Dreamland Analysis

By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule-
From a wild clime that lieth, sublime,
Out of SPACE- out of TIME.

Bottomless vales and boundless floods,
And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,
With forms that no man can discover
For the tears that drip all over;
Mountains toppling evermore
Into seas without a shore;
Seas that restlessly aspire,
Surging, unto skies of fire;
Lakes that endlessly outspread
Their lone waters- lone and dead,-
Their still waters- still and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily.

By the lakes that thus outspread
Their lone waters, lone and dead,-
Their sad waters, sad and chilly
With the snows of the lolling lily,-
By the mountains- near the river
Murmuring lowly, murmuring ever,-
By the grey woods,- by the swamp
Where the toad and the newt encamp-
By the dismal tarns and pools
Where dwell the Ghouls,-
By each spot the most unholy-
In each nook most melancholy-
There the traveller meets aghast
Sheeted Memories of the Past-
Shrouded forms that start and sigh
As they pass the wanderer by-
White-robed forms of friends long given,
In agony, to the Earth- and Heaven.

For the heart whose woes are legion
'Tis a peaceful, soothing region-
For the spirit that walks in shadow
'Tis- oh, 'tis an Eldorado!
But the traveller, travelling through it,
May not- dare not openly view it!
Never its mysteries are exposed
To the weak human eye unclosed;
So wills its King, who hath forbid
The uplifting of the fringed lid;
And thus the sad Soul that here passes
Beholds it but through darkened glasses.

By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have wandered home but newly
From this ultimate dim Thule.

.: :.

The way I think of this poem is that he's travelling through a nightmare. "By a route obscure and lonely, haunted by ill angels only" "I have reached these lands but newly," and he countinues, describing all the horrors of which he sees. "By the dismal tarns and pools where dwell the ghouls--" "In each nook most melancholy" And so the poem goes, at the end, I think, he wakes up from the horror. "I have wandered home but newly, from this ultimate dim Thule."

| Posted on 2009-11-10 | by a guest

.: :.

I dont see this as a poem about Heaven and Hell because when I think of hell, I think of demons and fire, this place is cold and chilly. When I think of heaven I think of light, this place is dark. I think this poem is about falling asleep and going to a place where he sees all bad things from his past - the death of his friends, regrets and bad decisions. 'Darkened glasses' like, dreams are rarely vivid, so you can never quite see them clearly. I dont think he actually sees the endless waters, high mountains, and bottemless caverns, I think they are a similie for the endless worng decisions he feels he has made. 'For the heart whos woes are legion, tis a peaceful soothing region' I think that means that only someone very, very depressed would find solace in this place, Dreamland - I think when he says 'Dream' he means 'Nightmare.'
-Lia

| Posted on 2009-09-21 | by a guest

.: :.

Dreamland is a straightforward description of the landscape of an opium nightmare - bottomless caverns, toppling mountains, skies of fire, dark, lonely waters. Probably written when Poe was in the grip of opium withdrawal.

| Posted on 2009-04-29 | by a guest

.: :.

The poem Dreamland by edgar allen poe, i feel, is a depression in which he has recently been broken up or destroed on the inside by "demons" which are in fact his decisions in which he must decide where he will go or in what direction. and the hell is the path he is walking down with all of the demons working against him turning him on to the wrong paths. then at the end it says "i have wandered home but newly from this ultimate dim thule" which could mean that he traveled back to his original home town or has died and is imagining that he is at his home town

| Posted on 2009-03-30 | by a guest

.: :.

This is a poem about depression, due to an accumulation of grief and bad memories. The dream-land can not deal with the depression directly, but offers escapism; the author dares not consciously deal with the memories in case it is too much for him.
Either that or it's just a poem about Iceland.

| Posted on 2009-01-31 | by a guest

.: :.

I think that this poem is about the two decisions you have to make, life and death.
I believe that the traveller can not see any of the mysteries in hell because of how they belong in heaven. meaning that hell and heaven will only reveal its mysteries if you belong there.

| Posted on 2008-12-06 | by a guest

.: :.

When I read DreamLand i get many ideas of what it is about...but i believe the main reason for this poem is to show how life can end suddenly and before you know it you are wandering through after life--and while you are wandering you can not make up your mind if this "land" is hell or heaven.since you see ill angels--demons it is known to represent evil--hell...the title makes you think it will be a land filled of good dreams and joy...but it is the complete opposite....it represents lonely and danger.... its telling you to be aware with caution throughout life.

| Posted on 2008-12-04 | by a guest

.: :.

I believe that the meaning of the poem is that in life there is many things you cannot understand or explain, but you have to work throught it all, wether it be good,bad or scary. In the end it will get better,wether you believe it or not.

| Posted on 2008-11-18 | by a guest

.: :.

4. The deeper meaning behind the poem is one’s struggle to understand the path between life and death. In the poem, Edgar Allan Poe displays a colorful story of traveler or more likely a wanderer, who ventures into a land full of mysteries. Amazed and shocked, the traveler comes upon many sights he cannot understand such as vast lakes full of death and still. Finally, he meets his past, his memories, and old friends dressed in white robes. The traveler sees this land with “darkened glasses;” he sees only mysteries that never unfold. He realizes this is no dreamland for an ordinary man, it is a utopia for the dead, or in other words for the spirits. For them it is a Golden City. The traveler has reached his destination, to reside peacefully in Heaven. The poet tries to depict a Dreamland of heaven. He shows the readers how to an ordinary man, the path to Heaven can seem so still and chilly. But as the man reaches his destination, or Heaven, he sees many ghosts of his past live in this dreamland as if it is an Eldorado. He realizes for them this is their utopia; a place to rest in peace. Edgar Allan Poe does an excellent job to show the society an understanding of the journey between life and death.

| Posted on 2008-11-16 | by a guest

.: :.

