Take this kiss upon the brow!.
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
Questions:
i. What is the theme of the stanza?
ii. Identify the figurative language used in the given stanza.
iii. Write down the rhyming scheme of the stanza.
iv. How does the speaker address the perception that their days have been like a dream?
v. Explain the significance of the lines, "Yet if hope has flown away / In a night, or in a day, / In a vision, or in none."
vi. How does the speaker question the nature of reality with the lines, "All that we see or seem / Is but a dream within a dream"?
vii. Analyze the emotional tone of the stanza and how it contributes to the overall message of the poem.