Analysis of The dream-ship

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



When the world is fast asleep,
   Along the midnight skies--
As though it were a wandering cloud--
   The ghostly dream-ship flies.

An angel stands at the dream-ship's helm,
   An angel stands at the prow,
And an angel stands at the dream-ship's side
   With a rue-wreath on her brow.

The other angels, silver-crowned,
   Pilot and helmsman are,
And the angel with the wreath of rue
   Tosseth the dreams afar.

The dreams they fall on rich and poor;
   They fall on young and old;
And some are dreams of poverty,
   And some are dreams of gold.

And some are dreams that thrill with joy,
   And some that melt to tears;
Some are dreams of the dawn of love,
   And some of the old dead years.

On rich and poor alike they fall,
   Alike on young and old,
Bringing to slumbering earth their joys
   And sorrows manifold.

The friendless youth in them shall do
   The deeds of mighty men,
And drooping age shall feel the grace
   Of buoyant youth again.

The king shall be a beggarman--
   The pauper be a king--
In that revenge or recompense
   The dream-ship dreams do bring.

So ever downward float the dreams
   That are for all and me,
And there is never mortal man
   Can solve that mystery.

But ever onward in its course
   Along the haunted skies--
As though it were a cloud astray--
   The ghostly dream-ship flies.

Two angels with their silver crowns
   Pilot and helmsman are,
And an angel with a wreath of rue
   Tosseth the dreams afar.


Scheme xaxA xbxb xCdC xefe xxxx xexe dgxg ghxh xfxf xaxA xCdC
Poetic Form Quatrain  (91%)
Metre 1011101 01011 111001001 010111 110110111 1101101 0110110111 1011101 01010101 10011 001010111 10101 01111101 111101 01111100 011111 01111111 011111 11110111 0110111 11010111 011101 101100111 01010 0110111 011101 01011101 110101 011101 010101 0101110 011111 11010101 111101 01110101 111100 11010011 010101 11100101 010111 11011101 10011 011010111 10101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,406
Words 255
Sentences 12
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 44
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 98
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

1:17 min read
240

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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