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The Dream is a poem by the metaphysical poet John Donne. It was included in the first edition of Donne's work printed in 1633 two years after the poet's death. In subsequent collections it has been included alongside Donne's other love poetry in Songs and Sonnets despite

Text
DEAR love, for nothing less than thee

Would I have broke this happy dream;

⁠             It was a theme

For reason, much too strong for fantasy.

Therefore thou waked'st me wisely; yet

My dream thou brokest not, but continued'st it.

Thou art so true that thoughts of thee suffice

To make dreams truths, and fables histories;

Enter these arms, for since thou thought'st it best,

Not to dream all my dream, let's act the rest.

As lightning, or a taper's light,

Thine eyes, and not thy noise waked me;

⁠              Yet I thought thee

—For thou lovest truth—an angel, at first sight;

But when I saw thou saw'st my heart,

And knew'st my thoughts beyond an angel's art,

When thou knew'st what I dreamt, when thou knew'st when

Excess of joy would wake me, and camest then,

I must confess, it could not choose but be

Profane, to think thee any thing but thee.

Coming and staying show'd thee, thee,

But rising makes me doubt, that now

⁠Thou art not thou.

That love is weak where fear's as strong as he;

'Tis not all spirit, pure and brave,

If mixture it of fear, shame, honour have;

Perchance as torches, which must ready be,

Men light and put out, so thou deal'st with me;

Thou camest to kindle, go'st to come; then I

Will dream that hope again, but else would die.

Form and Structure
The poem consists of three stanzas of ten lines each. It follows a rhyme scheme of abbaccddee beginning first with a quatrain succeeded by three couplets. The poem alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter