Analysis of the Poem "I Dream Of You To Wake" by Christina Rosetti

1. I Dream of You, to Wake
Tota Lupi, Chopa Montoya, Fran
Costamagna & Alina Claps

2. Christina Rossetti
She was an English poet who wrote a
variety of romantic, devotional, and
children's poems. She is famous for writing
Goblin Market and "Remember".
She was inspired by artists like Dante
Alighieri and Petrarch.

3. When she was 14, Rossetti suffered a
nervous breakdown and left school.
Bouts of depression and related
illness followed.
Toughest years for
Rossetti´s family
were during the
1840´s.
During this period she, her
mother, and her sister became
deeply interested in the Anglo-
Catholic movement that
developed in the Church of
England. Religious devotion
came to play a major role in
Rossetti's life.

4. I Dream of You...
I dream of you, to wake: would that I might
Dream of you and not wake but slumber on;
Nor find with dreams the dear companion gone,
As, Summer ended, Summer birds take flight.
In happy dreams I hold you full in night.
I blush again who waking look so wan;
Brighter than sunniest day that ever shone,
In happy dreams your smile makes day of night.
Thus only in a dream we are at one,
Thus only in a dream we give and take
The faith that maketh rich who take or give;
If thus to sleep is sweeter than to wake,
To die were surely sweeter than to live,
Though there be nothing new beneath the sun.
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

5. ● Not an actual dream OR product of our conscience when we sleep
● Is the hope, of being with the man that she loves, as pairs, friends, equals.
● Is not possible
● Is not only because the society she lives in
● Is because the relationship is complicated itself.
The title

6. Analysis
I dream of you, to wake: would that I might
Dream of you and not wake but slumber on;
Nor find with dreams the dear companion
gone,
As, Summer ended, Summer birds take flight.
Although she frames it as a dream that has just
popped into her head at night, she is really
representing her deepest desire. Our dreams are the
things that drive us and make us move forward.
The poem is an expression of feelings that the writer
wants to say. It’s the truth of what is going on in her
heart, and she wants her man to know.
She represents her dreams as ‘Summer birds’ and
wishes to find a sleep where she does not have to
face the prospect of ‘Summer ended’.

7. Here we have a contrast of what the day and the
night, when she dreams, are for the writer. Her days
are dark, she feels sad and lonely. But in her
dreams she feels happy and joyful.
Her dreams ‘make day of night’, they are better than
ever she thought reality could be .
In happy dreams I hold you full in night.
I blush again who waking look so wan;
Brighter than sunniest day that ever shone,
In happy dreams your smile makes day of night.

8. Thus only in a dream we are at one,
Thus only in a dream we give and take
The faith that maketh rich who take or
give;
If thus to sleep is sweeter than to wake,
To die were surely sweeter than to live,
Though there be nothing new beneath the sun.
Only when she is dreaming, she feels one with her
partner. They are truly connected, equals.
All she wants is to marry the man she loves. But she
does not. That is why she welcomes death like sleep,
where she truly feels happier.
The third line, when we marry, we have faith in
someone, we are deeply in love, and we take and give
everything from and to that person.

9. Literary DevicesRepetition: The word “dream(s)” is repeated 7 times in the poem.
Metaphor: “In happy dreams your smiles makes the day of night”
Imaginary: “as, summer ended, summer birds take flight”
“Brighter than sunniest day that ever shone”
“In happy dreams your smile makes day of night.”
Anaphora: Thus only in a dream we are at one,
Thus only in a dream we give and take
Tone: Straightforward, admiring, wistful, reflective, nostalgic
Mood: Dreamy, romantic
Theme: Love

10. Song
The song we chose is called “What If”
by Colbie Caillat and is about the
hopes a girl has over a possible
relationship with a boy. She dreams
of what they could have and be just
like the author tries to transmit in her
poem. Here is the link to the lyrics of
the song.

11. Activity for the class
What is the theme of the poem?
Which word is repeated several times throughout the poem?
From where does the writer take inspiration to write it? Is it about herself?
Which topics does the poet tackles in her writings?
Which writers does she takes inspiration from?