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Prose

Notes Rhetorical Devices
Lamb introduces some rhetorical devices to make his essay vivid and profound, such as:
And how the nectarines and peaches hung upon the walls, without my ever offering to pluck
them, because they were forbidden fruit, unless now and then (metaphor)
Till I could almost fancy myself ripening too along with the oranges and the limes in that grateful
warmth (empathy)
The nature of things mostly appeared to Charles Lamb in this way. Lamb does not frolic out of
lightness of heart, but to escape from gloom that might otherwise crush. He laughed to save
himself from weeping. In fact, Lamb’s personal life was of disappointments and frustrations. But
instead of complaining, he looked at the tragedies of life, its miseries and worries as a humorist.
Thus his essays become an admixture of humour and pathos. Examples of his keen sense of
humour and pathetic touches are scattered in all of his essays. Let’s focus our discussion on Dream
Children: A Reverie.
Characters

The young couple in the ancient Dutch farming village (in New England) who are the major living
characters in “Dream Children” are the McNairs. The outward placidity that the pleasant and
personable Mrs. McNair displays in her daily goings about among the villagers gives the impression
that nothing bad or disturbing has taken place in her life. Yet the reckless manner in which she
rides her stallion through the fields causes wonderment among some of the locals, such as Mrs.
DePuy and her husband, who own the old Patroon farm near the McNairs’ land.

Dream Children: Themes
Expressed as a directive, a major theme of this story is “Measure a person by his or her sense of
loss.” The young wife whose infant was stillborn is utterly transformed by the tragedy, going off
on a new life course which is largely regulated by her ongoing need to penetrate by whatever
means the unbreachable time-space wall of human existence and, in defiance of all logic, reason,
and conventional wisdom, to be reunited with her lost baby son. Her husband, clearly not needing
replacement therapy comparable with hers, reconstructs his life in the most convenient and
thoughtful fashion...
Godwin’s “Dream Children” examines themes of marriage, self-definition, and loss.
1. Taking into account its subject matter and Godwin’s handling of the narrative structure, were
you particularly affected emotionally by “Dream Children”? If so, explain.
2. Was the ending of the story, with its rhetorical question about Mrs. McNair’s happiness, effective
in “wrapping up” the story of her life? Comment either way, or both ways.
3. What in your opinion is the purpose of all the italicized passages throughout the story? Who is
saying or thinking those things? How do...
Self-Assessment

1. Choose the correct options:
(i) The Adventures of Ulysses was published in
(a) 1808 (b) 1809 (c) 1810 (d) 1812
(ii) The last essays of Elia were published in
(a) 1823 and 1833 (b) 1820 and 1830
(c) 1815 and 1820 (d) 1813 and 1823
(iii) ‘Elia’ essays first appeared in the
(a) Dream Children (b) London Magazine
(c) Children Stories (d) None of these

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