Tuesday, June 17, 2014

What is the summary of The Slave's Dream by Henry Longfellow? (Please give an accurate summary since the ones given are not so satisfying thank you.)

This poem is about a slave who is working the rice fields. He falls over from heat and exhaustion and has a dream:



Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep,


He saw his Native Land.



The dream is a stark contrast to his actual life. He is a slave, but it was not always so. He dreams of his former life. He was a warrior-king in his native land:



Beneath the palm-trees on the plain


Once more a king he strode;



The poet continues to paint the picture of what the slave's life was before he became a slave. He had a beautiful queen, many children, he lived in a beautiful place, rode a beautiful horse -- there is wonderful imagery.


The last stanza describes his death.



He did not feel the driver's whip,


Nor the burning heat of day;


For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep,


And his lifeless body lay


A worn-out fetter, that the soul


Had broken and thrown away!



Death had interrupted his dream. He was "in the land of sleep" but now he is in the land of death (his lifeless body). The poet now describes the slave's body as a "worn-out fetter" but his soul, ah, his soul has broken away and is free. The body may still be a slave, but the soul is free in death.


It is a sad poem about slavery.

No comments:

Post a Comment

How far is Iago justified in hating Othello?

Iago hates Othello for some of reasons. First reason could be that Othello promoted Cassio in his place; however, Iago wants it and he cosid...