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User Rating:
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7.1
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(128 votes)
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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.
Edgar Allan Poe
| Submitted Date |
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Tuesday, December 31, 2002 |
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Read poems about / on: sad, lonely, river, fire, heaven, home, night, angel, water, sky, memory, friend
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Comments about this poem (Dreamland
by
Edgar Allan Poe
) |
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Hans VR (7/1/2011 7:48:00 AM)
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Words that are written in a similar way do not necessarily rhyme
Examples:
Floods and woods
discover and over neither
swamp and camp?
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Lawrence S. Pertillar (7/1/2010 7:53:00 PM)
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Poe is a fantastic writer. He depicts exactly what his poems are about by use
of the title. 'Dreamland'...By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only...and from there, we journey through Poe's world.
Metered in a reminiscing of The Raven. A style that IS Poe.
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Alek Lenth (7/1/2010 3:08:00 PM)
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If a white lily were to droop and lose its petals, it would both be lolling and snowing, respectively. I also think this image serves as a strong foil in juxtaposition with the erect eidolon and perhaps the falling tears and mountains. I actually find this image to be very important to the poem. Poe here makes the images flow into each other, an effect which seems deliberate since it goes along with the dual nature of dreams presented.
Beyond that... you should remember the title and pay attention to the first stanza, the terrain features are the terrain of a dream. This is especially emphasized by the reference to the imaginary island/continent of Thule...Any critique of the logic of the geography found in it is an utter tautology: you might as well state dreams aren't real...something of which most -I assure you- are quite aware.
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Juan Olivarez (7/1/2010 10:34:00 AM)
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You can't criticize the master without seeming petty and obnoxious. This is a great work, there are obvious flaws in the moon and stars and nobody criticizes their maker.
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JOSEPH POEWHIT (7/1/2010 6:51:00 AM)
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That is one real walk around the block, with Poe.
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Kevin Straw (7/1/2010 6:07:00 AM)
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“And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,
With forms that no man can discover.”
How can man know forms that he cannot discover?
“Bottomless vales and boundless floods…”
If a vale is a vale then it is not bottomless – ditto floods cannot be boundless.
“For the tears that drip all over…”
Oh dear! “Drip” is wrong; “over” is there just for the rhyme.
“Mountains toppling evermore
Into seas without a shore…”
If there are mountains there is a shore.
“With the snows of the lolling lily...”
The lily is not snow nor does it “loll”.
“And thus the sad Soul that here passes
Beholds it but through darkened glasses.”
The idea of the sad Soul with a pair of dark glasses is quite bizarre.
“By the mountains- near the river
Murmuring lowly, murmuring ever…”
Adds nothing to the atmosphere – it’s what all rivers do.
“By the grey woods, - by the swamp
Where the toad and the newt encamp…”
I cannot get out of my mind little toads and newts, a la Wind in the Willows, squatting in tents.
“Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright…”
It should be uprightly, but it would spoil the rhyme. The image as it stands could be of an Eidolon sitting ramrod like on its (his?) throne.
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Ramesh T A (7/1/2010 2:21:00 AM)
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Classical description of Night atmosphere is very well expressed by master of mystery!
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Angela Hoffman (6/15/2010 6:45:00 PM)
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I adore this piece of his work. It's so descriptive and vivid; I can easily picture everything that he wrote. (By the way, Sergio Contreras, if you think poetry is 'hella gay', then why the hell are you on this website? Oh, and check you spelling AND grammar.)
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Anthony Foster (7/1/2009 5:11:00 PM)
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The horror of a nightmare O such fear,
To awake in such sweet relief that its just a dream,
O no banish the fear of sleep lest I dream,
Just give me a talent of rhyme such as yours.
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Michael Pruchnicki (7/1/2009 2:05:00 PM)
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The speaker in DREAMLAND invites us on a tour of 'ultimate dim Thule' by way of the phantom guide who leads us into the domain of NIGHT, which we reach by 'a route obscure and lonely'! In other words, we fall asleep and dream about the dim images that come out of our unconscious. Like most dreams, we understand the images we see and the 'Sheeted Memories of the Past' through darkened glasses - we see things not as they are in waking life, but imperfectly and with eyelids shut. Truly, dreams are 'Out of space - out of Time'! Everything is ruled by the phantom King of NIGHT! Like Dante descending into Hades, we are confused and have little understanding at first, but gradually upon awakening, the dreamer realizes that he has been granted entry to Eldorado, a place rich in golden imagery that he can make use of in his poetry.
Respect the poet and trust his insight if you wish to understand the poem. Dante came back from his imaginary journey through Hades and Purgatory aware of his own shortcomings to achieve salvation in Paradise, Poe does it in shorter length but with the same valiant spirit!
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