The Land of Dreams
The Land of Dreams - meaning Summary
Death as Gentle Passage
Blake presents a child's dream of a luminous "Land of Dreams" where he reunites with his mother. The child asks what the place is like and longs to return, while the father, though he too has visited, cannot reach the far side. The poem contrasts the warm, consoling dream-world with the waking realm of fear and unbelief, suggesting the dream as a gentler, preferable space of reunion and solace.
Read Complete AnalysesAwake, awake, my little boy! Thou wast thy mother's only joy; Why dost thou weep in thy gentle sleep? Awake! thy father does thee keep. "O, what land is the Land of Dreams? What are its mountains, and what are its streams? O father! I saw my mother there, Among the lilies by waters fair. "Among the lambs, clothŽd in white, She walk'd with her Thomas in sweet delight. I wept for joy, like a dove I mourn; O! when shall I again return?" Dear child, I also by pleasant streams Have wander'd all night in the Land of Dreams; But tho' calm and warm the waters wide, I could not get to the other side. "Father, O father! what do we here In this land of unbelief and fear? The Land of Dreams is better far Above the light of the morning star."
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