Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Louis Simpson’s poem "Big Dream, Little Dream" juxtaposes the seemingly insignificant personal dreams with the monumental dreams that shape history, illuminating the vast gulf between individual experience and collective consequence. Born in Jamaica in 1923 and later moving to the United States, Simpson is known for his ability to blend the personal with the universal, often exploring the tension between individual lives and larger societal forces. In this poem, he encapsulates this dichotomy through a brief yet powerful exploration of dreams—those fleeting, ephemeral experiences of the subconscious and the weighty dreams that bear the potential to alter the course of nations.

The poem begins with an invocation of the Elgonyi, a Kenyan ethnic group, lending a sense of universality and cultural depth to the exploration of dreams. By introducing the distinction between "big dreams and little dreams," Simpson immediately frames the poem within a dualistic structure. The "little dream," described as "just personal," embodies the mundanity of everyday fears and anxieties. Simpson captures this with the image of "Sitting in a plane that is flying / too close to the ground." The plane, a modern symbol of progress and mobility, here becomes a vessel of anxiety, a common experience that many can relate to. The added details of "wires" and walls closing in on either side enhance the claustrophobia of the dream, emphasizing its personal nature—these are the private fears, the unspoken dreads that haunt the individual.

In stark contrast, the "big dream" is imbued with a sense of importance and consequence. It "feels significant," carrying the weight of decisions that affect not just the dreamer but entire nations. Simpson's choice to align the big dream with "the kind the president has" immediately elevates it from the realm of the personal to the political. Here, the president’s dream is not a mere product of his subconscious but a potential catalyst for national or global events. The transition from the president waking to telling the dream to his secretary, who then involves the cabinet, creates a chain reaction—a progression from the personal to the public, from the abstract to the concrete. The final line, "and before you know there is war," underscores the terrifying ease with which dreams, particularly those of the powerful, can manifest into reality. The poem’s conclusion is chilling in its simplicity, highlighting the fragile boundary between thought and action, between a dream and a nightmare.

Structurally, the poem is free verse, which mirrors the fluidity of dreams themselves—unbound by strict form, flowing from one image or idea to the next. Simpson’s use of enjambment, where lines spill over into the next without punctuation, reinforces this sense of continuity between the personal and the political, suggesting that the two are not as distinct as they might seem. The language is plain, almost conversational, which makes the stark transition from personal anxieties to global consequences all the more jarring.

"Big Dream, Little Dream" is a meditation on the power of dreams and the responsibilities that come with them. Simpson reminds us that while most dreams are confined to the individual, there are those that, when held by the powerful, can shape the destiny of many. Through his juxtaposition of the personal and the political, Simpson critiques the ways in which private thoughts can be transformed into public policy, often with disastrous results. The poem invites readers to consider the implications of their dreams—both the little ones that gnaw at them in the quiet moments and the big ones that, if acted upon, could change the world.

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