I am not exacly sure what this poem is about. Is it describing his nightmare world? I would appreciate it much if you could help me. Thank you.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2002

Answers

Not so much nightmare as the dreamworld itself. Whta is frightening or rather obscure is the quality of dream in being "out of Space, out of Time" a tantalizing bridge floating between the real world and the next but everytthing obscured. A very unsatisfying, dim vision which he HOPES foretells beauty and bliss but is unsettling, undefined and overwhelming in its presence. Like El Dorado, the sensation goes deeper than the understated, scantily described vistas. And that sensation is somehow ominous and dark despite the quest of the poet for the ideal in full brightness revealed.(Contrast "To Helen"). "Dream Within a Dream really carries this quest to a level of revolt and frustration. In a realm without limits he still cannot see, cannot grasp and winds back to the waking world.

-- Anonymous, February 20, 2002