Poe's Poetry
By Ben Johnson
SYMBOLISM
One from the pitiless wave?"(lines 21-22). The pitiless wave is an illusion, this means that he is losing reality to an illusion. In "A Dream"Poe uses "I have dreamed of joy departed but a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken hearted"(lines 2-4) This waking dream of life and light is his return to reality and it leaves him in sorrow. "That holy dream-that holy dream, While all the world were chiding, Hath cheered me as a lovely beam a lonely spirit guiding." (lines 9-12) He is saying that the only thing that keeps him going is this dream. In Poe's "Dreams" he says "Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream!My spirit not awak’ning, till the beam Of an Eternity should bring the morrow." (lines 1-3) this shows he wishes he could stay in a dream and spend a "eternity" in it. "For I have revell'd, when the sun was bright I' the summer sky, in dreams of living light"(lines 13-14) He is saying that he would think if heaven was real when his life was good. Poe uses this symbolism to relay a message to the reader through a story in the poem.