"A Dream Within a Dream" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1849. The poem expresses doubt and uncertainty about the nature of reality, questioning whether life itself is just an illusion—"a dream within a dream." It begins with a speaker parting from a lover (or at least, from someone with whom the speaker was very close), and ends with the speaker on a beach, attempting to grasp grains of sand that keep slipping through the speaker's fingers. The poem is appropriately riddle-like as its speaker grows increasingly troubled by a lack of certainty.
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The Full Text of “A Dream Within a Dream”
1Take this kiss upon the brow!
2And, in parting from you now,
3Thus much let me avow —
4You are not wrong, who deem
5That my days have been a dream;
6Yet if hope has flown away
7In a night, or in a day,
8In a vision, or in none,
9Is it therefore the less gone?
10All that we see or seem
11Is but a dream within a dream.
12I stand amid the roar
13Of a surf-tormented shore,
14And I hold within my hand
15Grains of the golden sand —
16How few! yet how they creep
17Through my fingers to the deep,
18While I weep — while I weep!
19O God! Can I not grasp
20Them with a tighter clasp?
21O God! can I not save
22One from the pitiless wave?
23Is all that we see or seem
24But a dream within a dream?
The Full Text of “A Dream Within a Dream”
1Take this kiss upon the brow!
2And, in parting from you now,
3Thus much let me avow —
4You are not wrong, who deem
5That my days have been a dream;
6Yet if hope has flown away
7In a night, or in a day,
8In a vision, or in none,
9Is it therefore the less gone?
10All that we see or seem
11Is but a dream within a dream.
12I stand amid the roar
13Of a surf-tormented shore,
14And I hold within my hand
15Grains of the golden sand —
16How few! yet how they creep
17Through my fingers to the deep,
18While I weep — while I weep!
19O God! Can I not grasp
20Them with a tighter clasp?
21O God! can I not save
22One from the pitiless wave?
23Is all that we see or seem
24But a dream within a dream?
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Summary
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Themes
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Reality, Illusion, and Control
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A Dream Within a Dream”
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Lines 1-5
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow —
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream; -
Lines 6-11
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less
gone
?
All
that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream. -
Lines 12-15
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand — -
Lines 16-18
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep! -
Lines 19-24
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One
from the pitiless wave?
Is
all
that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Symbols
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Sand
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Anaphora
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Apostrophe
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Consonance
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Diacope
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Enjambment
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Epizeuxis
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Metaphor
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Personification
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Rhetorical Question
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Brow
- Avow
- Deem
- Amid
- Surf-tormented
- Clasp
- Pitiless
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A Dream Within a Dream”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Speaker
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“A Dream Within a Dream” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “A Dream Within a Dream”
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More “A Dream Within a Dream” Resources
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External Resources
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Letters From Poe — A collection of Poe's correspondence.
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Descartes and Dreams — An article that discusses French philosopher René Descartes's take on the philosophical problems posed by dreams.
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More of Poe's Poems and Life Story — Check out resources on Poe from the Poetry Foundation.
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The Poem Out Loud — Listen to the poem read by Tom O'Bedlam.
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Radio Documentary — A BBC documentary looking at Poe's life and work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
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