Introduction
Poetry is one of the most versatile and flexible genres in literature. It enables people to express their feelings and internal struggles through a multitude of literary devices and verbal constructs. It can be said that poems serve as an ideal vessel for encapsulating human thoughts.
Humanity is familiar with the internal side of many talented and complex individuals who lived in different historical periods, such as Edgar Allan Poe, through their poetry. His poetry and other works are considered American classics, and his distinctive approach to using literary devices in conjunction with narration is studied in educational institutions and academia. In “A Dream Within a Dream,” the author employs anaphora and assonance to convey the horror of comprehending the inevitability and inescapability of reality, sharing with readers his anxiety and silent hysteria.
Academic Consensus Regarding the Poem
There is a consensus among a significant portion of scholars of 19th-century literature about the thematic centerpiece of “A Dream Within a Dream.” According to Razzaq Dabbagh, it is the acceptance of “the fact that there is nothing true in reality” (1005). This assumption of experts is valid because Poe confidently asserts his worldview in the first stanza.
However, he ends the discussed work with a simple question full of nervous doubt. He asks, “Is all that we see or seem / But a dream within a dream?” (Poe lines 23-24). It reveals that the central theme of this work is the horror of realizing the inevitability and inescapability of reality. Poe resorts to anaphora and assonance to develop his idea authentically and naturally, and most effectively shares it with the people reading his poem.
Anaphora in the First Stanza
One can safely say that anaphora is one of poetry’s most widely used literary devices. Poets and poetesses resort to this for various reasons, ranging from the emotional need to amplify the narrative to the provision of auditory consistency and beauty. In the first stanza of Poe’s work, one can find anaphora in the seventh and eighth lines, and their primary function is the foreshadowing of a terrible realization. Immediately after them, the protagonist confidently states, “All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream” (Poe lines 9-10).
In the first textual section, the author is confident in the illusory nature of himself and the world and, therefore, calmly accepts such events as being separated from a loved one and losing hope. He is fatalistic and even tragic, but peaceful and confident in his inner philosophy. The audience understands the true meaning of the anaphora in the first part of the poem only upon repeated reading.
Anaphora and Uncontrollable Horrific Enlightenment in the Second Stanza
Anaphora’s purpose changes in the second stanza when Poe begins to doubt his perspective on reality’s illusory, dreamy nature. When he realizes the terrible inevitability and reality of everything, he says “Oh God!” twice; the protagonist almost chants it (Poe lines 18, 20). This literary technique serves as a channel that conveys Poe’s anxiety and internal hysteria to the reader in the final segment of the poem. Ironically, the author’s enlightenment comes not from the need to part with a lover or the loss of hope but from the lack of control over the grains of sand in his hand and tidal waves. As one can see, the famous writer masterfully employs anaphora in various ways.
Assonance and the Dreamy Worldview
Assonance is the literary element that poetry readers probably encounter most often in works of this structural genre. In the first part of the poem, words such as “this,” “kiss,” “deem,” “been,” “dream,” “in,” “see,” ” within,” and “seem” form auditory vowel harmony of assonance (Poe lines 1-11). This harmony of sounds serves as a demonstration of the central figure’s confidence in his worldview and his inner calm state. As with anaphora, persons enjoying “A Dream Within a Dream” will comprehend the function of the assonance after the second reading.
Synergizing vowels can be found in the second section of Poe’s poem. These appear in words such as “roar,” “shore,” and “hold,” repeating “weep” and “O God!” and the already mentioned “see,” “seem,” “within,” and “dream” (Poe lines 11-24). In the last stanza, assonances and sounds often interrupt each other. Once the reader catches the flow, they are immediately met with another vowel sequence, which occurs several times. The poet did this to convey to the audience a feeling of a collapsing traditional worldview and a terrifying realization more authentically.
Conclusion
“A Dream Within a Dream” is a poem that explores a profound understanding of reality’s essence, which Poe conveys through the use of anaphora and assonance. The first one foreshadows the protagonist’s future behavior and reveals the author’s crushed and new feelings. The latter serves to provide a more natural representation of the poet’s changing perception as well. These, masterfully put into the short yet meaningful narration, make a wonderful poem in which millions of people continue to discover new images.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “A Dream Within a Dream.” Poetry Foundation.
Razzaq Dabbagh, Lanja Abdul. “Function Words in Edgar Alan Poe’s A Dream Within A Dream: A Psychological Analysis.” Qalaai Zanist Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, pp.1002-1012.