Dreams
Who first said "false as dreams"? Not one who sawInto the wild and wondrous world they sway;No thinker who hath read their mystic law;No Poet who hath weaved them in his lay.
Else had he known that through the human breastCross and recross a thousand fleeting gleams,That, passed unnoticed in the day's unrest,Come out at night, like stars, in shining dreams;
That minds too busy or too dull to markThe dim suggestion of the noisier hours,By dreams in the deep silence of the dark,Are roused at midnight with their folded powers.
Like that old fount beneath Dodona's oaks,That, dry and voiceless in the garish noon,When the calm night arose with modest looks,Caught with full wave the sparkle of the moon.
If, now and then, a ghastly shape glide in,And fright us with its horrid gloom or glee,It is the ghost of some forgotten sinWe failed to exorcise on bended knee.
And that sweet face which only yesternightCame to thy solace, dreamer (didst thou readThe blessing in its eyes of tearful light?),Was but the spirit of some gentle deed.
Each has its lesson; for our dreams in sooth,Come they in shape of demons, gods, or elves,Are allegories with deep hearts of truthThat tell us solemn secrets of ourselves.
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- recross v. t.
- To cross a second time.
- unrest n.
- Want of rest or repose; unquietness; sleeplessness; uneasiness; disquietude.
- voiceless a.
- Having no voice, utterance, or vote; silent; mute; dumb.
- garish a.
- Showy; dazzling; ostentatious; attracting or exciting attention. [Cf. OE. gauren to stare; of uncertain origin. Cf. gairish.]
- horrid a.
- Rough; rugged; bristling. [L. horridus. See Horror, and cf. Ordure.]
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- yesternight n.
- The last night; the night last past.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- dreamer n.
- One who dreams.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- tearful a.
- Abounding with tears; weeping; shedding tears; as, tearful eyes.
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dreams is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #845; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Timrod, Dreams, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/dreams.html, id L10489.
Form and metre
Dreams is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 sawA · swayB · lawA · layB
- 2 ABAB breastA · gleamsB · unrestA · dreamsB
- 3 ABAB markA · hoursB · darkA · powersB
- 4 ABAB oaksA · noonB · looksA · moonB
- 5 ABAB inA · gleeB · sinA · kneeB
- 6 ABAB yesternightA · readB · lightA · deedB
- 7 ABAB soothA · elvesB · truthA · ourselvesB
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Who first said "false as dreams"? Not one who saw | 10 | ·········· |
| Into the wild and wondrous world they sway; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| No thinker who hath read their mystic law; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| No Poet who hath weaved them in his lay. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Else had he known that through the human breast | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Cross and recross a thousand fleeting gleams, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| That, passed unnoticed in the day's unrest, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Come out at night, like stars, in shining dreams; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That minds too busy or too dull to mark | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The dim suggestion of the noisier hours, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘/ |
| By dreams in the deep silence of the dark, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Are roused at midnight with their folded powers. | 11 | ···/···/˘/˘ |
| Like that old fount beneath Dodona's oaks, | 10 | ·········· |
| That, dry and voiceless in the garish noon, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| When the calm night arose with modest looks, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Caught with full wave the sparkle of the moon. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If, now and then, a ghastly shape glide in, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And fright us with its horrid gloom or glee, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| It is the ghost of some forgotten sin | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| We failed to exorcise on bended knee. | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| And that sweet face which only yesternight | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Came to thy solace, dreamer (didst thou read | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The blessing in its eyes of tearful light?), | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Was but the spirit of some gentle deed. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Each has its lesson; for our dreams in sooth, | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| Come they in shape of demons, gods, or elves, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Are allegories with deep hearts of truth | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| That tell us solemn secrets of ourselves. | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
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.