3. "Dream Song 14"

"Dream Song 14" is a sad poem. The speaker of the poem goes on and on about how everything bores him, from the great aspects of nature to profound art. The speaker sounds very empty as he goes through the poem and lists all the things that bore him. I would say that he comes across as very jaded and hollow. He even starts out the poem on such a strong, sad note: "Life, friends, is boring."

I found that the language of the poem mirrored the mood of it. This poem uses a fair amount of enjambment, as the lines run into each other, one after the other. I especially found that the final stanza just seemed to all run together in one long and sad sentence. The enjambment created a monotonous effect that perfectly captured the speaker's boredom. The poem has no clear rhyme scheme, but it had a clear rhythm to it as I read it out loud. I'd have to attribute this rhythm to the assonance throughout the poem ("plight &gripes," "as bad as") and to the repetition, especially of the word "bore."

Perhaps the thing that baffles me most about this poem is its title. I'd like to know the context of the title "Dream Song 14" not only in relation to the actual poem, but also to other poems that John Berryman might have published in the same collection. I also am especially struck by the very first line of the poem because it seems as though the speaker is addressing the reader as a "friend." There are so many different connotations that this could have. Is the speaker an older man who is speaking to a younger generation about his take on life? Is the speaker being sarcastic? Is the speaker actually personally calling us "friend," or just shouting to no one in particular about his boredom with life? I suppose this truly is left up to our own interpretation.