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Gabriel Reyes Instructor: Charlene Diaz Lit112.2 December 10, 2009 Dream of Knives On one level, the poem mainly narrates the dream of persona. This narrators dream involves a knife that he had bought for his son. In the first stanza, the knife is meticulously described. Four lines are dedicated to create the knives image; perhaps a hint of the importance of the image which be criticized later on. The knife is portrayed as of rare design despite being cheap for its worth, but the poem goes so far to portray the knife with a fancily rounded pommel with a wooden sheath which miraculously revealed other, miniature blades (Yuson lines 2-5). On the second stanza, the narrator begins to imagine the joy the knife would bring to a child. It is implied that the narrator is not with the child in his current situation from the line oh how pleaded he would be upon my return from this journey (Yuson 6-7). The poem emphasizes two ideas in this part. One is that this is only an imagination of the narrator coming from I thought (Yuson 7). The second idea is the imagined joy the knife could bring stated by What rapture will surely adorn his ten-year princelings face when he draws the gift the first time. What quivering pleasure will most certainly be unleashed (Yuson 7-10). The poem portrays not just an ordinary joy, but a greater, perhaps a more profound joy - where body and souls is excited by the words rapture and quivering pleasure. The last stanza negates the dreamy state of the poem. In the lines 11-12, the narrator awakens and with it comes the loss of the fantasy and everything related to it the knife, the

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child who turns out to be his son, and the joy brought about by presenting the knife as a gift to the son. This leaves the narrator lost and unhappy described by the lines where do I search for this knife then, and when do I begin to draw happiness from reality (Yuson 12-13). The idea being that the narrator in reality is unhappy, but he seems to be pondering the means to attain the happiness brought about by his fantasy by searching for the knife in reality. However, the last line seems to take a more cryptic tone questioning why do I bleed so from such sharp points of dreams? (Yuson 14-15). Taking the line into context, it could simply mean that the narrator is self-reflecting and found it curious that he is profoundly affected or bothered by the dream. The line suddenly takes a more metaphoric gesture with bleed from sharp points relating to the damage which can be caused by a knife. This struck me because considering all 15 lines of the poem, the last would seem detached to the simplistic, straight forward narration and choice of words of the entire poem. It is the only line that you cant interpret literarily. In my minds eye, the line looks like a new critics fail-safe reminder to organic unity because it forces you to go back to the image of the knife in the first stanza and the joy of his son in the second. Not only does the line force the reader to go for a second look at the poem, but it allows a possibility of re interpretation from which a deeper understanding can be found. The last line shows that to get the theme, one must delve deeper into the poem. The structure of the poem is neatly divided into three stanzas with five lines each. Other than this set pattern, no rhyming-scheme seems to be present among the choice of words. The divisions of the stanzas however play an organizing role in the poem. By dividing the stanza, the reader can easily get three main ideas or images from the 15 lines as mentioned above. This makes it easier to connect ideas and get a more concrete theme.

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One of the main images from the poem is the dreamt knife. Although the word is mentioned by a mere two times, you never get the image out of your system as you read it. You are drawn to it from the get-go of the poem as it is paradoxically described as rare, but cheap. The elaborate design of the pommel and sheath calls attention to the knife which is no longer a mere mundane object. In the second stanza, the knife is elevated to a gift from a mere dramatic weapon. This gift is not just any other gift, but a present that could bring immense joy. It is true that most fathers would be imagining the joy of sons when presented by a gift, but the gift perspective adds dimension to the importance of the knife if you consider the word princeling literary. Consider this, not only is the narrators son elevated to a princely status, but the act of offering a weapon becomes an act of homage to please royalty. This view creates an ironic situation between the power relations of the father and his son. Taking that into account, the gift refers to an intense need and even perhaps joy of the father to make the son happy. Again this can be ironic because the reader realizes that the father is actually the one who is quivering in pleasure and excitement at the thought of his gift. In the last stanza, the image of the knife is elevated to a symbol of happiness by the narrator (technically it has always been a symbol, but bear with me). At this point, the importance of the knife should already be apparent because of the attached connotations from the first and second stanza. When the narrator awakens, the fantasy of the knife and all its connotations disappear along with it. This compels the narrator to search for it. The constant image of the knife and its subsequent elevation raises the question why is the narrator unhappy? The answer would most likely be related to the theme of the poem.

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The third stanza plays as the anti-thrust in the poem. It presents another situational irony because it is the complete opposite of the first two stanzas. The structure of the poem clearly supports this. The first two stanzas represent the presence of something extraordinary while the third erases everything with the reality that there is actually nothing it is a mere fantasy. This perhaps answers the question of the narrators unhappiness. The narrators fantasy and the paradoxical reality express the fathers relationship to the son nothing. Although, there is the paternal instinct to care for his son, his circumstances do not allow it so. The symbol of the knife then becomes his happiness because it represents a method of which a connection between him and his son can be established. Furthermore, the aptness of the knife as a symbol becomes clearer as we recognize the father and son relationship in the poem. The knife as a short dagger is masculine in nature compared to an image of a kitchen knife which usually comes first to the mind (Yuson 3). Through it, they have a father and son link - a male bonding. Mimesis can now be clearly seen. Father and son relationships have definitely evolving through time, but the poem conveys a tone of optimism. In this case, a separated son can still be reunited with the father through the symbol of the knife, but the implications of rhetorical devices first must be present. Where do I search for this knife then implies a self-conscious action especially if juxtaposed to the mere fantasy which connotes inaction. The poem also uses the metaphor of awakening from the dream to describe an epiphany. There comes a realization coming from ignorance that there must be something done. The literary devices, taken all into context, distort and elevate the poem to a new and deeper meaning. The poem allows us to see paternal love through the eyes of a father which conveys message of quit agonizing yourself and spend time with your son. The knife here is a tool, but elevated to symbol of happiness as it becomes a means for bonding and connection.

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Works Cited
Yuson, Alfred. "Dream of Knives."