Dreams of the Animals (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Margaret Atwood
- First Published: 1970
- Type of Work: Verse essay
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry
The Poem
Margaret Atwood’s “Dreams of the Animals” consists of several verse paragraphs that explore the nature of animal “dreams” and force readers to reexamine their ideas about what distinguishes humans from animals. By assuming that animals do, in fact, dream, Atwood obliterates traditional beliefs about their mental and intellectual limitations and makes them quite human. The notion that animals “mostly…dream/ of other animals each according to its own kind” has a biblical ring and does seem to suggest that animal dreams lack the complexity and range of...
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