"The Slave's Dream" by H. W. Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27, 1807 and died on March 24, 1882. He was an American poet and professor. He was the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and was one of the Fireside Poets from New England. “The Slave’s Dream” is a poem written by Longfellow.

The poem starts with the description of slave. In first stanza we can see that slave is lying besides the untethered rice. He has sickle in his hand. We can assume that he was working in a rice farm with sickle and he got tired and now he is lying on sand. Further we come to know that he has nothing to wear on his torso. He has matted hair. He is feeling sleepy and his vision is covered by mist and there he sees his native land. Here poet has used word again, which means that this is not the first time the slave is seeing his native land.

In second stanza, now we are in the dream of slave. He first saw the flow of Niger river. Beneath the palm trees, the king again stride and he heard the tinkling of caravans, which are returning from the mountain road. Here we can assume that the slave used to be king in his native land. We can also say that he is feeling like king, when he is in his native land.

In third stanza, the slave watches his dark eyed queen. She is standing among her children. The children are so happy that they hug and kiss their father. After that they are holding hands of their father. The slave is so deep in his dream that he started crying and a tear fell from his eye on sand and disappear. This shows how much slave misses his family and his native land.

In fourth stanza, the slave is on horse and he is riding the horse at very furious speed. His is riding on horse along side of Niger river’s bank. His horse has bridle reins of golden chains and as he is riding it was making noise when it clashes. He has scabbard of steel with him. With every leap of horse that scabbard is smiting on stallion’s flank.

In next stanza, he saw flamingos flying. That flight of flamingos look like a blood red flag. From morning till the night he followed the flamingos on the tamarind field. Then he saw a ocean and huts of Caffre.

In next stanza, it is night and he heard the roar of a lion and scream of hyena. The roar and scream both together might be taken as his inner self and outer self. We may can say that slave’s heart is brave like lion and it roars but from outside he is chained and that’s why he screams. Then he saw the river horse, crushing the reeds besides hidden streams. These all things passed before his eyes like glorious roll of drums and it seems like triumph of his dream.

In next stanza, he saw forest with ten thousand (myriad) tongues shouting for liberty. The blast of desert also crying in wild and free voice. He is so involved in his dream that he started and smile with strong and uncontrolled delight.

In last stanza, we are suddenly out of his dream and in reality. Here the slave is not feeling his master’s whip. He also can not feel the burning heat of the day. Because now he is dead. Now there is only his lifeless body. His soul has broken and thrown away the fetter which his body was wearing. After lot of suffering the slave at the end has died. His soul become free but he was not free by his body.

 The poem is about the life of a slave. It is very pessimistic poem. It tries to say that there is no other way then death that a slave can be free. It gives message that only death can free them from their suffering.

It was written in 1842. The poem has 8 stanzas 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCBDB.

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