Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University



 

Dreams of the Animals

(1970)


Margaret Atwood

(November 18, 1939 – )

 

Notes

This poem is first collected in Procedures for Underground (1970).


Dreams of the Animals:


     

Study Questions

  • Dreams: Dreams connote hope, like when we say "hopes and dreams." Do you see hopeful dreaming in this poem? What other connotations of dreams do you find?
  • Cages: Dreams, being in the realm of imagination, are supposed to defy boundaries, make possible things that may be impossible in reality. Is it true in this poem that dreams allow us to break free of our various imprisonments, our limitations in terms of place, of thought, of feelings? What kinds of "cages" do you see in the poem? Are rules a kind of cage? What rules are set and what rules are broken in "Dreams of the Animals"?
  • Place: How do words and their associative meanings create an environment for each kind of animal described? What does the contrast that often occurs between the denotative and connotative meanings of words add to our understanding of the initial phrase "each / according to its kind"?
  • Logic: What does the poem set out to do? Is there a logic to this endeavor? If so, what sense can we get out of this seemingly senseless and irrational description of animals' dreams?
  • Humor: Atwood's play with word connotations allows us to identify familiar things in a different perspective. For example, a whole cat becomes a comically and surreally disembodied "huge pink / shape with five claws descending" (l. 5-6). Where else do you see Atwood's humor in the portrayal of various animals' dreams?

 





 

 

Sample Student Responses to Atwood's "Dreams of the Animals"



Student Name

2202234 Introduction to the Study of English Literature

Acharn Puckpan Tipayamontri

August 31, 2012

Reading Response 3

 

Title

Text.

Text.

 

 

Works Cited

Book

Article

           


        

 

 





Links

 


Media

  • A Conversation with Margaret Atwood, WPSU (2015; 26:46 min.)

  • Margaret Atwood interviewed at TOC 2011 (8:34 min.)



Margaret Atwood

 


References
Atwood, Margaret. “Dreams of the Animals.” Selected Poems, 1965–1975. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1987. 123–4. Print.


Further Reading
Atwood, Margaret. "Animals in That Country." Selected Poems 1965–1975. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976. 48.


 


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Last updated October 14, 2015