The Slave's Dream By Henry W. Longfellow

In the poem, “The Slave’s Dream”, by Henry W. Longfellow, Longfellow portrays the dreams of a slave. This slave dreams about his Native Land, his family, and his life before slavery. Additionally, as the poem unfolds and ends, it is clear that these memories of his home and family resurface after he collapses and as he drifts from the land of dreams to death. Furthermore, the slave is dreaming about not only being with his family in his Native Land, but also being completely free from the bonds of slavery one way or another.
At first, if no title was given to the poem, one could assume the poem is about a farmer, perhaps taking a rest after some labor harvesting rice in the fields. “[U]ngathered rice” is indicative that his task is incomplete, and the phrase “sickle in his hand” alludes to the fact that this rest may be unintentional. It is also clear that the day is hot as he is shirtless and his hair is matted most likely form sweat. Moreover, the line “shadow of sleep” indicates that he actually is sleeping, and dreaming of his

The mention of the “Niger river” clearly places his home somewhere in western Africa, and his longing for his home country becomes even more nostalgic as he did not leave his home by choice. Additionally, it is evident that he was a man of stature because he dreams of being “[o]nce more a king.” In his dream, this man is able to relive his life before slavery and it is so real to him that he hears the “tinkling caravans” coming down the road through the mountains. The man’s dream then continues and includes his family in the third stanza of the poem. His longing for his “dark-eyed queen” and his children is so intense that a “tear burst” from his eye lid and falls to the sand on which he sleeps (Rosen, 42). Furthermore, his dream indicates that he is longing for compassion and love, something that he as a slave does not get from his