Beauty And Nightmare In Dreamland And A Dream Within A Dream By Edgar Allen Poe

746 words - 3 pages

Edgar Allen Poe’s juxtaposition between beauty and nightmare in “Dreamland” and “A Dream Within A Dream” reveals his perpetual struggle between mania and depression. Losing both of his parents at the age of eight, Poe went on to suffer from the ill judgement of a gambling addiction and social isolation during his stay at Virginia University (uncp.edu). After leaving the university, he obtained literary fame through his poetry, fiction, and criticism. However, Poe consistently squandered opportunities for much needed wealth by antagonizing important figures. The rash and antisocial habits of Edgar show a compelling diagnosis of mania. This mania, coupled with his fascination with death, general irritability, and eventual suicide verifies his the depressive part of bipolar disorder (nimh.nih.gov). Poe’s extreme highs and lows as a result of his manic depression enabled him to write the warped and wonderful poetry for which he is famous.
Wheeling between fear and wonder, the author’s tone and word choice in “Dreamland” results from a bipolar episode. The word choice of “skies of fire” described within “Dreamland” parallels the notion of Hell in Christianity (Dreamland 16). However, spattered across the poem are striking descriptions of endless seas and continuously toppling mountains reminiscent of the awe of Heaven. Haunted by “ill angels,” “Ghouls,” and “White-robed forms of friends long given,” the place being described is Poe’s idea of the afterlife (2, 30, 37). The juxtaposition of “ill” and “angels” is a perfect example of the author’s battle between the enthusiasm of his mania and the cynicism of his depression (2). In addition, “For the spirit that walks in shadow / 'Tis- oh, 'tis an Eldorado!” El Dorado is a mythical city made entirely of gold and is a common expression for utopia or paradise (41, 42). Being followed by the only exclamation mark in the poem, these two lines are filled with Poe’s pessimistic view of his own spirit and his manic enthusiasm at the thought of Hell.
Edgar Allen Poe’s interest in dream states continues in “A Dream Within A Dream”. In this poem, Poe states “That my days have been a...

"A Dream Within a Dream" Analysis

1108 words - 5 pages . This constant loss forced into Poe’s mind the pressure of defeat, a theme seen throughout many of his poems. In “A Dream Within a Dream,” Edgar Allen Poe uses setting, meter, and figurative language to express his persistent theme that any attempt to determine if reality is truly what it seems will end in utter defeat. Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Dream Within a Dream” is a deep, thought-provoking poem. The speaker begins by offering a kiss to say

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1155 words - 5 pages exceedingly musical (1403)" chiming. The theme of the story is chilling--death cannot be avoided it is internal demon that holds an "illimitable dominion over all (1406)." Edgar Allen Poe explored the dark side of romanticism and made the line between sanity and insanity virtually vanish. His life and literature are best summed up by his own words, "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who only dream by night (American Romanticism, 145)"

Edgar Allen Poe: Birth and Military

1254 words - 5 pages The story of the 19th century Romantic era poet Edgar Allen Poe is an interesting one indeed. Throughout his life he played the role of a writer of short stories, an editor and critic of all works, and poet of emotion; revolutionizing each role through his extremely pragmatic style. As a writer, Poe wrote everything from love stories to comedies to horror stories, even inventing the detective mystery genre, and as a poet, he set out to use

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1497 words - 6 pages perfected horrific thrillers. He also produced some of the most powerful literary criticism of his time and has put his mark in literary history. Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allen Poe is often known as the father of the short story, and the first sci-fi short story writer. He is a remarkable poet who's mournful and never ending memories will be remembered by readers for centuries to come. Works Cited Allen, Hervey. The Life and Times of Edgar Allen

The American Dream: Too Frequently a Nightmare

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922 words - 4 pages fact that the speaker never strays from the trail that he walks on can represent him being stuck in his mind, and his every thought is occupied by his lost love “But our thoughts they were palsied and sere-“(Poe “Ulalume”). After the death of Virginia Clemm, Poe seeped into a deep depression, and it could be thought that he knew this would occur and wrote about within his works. Edgar Allan Poe’s poems are often allegories for events in his

Compare and Contrast: "The Masque of the Red Death [by Edgar Allen Poe]" vs. "A Rose for Emily [by William Faulkner]"

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A discussion of the american dream as represented in "American Beauty" and "The Great Gatsby"

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Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

1170 words - 5 pages Symbolism in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Like many of Edgar Allen Poe's works, 'The Tell-Tale Heart' is full of death and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his gothic style of writing. Poe dealt with many aspects of death and madness in his stories, madness again is playing a key role in the plot. In this short story Poe used literary devices such as point of view and

"A Dream Within A Dream" By Edgar Allan Poe

999 words - 4 pages The five stages of death: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance; many people, if not all, go through these stages within their lifespan. “A Dream Within A Dream” by Edgar Allan Poe follows a forlorn speaker who is grieving a lost loved one. Most people cannot fathom the utter desolation of watching a loved one die, the helplessness of a life passing, the self loathing that comes with the failure of protecting what

Edgar Allen Poe And A Look At "The Raven"

1803 words - 7 pages Edgar Allen Poe was one of the most successful writers of all time. He isknown for his tales of the mysterious and macabre. He is reported to be the firstmaster of the short story form (Edgar Allen Poe). About 12 of his works areknown for their flawless literary construction. Poe had a rough childhood whichdefinitely contributed to his writing.Poe was born in January 19th of 1809 in Boston. Poe was the son of DavidPoe, an actor and Eliza Poe, an

A Dream Within A Dream Essay

1029 words - 4 pages A Dream Within A Dream William Shakespeare presents his story of a midsummer night’s dream as a play. Within this play is another play named “Pyramus and Thisby“. The two similar stories share the same basic idea of how the course of true love never seems to run smoothly. Chaos seems to be normalcy in both of these stories, and although they seem vastly different, they share the same quality of blocked love and eventual serenity. These

Edgar Allen Poe And Humor Essay

2002 words - 8 pages be sure to “abuse a man named Locke” (Poe 341). Is it really possible to be as brief as possible and also use the longest words she knows? One can begin to see the first inkling of Poe’s humor in these lines. Almost every piece of Mr. Blackwood’s advice contradicts the piece given before it and after a while it simply sounds absurd, especially when put into practice by Miss Zenobia. In this absurdity Poe lands a well placed shot upon all the