Analysis of A Dream

Edgar Allan Poe 1809 (Boston) – 1849 (Baltimore)



In visions of the dark night
        I have dreamed of joy departed-
      But a waking dream of life and light
        Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
        To him whose eyes are cast
      On things around him with a ray
        Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream- that holy dream,
        While all the world were chiding,
      Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
        A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro' storm and night,
        So trembled from afar-
      What could there be more purely bright
        In Truth's day-star?


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF AGAG
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 0101011 11111010 101011101 1111010 11110111 111111 11011101 110101 11011101 1101010 11110101 0101010 11111101 110101 11111101 0111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 598
Words 97
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

29 sec read
408

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. more…

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