4. The deeper meaning behind the poem is one’s struggle to understand the path between life and death. In the poem, Edgar Allan Poe displays a colorful story of traveler or more likely a wanderer, who ventures into a land full of mysteries. Amazed and shocked, the traveler comes upon many sights he cannot understand such as vast lakes full of death and still. Finally, he meets his past, his memories, and old friends dressed in white robes. The traveler sees this land with “darkened glasses;” he sees only mysteries that never unfold. He realizes this is no dreamland for an ordinary man, it is a utopia for the dead, or in other words for the spirits. For them it is a Golden City. The traveler has reached his destination, to reside peacefully in Heaven. The poet tries to depict a Dreamland of heaven. He shows the readers how to an ordinary man, the path to Heaven can seem so still and chilly. But as the man reaches his destination, or Heaven, he sees many ghosts of his past live in this dreamland as if it is an Eldorado. He realizes for them this is their utopia; a place to rest in peace. Edgar Allan Poe does an excellent job to show the society an understanding of the journey between life and death.

| Posted on 2008-11-16 | by a guest

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i have a theory. i memorised the first stanza of this poem. "by route obscure and lonely". people always use the expression- 'he's going down the wrong path'. well i think poe used the word route almost in the same way. i think he is saying 'a lonley path' of which man kind can walk. as in he feels alone throught his walk in life. "haunted by ill angels only". ill angels could represent a certain type of spirit. demons. Demons live of the depressed and the lonely vibe we can create. its how they survive. Eidolon has several defintions. one of them is an evil spirit.... ive met her. i believe there is a darker and twisted story behind this poem

| Posted on 2008-10-30 | by a guest

.: dreamland. :.

i agree with the idea of reincarnation. i think that the repetition of part of the first stanza in the last stanza is symbolic of a repetition of the life cycle. This repetition is saddening because the subject must go through this hell multiple times and go through the life cycle in order to reach peace and ultimately "behold" everything without the "darkened glasses" of the tainted soul.

| Posted on 2008-04-06 | by a guest

.: Dante's Comedia :.

"Dreamland" roughly resembles Dante's Inferno, Poe seems to descend into the depths of Hell through the nine circles of the Inferno, the "Lakes that endlessly outspread" with "lone waters-lone and dead" resemble the river that Dante and his guide Virgil have to cross to reach the gates of Hell, and as Dante descends deeper into the Inferno various souls are punished by torrential winds and snow, while others are forced to lie in the mud "the swamp" and eat their own excrement. the "Sheeted memories of the past-/ Shrouded forms that start and sigh/ As they pass the wanderer by" in The Inferno Dante encounters many souls that he was once aquainted with , and the "traveller, travelling through it" resembles that of Dante as he is just an observer of the torments of hell. The notion that the subject of the poem must descend through hell to ascend to heaven is ever present in "Dreamland" as it is in The Inferno.

| Posted on 2007-06-08 | by a guest

.: Dreamland reincarnation :.

This poem is talking about reincarnation! I researched it for months and never found anything that perfectly fit till I thought of reincarnation. The word Eidolon means an astral double being which can also be related to African words refering to reincarnation. If you don't understand check out this web site...http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/world/africa/af-rook2.htm... One thing I had been struggling with forever was the slight change of the last verse. Poe writes that he "arrives home but newly". It now makes sense that his soul is literally arriving to its new home, new body newly. The verses in between the first and last are describing the other world or soul world and the rules that must be followed. The rules that must be followed apply to souls that are to be reincarnated or passing through. Only souls that plan to stay and perhaps have reached nirvana may know its secrets. I guess its kind of like a steps to insight and knowledge. Only those who have died may see this after-life. Then only those who have reached nirvana may see all its secrets. Those who are alive are completely oblivious.
Hey if you're writing a paper on this, try to notice all the allusions to death. Lilies are placed at graves, the friends long given, and the forbidding of the fringed lid being opened (actually that may refer to insight or death b/c it's alluding to an eye).

| Posted on 2007-05-22 | by a guest

.: dreamland :.

This poem is interpretaded as te puragatory. the road to reach Heaven. We can see this because of the many ghosts and spirits that are written. How this traveller passes his friends of the past and this drak place to reach Heaven, to reach home. it is also said that for the heart whose woes are legion, tis a peaceful place, and for those who walks on shadow tis and el dorado.

those who had lived their lives in sadness will find here in the purgatory a place to rest to be in peace. and for those who had lived in shadow, in darkness, will be an el dorado and will stey there without continuing to Heaven.

The mysteries of the purgatory are forbided to the human, its only a thing of faith. of the catholic religion. we can not prove this, neither HEAVEN OR HELL. we are in some way blind with darkened glasses as the poem says.

At the end the traveller arrives to Heaven, because in the ńlast stanza( that its almost the same from the 1st one) it says he has wandered home but newly, he has reached his home and he has passes that horrible passage of the purgatry to be with God.

| Posted on 2005-11-23 | by Approved Guest