Beside the ungathered rice he lay,
His sickle in his hand;
His breast was bare, his matted hair
Was buried in the sand.
Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep,
He saw his Native Land.
Wide through the landscape of his dreams
The lordly Niger flowed;
Beneath the palm-trees on the plain
Once more a king he strode;
And heard the tinkling caravans
Descend the mountain-road.
He saw once more his dark-eyed queen
Among her children stand;
They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks,
They held him by the hand!—
A tear burst from the sleeper's lids
And fell into the sand.
And then at furious speed he rode
Along the Niger's bank;
His bridle-reins were golden chains,
And, with a martial clank,
At each leap he could feel his scabbard of steel
Smiting his stallion's flank.
Before him, like a blood-red flag,
The bright flamingoes flew;
>From morn till night he followed their flight,
O'er plains where the tamarind grew,
Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts,
And the ocean rose to view.
At night he heard the lion roar,
And the hyena scream,
And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds
Beside some hidden stream;
And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums,
Through the triumph of his dream.
The forests, with their myriad tongues,
Shouted of liberty;
And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud,
With a voice so wild and free,
That he started in his sleep and smiled
At their tempestuous glee.
He did not feel the driver's whip,
Nor the burning heat of day;
For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep,
And his lifeless body lay
A worn-out fetter, that the soul
Had broken and thrown away!
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From guest Jake (contact)
My views are that the slave has either died or is on his way there, as it is said that when one is dying, their life is recalled and "flashes through their mind eyes". The dream is not dreamt from earth but from an unwordly state, heaven/hell...? I'm attempting to write an essay on it now for gcse level and my beliefs are that the slave has in fact passed away. -
i think
From guest khadija (contact)
i don't think the slave has dies at the end, but was rather engulfed by a sleep so deep taht it came near to a deathly experience. this sleep is peaceful to him which is the complete opposite of his life prior to this dreamy state, which is his escape from the cruelties of the world as he knew it. -
This poem dipicts a picture of an African "King" who has eventually become a slave in America. The poem shows the kind of treatment by people who were prejudiced by dark Africans. This slave is actually dreaming about his native land where his "queen" and his children are showing their love for him.
As this poem is a ballad so every stanza presents a new movement. In this poem he transfered to his native land where is enjoying the life of an actual king who is hunting and doing different things and finally he smiles just before his death and make us feel more sympathetic for him. His condition was extremely poor and finally God make him free from the "fetters" and he eventually escapes the misery through death. -
simplistic
Okay so first of all it's called A Slave's dream. Way back when there were Slave Traders that would go to Africa and capture natives and bring them to the new world. I believe that he is writing this about a slave. The slave has fallen asleep while working in the fields and is dreaming of his home land where he used to be a "king" of his tribe. And in the end, he does not feel the drivers whip because he has died, peacefully dreaming of when he was free. -
confusing
I really didn't understand this...Can anyone help???
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