Dreams by David Herbert Lawrence
All people dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind,
Wake in the morning to find that it was vanity.
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,
For they dream their dreams with open eyes,
And make them come true.
David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works, among other things, represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization.
Lawrence’s writing is famous for its strength and its erotic (sexual) sensuality; several of his works, including Lady Chatterley’s Lover, were banned as obscene (description of sexual matters). He had an extraordinary ability to convey a sense of specific time and place, and his writings often reflected his complex personality. Lawrence’s works include volumes of stories, poems, and essays. Lawrence also wrote several plays, books and volumes of literary criticism, notably Studies in Classic American Literature. Lawrence was a very distinct author, his works were a bit open and not everyone agreed with his style of writing.
Summary:
It means that there are two different types of dreamers:
Those who keep their dreams for just at night, and never act upon them, they don’t struggle to achieve their dreams; they look at them with a closed mind.
Those who make their dreams a reality, and enter things with an open mind, they believe they can do it, and make their dreams come true.
Saying there are two dreamers. One is bad – the bad ones are those who keep their dreams to themselves and never come to do them. Then we have the good one – one that will get up and try to fulfill those dreams.
From the title of this poem, we can judge that it will be about dreams. It is a short poem, but a good one and it could be important to the class to see David Herbert Lawrence’s opinion about dreams. From his perspective, meaning there are two kinds of dreamers. One dreams at night and other dreams in the day.
The ones who dream at night while they’re sleeping, wake up to find that their dream was only fantasy (day dream/castle in the air) and filled with vanity (excessive pride).
The ones, who dream in the day, make their dreams turn into reality. His use of the word “Dreamers” in the second stanza is seen differently than in the first stanza. His approach suggests that the dreamers in the second stanza are going after their inner dreams to make it reality. The people who dream in the first stanza and his use of the word dream is taken at a more literal approach, suggesting that the only dream to just dream. It separates the two different types of dreamers; the ones who simply dream of vanity and the ones who go after their dreams.