This document is a paper analyzing John Donne's metaphysical poem "The Dream". It was written by Parmar Jinal B. for a Renaissance Literature class. The paper discusses Donne's use of metaphysical elements like far-fetched images and conceits in the poem. It analyzes specific lines where Donne uses conceits comparing the beloved to lightning and a torch, and comments on the metaphysical style of the poem.

1.  Topic: the Metaphysical poem “The
Dream” by John Donne
 Name: Parmar Jinal B.
 Roll no.: 16
 Paper no.: 1 – The Renaissance Literature
 Semester: 1 M.A.
 Year: 2013-2014
 Submitted to: Smt. S. B. Gardi
Department of English
M. K. Bhavnagar University

2.  Introduction
 Metaphysical poet
 Dr. Johnson uses term
 School of Donne
 His style

3. His Metaphysical poems :
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The Flea
The Ecstacy
The Damp
Song: Sweetest Love, I do not go
The Dream

4.  Far-Fetched images
 Conceit
 Dramatic Quality
 All metaphysicals were the men of
learning
 Paradox

5.  ‘The Dream’ is a Metaphysical poem
 The poem is addressed by a lover to his beloved
 Uses the feminine pronoun
 His Dream not based on imagination but based on
reason and logic
“Dearest, for nothing worth less than you
Would I have woken up from this dream;
For reality was stronger than fantasy.”

6. 
His Dream discontinues not because of her voice
but her eye just like lightening
 He compared to her with an angel
 Donne uses conceit in this line word like
‘Lightning’
“As lightning, or the light of a candle,
Your eyes, and not your noise woke me;”

7.  There is irony in the lines,
“Yet I thought thee / —
For thou lovest truth—an angel, at first sight”
 He compare his love with torch and gave element
of fear, sin and shame for pure love
“Love becomes weak with fear
And if this fear is a mixture of shame, then have honor
Like torches, which must be ready for
Men to light and put out, so you deal with me;”

8.  He expressing his love in a Metaphysical style
 Donne uses Far-fetched images
 Use certain conceit for example images like,
‘Lightening’, ‘torch’, ‘mixture’, ‘prophane’, etc…