A Ballad Of Dreamland
I hid my heart in a nest of roses,
Out of the sun's way, hidden apart;
In a softer bed than the soft white snow's is,
Under the roses I hid my heart.
Why would it sleep not? why should it start,
When never a leaf of the rose-tree stirred?
What made sleep flutter his wings and part?
Only the song of a secret bird.
Out of the sun's way, hidden apart;
In a softer bed than the soft white snow's is,
Under the roses I hid my heart.
Why would it sleep not? why should it start,
When never a leaf of the rose-tree stirred?
What made sleep flutter his wings and part?
Only the song of a secret bird.
Lie still, I said, for the wind's wing closes,
And mild leaves muffle the keen sun's dart;
Lie still, for the wind on the warm seas dozes,
And the wind is unquieter yet than thou art.
Does a thought in thee still as a thorn's wound smart?
Does the fang still fret thee of hope deferred?
What bids the lips of thy sleep dispart?
Only the song of a secret bird.
And mild leaves muffle the keen sun's dart;
Lie still, for the wind on the warm seas dozes,
And the wind is unquieter yet than thou art.
Does a thought in thee still as a thorn's wound smart?
Does the fang still fret thee of hope deferred?
What bids the lips of thy sleep dispart?
Only the song of a secret bird.
The green land's name that a charm encloses,
It never was writ in the traveller's chart,
And sweet on its trees as the fruit that grows is,
It never was sold in the merchant's mart.
The swallows of dreams through its dim fields dart,
And sleep's are the tunes in its tree-tops heard;
No hound's note wakens the wildwood hart,
Only the song of a secret bird.
It never was writ in the traveller's chart,
And sweet on its trees as the fruit that grows is,
It never was sold in the merchant's mart.
The swallows of dreams through its dim fields dart,
And sleep's are the tunes in its tree-tops heard;
No hound's note wakens the wildwood hart,
Only the song of a secret bird.
Review and Analysis of the poem
Algernon Charles Swinburne’s poem, “A Ballad of Dreamland” presents the world of dreams as an escape from the sadness of his real life. The poem begins with the speaker describing the lengths to which he would go to hide his heart from the world. The speaker goes on to show his appreciation for dreams as they allow him to avoid the pain of life and love, at least temporarily. Looking at the structure of the poem, the poem consist of three stanza with rhyme scheme and rhythms and it is written in simple but significant words. The language makes it seem as though dreams are home to a certain magic that the real world lacks. He uses nature as a way for the audience to relate the beauty of their dreams, imagination and fantasy.
Swinburne uses imagery to paint the world of dreams as safe and beautiful.
Swinburne uses imagery to paint the world of dreams as safe and beautiful.
One thing I observed while analyzing this poem is that the speaker acknowledges, at the end of every stanza, that something always manages to force him out of his dreams without his consent. The theme of the poem solely focus on love, heartbreak, illusion, reality, dream.
Also there is a shift in the narrative from descriptions of the speaker’s dreamland to a description of what the speaker feels is his role in his dream. The poem holds so much emotion that it feels as though the only place that the poet has a choice in who he is and how he feels is in his dreams. I believe this poem relates to everyone especially young people. Sometimes we are face with real life situation that we want to escape our reality instead of facing it. Reality is always bitter and hard to bear. Young people are trying to hide away from the world which is not convenient for them and it full with heartbreak from no love. From the poet’s tone, we get to see that. The moral lesson is to confront our reality and world despite the odd.
There is used poetic tools like personification, irony, rhetorical question, metaphor, simile, Apostrophe, etc