A Dream within a Dream Quotes
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Source: A Dream within a Dream
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
"And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand"
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!
Context
These lines begin the second (of two) stanzas of "A Dream Within a Dream."
In the first stanza, the speaker claims that life is a dream. It's not entirely clear what he means by that, but we know it's not exactly happy when he talks about the many different ways hope can leave. When the second stanza starts, we are transported (like a dream?) onto a beach...where things continue to get more depressing.
Where you've heard it
It may be a metaphor, but this quote sounds like it could be the slogan for Club Med.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
We're talking about a Poe poem, so you know it's going to get a little melodramatic.
There’s nothing like some rhyming couplets and plenty of "while I weep!"s and "O God!"s to really get that gut wrenching. No matter what sort of existential crisis you're caught up in, we suggest you stay away from quoting the master of misery.