English Notes Latest Questions

  1. Allusion: It is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature. For example, “For nothing less than thee”  refers to the beloved and suggests the idea of how important the person is to the speaker. Apostrophe: A figure of speech in which the speaker addresses an absent or imRead more

    1. Allusion: It is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of literature. For example, “For nothing less than thee”  refers to the beloved and suggests the idea of how important the person is to the speaker.
    2. Apostrophe: A figure of speech in which the speaker addresses an absent or imaginary person or entity. The entire poem is an apostrophe to the beloved, as the speaker addresses her with “Dear love”.
    3. Assonance: It is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. For example, “it could not choose but be” uses assonance with the /o/ sound, creating a sense of musicality and emphasis.
    4. Hyperbole: It is an exaggerated statement used to emphasize a point or create a particular effect. “Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice / To make dreams truths, and fables histories” is a hyperbole that emphasizes the beloved’s truthfulness and the speaker’s devotion.
    5. Irony: It is a contrast between what is expected and what happens. The poem shows it in lines “Thou wak’d’st me wisely; yet my dream thou brok’st not, but continued’st it”. The irony in this line is that the speaker is initially grateful to the person who woke him up from his dream, but then realizes that the dream is still continuing even though he is awake, which is not what he wanted.
    6. Metaphor: It is a comparison between two, unlike things without using “like” or “as.” “That love is weak where fear’s as strong as he” compares love and fear, creating a metaphor.
    7. Personification: It gives human characteristics to non-human entities. For example, “Perchance as torches, which must ready be” personifies the beloved’s actions.
    8. Simile: It is a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as.” “As lightning, or a taper’s light, / Thine eyes, and not thy noise wak’d me” uses a simile to compare the brightness of the beloved’s eyes to lightning or the light of a candle.
    9. Symbolism: It is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. The dream itself can be seen as a symbol of the speaker’s subconscious desires and feelings towards the beloved, while the act of waking up from the dream represents a shift to a more conscious and rational state.

    The Dream Summary

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  1. It is a love poem that examines the notion of using dreams to escape reality and the ability of genuine love to overcome such dreams. The speaker talks about how his dream was so ideal and blissful that he did not want to be awakened from it, but his beloved did so nonetheless. Thoughts of his belovRead more

    It is a love poem that examines the notion of using dreams to escape reality and the ability of genuine love to overcome such dreams. The speaker talks about how his dream was so ideal and blissful that he did not want to be awakened from it, but his beloved did so nonetheless. Thoughts of his beloved were sufficient to bring the dream to life, so it persisted even after he awoke. The poem also discusses how it can be challenging to believe that the person we love is really who they seem to be, as well as the fear and uncertainty that comes with love. The poem’s final message is that real love triumphs over these uncertainties and apprehensions and that the dream state is a metaphor for the enduring strength of love.

    The Dream Summary

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  1. John Donne's poem "The Dream" explores several significant issues, including the nature of reality, the transformational power of love, the passage of time, and the speaker's connection with his beloved. Donne explores these ideas with elaborate analogies and striking imagery. The poem's dreamlike eRead more

    John Donne’s poem “The Dream” explores several significant issues, including the nature of reality, the transformational power of love, the passage of time, and the speaker’s connection with his beloved. Donne explores these ideas with elaborate analogies and striking imagery. The poem’s dreamlike environment highlights the subjectivity of reality by creating ambiguity and doubt. The dream’s appearance of the speaker’s lover acts as a metaphor for their transformational connection, which reshapes and alters the dream’s setting. The picture of the river symbolizes the passage of time and the transient character of pleasure. The transformative power of love is expressed through the way the presence of the lover changes the dream world. Putting it concisely, the complex interplay of these themes creates a thought-provoking and beautiful poem.

    The Dream Summary

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