Question
A Dream Within a Dream
by Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf–tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand—
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep—while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
–Public Domain
Multiple Choice Question
How does the setting affect the reader's perception of the poem?
A.
The setting of being in the sky gives the reader the impression of time passing as the sun rises and sets.
B.
The setting of the unchanging coastline gives the reader the impression that the poet is frozen in time.
C.
The forest setting gives the reader the impression of time passing because of the trees being large and ancient.
D.
The coastline setting gives the reader the impression of time passing quickly as the shoreline erodes away.
by Edgar Allan Poe
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow—
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf–tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand—
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep—while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
–Public Domain
Multiple Choice Question
How does the setting affect the reader's perception of the poem?
A.
The setting of being in the sky gives the reader the impression of time passing as the sun rises and sets.
B.
The setting of the unchanging coastline gives the reader the impression that the poet is frozen in time.
C.
The forest setting gives the reader the impression of time passing because of the trees being large and ancient.
D.
The coastline setting gives the reader the impression of time passing quickly as the shoreline erodes away.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The most appropriate answer is:
**D. The coastline setting gives the reader the impression of time passing quickly as the shoreline erodes away.**
This option aligns with the themes of transience and the fleeting nature of life that Poe explores in the poem. The imagery of grains of sand slipping through the speaker's fingers evokes a sense of loss and the inevitability of time passing, which is reinforced by the coastal setting.
**D. The coastline setting gives the reader the impression of time passing quickly as the shoreline erodes away.**
This option aligns with the themes of transience and the fleeting nature of life that Poe explores in the poem. The imagery of grains of sand slipping through the speaker's fingers evokes a sense of loss and the inevitability of time passing, which is reinforced by the coastal setting.