Analysis of The Deepest Dream
Mark Van Doren 1894 (Vermilion County) – 1972 (Torrington)
The deepest dream is of mad governors,
Down, down we feel it, till the very crust
Of the world cracks, and where there was no dust,
Atoms of ruin rise. Confusion stirs,
And fear; and all our thoughts--dark scavengers--
Feed on the center's refuse. Hope is thrust
Like wind away, and love sinks into lust
For merest safety, meanest of levelers.
And then we wake. Or do we? Sleep endures
More than the morning can, when shadows lie
Sharper than mountains, and the cleft is real
Between us and our kings. What sun assures
Our courage, and what evening by and by
Descends to rest us, and perhaps to heal?
| Scheme | ABBAABBA CDECDE |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Petrarchan sonnet |
| Metre | 0101111100 1111110101 1011011111 1011010101 01011011100 1101001111 1101011011 11010101100 0111111101 110101111 1011000111 01101011101 10100110101 0111100111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 608 |
| Words | 112 |
| Sentences | 8 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
| Lines Amount | 14 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
| Words per line (avg) | 8 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 233 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
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"The Deepest Dream" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/26556/the-deepest-dream>.
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