could there be more purely bright | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In Truth’s day-star? | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.