Dreamland- Theme and Summary

Dreamland

"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 Allen Poe

     This poem was written by Edgar Allen Poe, who is one of the most famous of his time. Edgar Allen Poe is describing throughout the poem his journey through his dreamland. "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" These lines were used to describe what Edgar was looking at and seeing. What he saw was the exact opposite of a dreamland, it was more of a world of darkness. This is a form of irony used inside the text. Edgar Allen Poe is describing that this place he is in is called a dreamland, but it is more like a nightmare. The place that he describes is certainly not dreamy at all. 

     The theme of this poem is, "Seeing through your eyes is different from seeing through the heart."

This theme is highly supported throughout the poem because the main message is that when you open up your eyes and look with your heart, you can see the good things, and not only the bad. "But the traveller, travelling through it/ May not- dare not openly view it." This quote is saying that the traveller coming through this world is only seeing the bad and is not even looking at the good. 

     The theme impacts the text because it tells the reader that on the outside, you may only see darkness, but really, there is light. The reader may not understand this the first time reading, but I can be positive they will read it a second time. They would do this to understand the meaning more, and to fully understand what the author is trying to tell them.