The Dream

                                         The Dream

The poem by John Donne is a poem about the theme of Love. The central idea of this poem is that love in fantasy, in dream is more perfect and fulfilled then love in reality. Love in reality makes both the person aware of differences and the happiness disappears. In the world of fantasy the beloved is as per the desire of lover, without differences and so the lover enjoys that dream more then the real company of his beloved.

The first stanza of the poem is makes clear that her impression is carved on his hart. And it gives good value to his hart. The lover gives the example of the king and coin. The way king’s image gives value to the coined, her image on his hart gives value to his hart. The lover believes that his heart has grown so great and so good because of her image that now he can not keep it. It is a medal which he would like to give to her.

It is in the second stanza that the lover confess his greater happiness after she is gone. After she is gone the lover can experience her presents in his fantasy and that dream gives him more joy than her real presence. It is during this fantasy that the lover can escape for his pain because the pain is real.

The lover knows that after remaining in dream, he will have to come back to the world of reality. But he would not repent for remaining in the dream because that dream gives him better joy then the world of reality. The lover knows truth of life,

              “ Alas, true joys at best are dream enough;”

This line of the lover expresses two meaning, the first meaning is that true joy is only dream. The second meaning is that a person can experience true joy only in a dream. The love finds her presents not so much enjoying as he finds her absence enjoying. The lover would like to be a mad person with a heart filed with a her love. He does not want to be an ideate without heart and her love.

The overall idea of this poem is that joy in reality is different from joy in dream, fantasy. The lover prefers fantasy to her presence for the real joy of love.