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Poem
August 23, 1848
The Voice Of Freedom
Montpelier, Brandon, Washington County, Rutland County, Vermont
What is this article about?
In a dream, the speaker envisions the passage of time through seasonal changes: spring's youth to winter's decay, symbolizing life's stages from childhood to old age and death. He comforts his beloved, sharing the vision's meaning as they await awakening.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Poetry.
A DREAM.
BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
I had a dream—a strange, wild dream—
Said a dear voice at early light;
And even yet its shadows seem
To linger on my waking sight.
Earth, green with spring, and fresh with dew,
And bright with morn, before me stood;
And airs just wakened softly blew
On the young blossoms of the wood.
Birds sang within the sprouting shade,
Bees hummed amid the whispering grass,
And children prattled as they played
Beside the rivulet's dimpling glass.
Fast climbed the sun—the flowers were flown;
There played no children in the glen;
For some were gone, and some were grown
To blooming dames and bearded men.
'Twas noon, 'twas summer—I beheld
Woods darkening in the flush of Day,
And that bright rivulet spread and swelled
A mighty stream—with creek and bay.
And here was love, and there was strife.
And mirthful shouts, and wrathful cries,
And strong men struggling as for life,
With knotted limbs and angry eyes.
Now stooped the sun—the shades grew thin:
The rustling paths were piled with leaves;
And sun-burnt groups were gathering in,
From the shorn field, its fruits and sheaves.
The river heaved with sullen sounds:
The chilly wind was sad with moans
Black hearses passed, and burial-grounds
Grew thick with monumental stones.
Still waned the day: the wind that chased
The jagged clouds blew chiller yet;
The woods were stripped, the fields were waste:
The wintry sun was near its set.
And of the young, and strong, and fair,
A lonely remnant, gray and weak,
Lingered, and shivered to the air
Of that bleak shore and water bleak.
Ah! Age is drear, and Death is cold!
I turned to thee, for thou wert near,
And saw thee withered, bowed, and old
And woke, all faint with sudden fear.
'Twas thus I heard the dreamer say,
And bade her clear her clouded brow:
"For thou and I, since childhood's day,
Have walked in such a dream till now.
"Watch we its shadows as they fly,
And wait the morn that soon must break,
And mark, with calm, undreading eye,
The vision's meaning, till we wake."
A DREAM.
BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
I had a dream—a strange, wild dream—
Said a dear voice at early light;
And even yet its shadows seem
To linger on my waking sight.
Earth, green with spring, and fresh with dew,
And bright with morn, before me stood;
And airs just wakened softly blew
On the young blossoms of the wood.
Birds sang within the sprouting shade,
Bees hummed amid the whispering grass,
And children prattled as they played
Beside the rivulet's dimpling glass.
Fast climbed the sun—the flowers were flown;
There played no children in the glen;
For some were gone, and some were grown
To blooming dames and bearded men.
'Twas noon, 'twas summer—I beheld
Woods darkening in the flush of Day,
And that bright rivulet spread and swelled
A mighty stream—with creek and bay.
And here was love, and there was strife.
And mirthful shouts, and wrathful cries,
And strong men struggling as for life,
With knotted limbs and angry eyes.
Now stooped the sun—the shades grew thin:
The rustling paths were piled with leaves;
And sun-burnt groups were gathering in,
From the shorn field, its fruits and sheaves.
The river heaved with sullen sounds:
The chilly wind was sad with moans
Black hearses passed, and burial-grounds
Grew thick with monumental stones.
Still waned the day: the wind that chased
The jagged clouds blew chiller yet;
The woods were stripped, the fields were waste:
The wintry sun was near its set.
And of the young, and strong, and fair,
A lonely remnant, gray and weak,
Lingered, and shivered to the air
Of that bleak shore and water bleak.
Ah! Age is drear, and Death is cold!
I turned to thee, for thou wert near,
And saw thee withered, bowed, and old
And woke, all faint with sudden fear.
'Twas thus I heard the dreamer say,
And bade her clear her clouded brow:
"For thou and I, since childhood's day,
Have walked in such a dream till now.
"Watch we its shadows as they fly,
And wait the morn that soon must break,
And mark, with calm, undreading eye,
The vision's meaning, till we wake."
What sub-type of article is it?
Ode
Pastoral
What themes does it cover?
Nature Seasons
Death Mourning
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Dream
Life Cycle
Seasons
Aging
Death
Nature
Transience
Bryant
What entities or persons were involved?
By William Cullen Bryant.
Poem Details
Title
A Dream.
Author
By William Cullen Bryant.
Key Lines
Ah! Age Is Drear, And Death Is Cold!
"Watch We Its Shadows As They Fly,\Nand Wait The Morn That Soon Must Break,\Nand Mark, With Calm, Undreading Eye,\Nthe Vision's Meaning, Till We Wake."