~Jack Pesce

A Dream Within a Dream Analysis

Real vs. Unreal

Is it possible to know the true reality we're living in? In the poem “A Dream Within a Dream” by Edgar Allen Poe, illusion and reality are the main themes. An unnamed man is seen to be struggling with his relationship and is questioning his reality. He can't tell the difference between real and not real. The unnamed man is on the coast of a beach and he hears the sound of the waves pounding on the shore. As he’s trying to figure out what's real from not real he tries to grasp the sand but it keeps falling through his hands.

“I stand amid the roar of a surf-tormented shore, and I hold within my hand grains of the golden sand — how few! yet how they creep”.

The man can't grasp the idea of reality and doesn't know what is the true reality. As he is trying to grasp the sand at his feet it just keeps escaping his grasp. All of these make him question his reality and make him think, “Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?”. What is this life we live in, and could it really be a  dream within a dream?

 Literary Reflection

 It took me a while to find a good poem with  strong legs so I asked Fitz to give me a poem. After some time of searching he told me to stand in the middle of the room and listen. He read me the poem and it definitely grasped my attention. I liked how some of it rhymed and also how there was some repetition. But, the poem also talked about the concept of reality and how we could be living in a dream within a dream and this is a very interesting thought for me. It is similar to the Matrix movie which I thought was a cool movie and the poem explores how a man is struggling with believing in reality and thinks he’s in a dream within a dream.

Now its finally over. Our presentations are done. I think I had a successful presentation and I didn’t mess up any lines. I had good diction and and spoke loud enough. If I were to do this again I would have gone slower and taken my time.