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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 narrator’s 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 princeling’s 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 can’t interpret literarily. In my mind’s 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 narrator’s 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 narrator’s unhappiness. The narrator’s fantasy and the

 paradoxical reality express the father’s 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."