“Dream Land” is a poem where Edgar Allan Poe uses his fantastic uses of words and thoughts. When the poem was written it was not that clear but it is said that the poem was published in 1844 in Graham’s Magazine.

But a question comes that why the poem is so celebrated? For that question, we can say that this poem will produce charm to the readers that is why.

If we can go through all of Poe’s poetry then he uses to write with difficult language but they make fine sense.

Theme of Dream Land

Terror is one of the major themes of this poem. Here, he says about the dark, horror likely woods where ill Angel’s live. As his lines are expressing horror that is why it is a theme.

Poet’s desire to go to that place is another theme that comes out. Travelers have come here to look at the place though Poe says nobody will be able to discover it.

So, the poem has different types of speeches. It is a perfect example of Poe’s suspense poem that interests the readers very much.

Dream Land – Summary of Poem

In the first stanza of the poem, Poe describes a ‘route’ or way is haunted, and whoever’s have come here maybe never went back. This is a place of ‘ill angels’ maybe by this term he is trying to state of evil Angel’s of witches.

Eidolon once gives the name of this place ‘NIGHT’. The night is the name of the place where only darkness is visible.

“I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule—”

Now the poet enunciated that it is his dream land to that he wanted to come to see for himself. This was from the ultimate dim of the poet and here he can see the wild, weird climate that is out of time and out of space.

Throughout the first stanza, he produces terror to his readers to make them feared of the place. In the place, there are vales and ‘boundless floods’ the ways are broken and caves are wide open.

This place is so horrific that no one would be able to discover. There are mountains evermore and the sea is without its shore. There are all the descriptions and look very creepy.

“Seas that restlessly aspire,
Surging, unto skies of fire;”

These lines are very relatively connected to nature. The comparison comes from the sea and the fiery sky. Poe further states that there is an outspread and endless lake but their water dies for itself or gets dried.

But there is still water and chilled and there is snow with water lilies. The third stanza begins with the same thoughts where the lone water is getting died. The water chilled water is lonely and many water lilies are also sad. But why the sadness is there that is not explained well.

“By the mountains—near the river
Murmuring lowly, murmuring ever,—”

The high mountains are standing beside the river and it is murmuring. The murmuring sound is keen. After that Poe further states, there are grey woods and beside them, there was a swamp.

At the swamp toad and newt are escaping. So the scene is looking very nasty because of the toad and newt. And among them, there were small peaks and pools. So these descriptions say that the place is very nasty and avoidable.

“By each spot the most unholy—
In each nook most melancholy,—”

From where the melancholy comes it can not be said at the point of time though it is. Here the travellers meet and they sheet down their all memories of the past.

White robes are surrounding men and women and they become their friends as they have in heaven and hell.

“‘T is a peaceful, soothing region—
For the spirit that walks in shadow
‘T is—oh, ‘t is an Eldorado!”

Now, the poet is saying for the legions or the soldiers this place is perfect maybe because of nature. Their spirits can walk in the shadow and it is looking like an Eldorado.

But the travellers are travelling and looking at the views of nature. They may want to know the mystery and it will open to them and it will reopen the eyes of them. The king had forbidden all and when they opened fringe lids,

“And thus the sad Soul that here passes
Beholds it but through darkened glasses.”

In the last stanza, he repeats the lines of the first stanza where he was saying he wants to come in that black, pathless horror woods.

Dream Land -Analysis

At first, there is no clue that what is the motto of the poem and what he tries to speak. When the goes to the deeper analysis it gets cleared that the poem is talking about supernatural elements also.

‘Ill angel’, ‘night’ these are producing terrors to the readers. Even readers will feel that maybe there are more supernatural elements.

After getting the main point of the poem you will find that nature is also being highlighted and that water creatures are nasty. He is letting the readers think about its dirty nature. So this is a perfect poem of suspense.

Literary Devices in Dream Land

The poem follows a pattern called Trochaic Tetrameter. That, ‘Dream Land’ has various literary devices that attract the readers. Imagery is one of the major poetic devices that means the creation of images that open a particular thought to the readers.

“By the mountains—near the river”

Then comes Syncope. It is a writing style where the poet write a word using apostrophe like,

“‘T is—oh, ‘t is an Eldorado!”

Consonantal sounds also can be found that we call ‘consonance’. It is the repetition of consonantal sounds in the line like,

“And chasms, and caves, and”

Anaphora is another relevant poetic device that means the repetition of words at the beginning of two lines.

“Their lone waters, lone and dead,—
Their sad waters, sad and chilly”

Questions

What is the meaning of dreamland?

Dreamland means land that the poet saw in his dream.

What is the poem Dream Land?

The dreamland is about a place that he wants to visit.

Is Dreamland real?

No, it is just an imagination of the poet.