The Most Memorable Traits Of Edgar Allan Poe s Dreams

Alcoholic. Opiate-addict. Melancholic. These are the most memorable traits of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. Nevertheless, Poe is still a sensational author with today’s readers. In the forty years that he was alive, from 1809 to 1849, Poe was able to introduce a genre of macabre and mysterious writing otherwise unseen in Victorian literature. For example, Poe’s 1827 poem â€Å"Dreams,† published in his book â€Å"Tamerlane and Other Poems,† narrates the story of a figure who would rather dream their life away than reconcile reality’s grimness. As it is read, Poe’s â€Å"Dreams,† harnesses its narrator’s story to evoke feelings of sorrowful nostalgia, by combining a wallowing opening with a reminiscent middle and mournful ending. In the opening stanza of â€Å"Dreams,† Poe’s narrator begins the poem by dousing readers with details of their somber mood. As a result, readers immediately get an impression of sadness b efore they can finish the introduction. For example, in lines 1 through 3, it is written â€Å"Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream! My spirit not awakening, till the beam of an Eternity should bring the morrow,† (Poe 14). The boldness in these exclamations ultimately expresses that the protagonist is in exasperation. â€Å"How much exasperation?† one may ask. According to their revelation in line 3, it is discovered that they wish to remain in a dream until he dies (Poe, 14). Furthermore, Poe’s protagonist concedes that even if the given dream is sorrowful, then it would still be better