“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” A line that some of you might have stumbled upon when dictating poems or finding a good story to do a poem review on. Trust me, I've been there as well. Yet, after pursuing more of his works, I’ve come to the conclusion that not most famous authors are considered. Poe is known for being the most horrific and most infamous writer, but yet, he’s just an author with a sanctimonious persona, especially with his work, “A dream within a dream”. I don’t intend to bore you with his life, but rather let you explore through his work, and get a glimpse of his so-called persona.  

 

Rest assured, I will make it quick and easy to understand. 

 

The story behind this particular work, is undoubtedly questioning about how the nature of reality can be most dubious and uncertain in many ways. The speaker continuously utters the words “a dream within a dream”, as the pursuit of life from his perspective, is nothing more than a grain of golden sand falling from his fragile grip. 

 

You may be wondering, how and why does this work connect to Edgar? You might be surprised to believe that it connects most deeply to his virtues and troubles, more than you might think.  

 

His works tie into most of his hardships and transition into becoming a successful author. His work, “a dream within a dream”, is popular and used for many literary projects, because it’s an interesting poem to dissect its own hidden meaning towards the writer himself. Many elements from the poem, such as the “grains of golden sand”, indicate the passing of time, and to the speaker, it’s the inability to grasp it with his fingers, just as how Edgar’s life slowly seeped away from the continuous movement of time. The tone of the poem starts off as resigned and wistful, and then transitions into despair and eerie, almost similar to how the people and inanimate objects that he felt were too dear to him, was exhausted from the endless lies and illusions of reality. 

However, if I may make a query, how do you perceive the world, reader? Do you believe that life is tangible and hopeful as it is now, or is it truly a dream within a dream?