# A Dream of Waking explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by George MacDonald.

## What happens

A poem about an unwanted child born in sin and shame, rejected by his mother, but defended by a sister-babe who pleads with their mother to keep him. The sister's desperate cry for the child ends in a prophetic agony, questioning when they will wake from the earthly dream of suffering.

## Themes in this chapter

### Childhood and Innocence

The sister-babe's innocent plea to keep the baby contrasts with the mother's hardened heart.

### Suffering and Purification

The child's birth in sin and shame, the mother's rejection, and the sister's grief all point to suffering that seeks transcendence.

## Character check-ins

### Baby

The unwanted child born in sin and shame, rejected by his mother but defended by his sister.

### The Child-Mother

The sister-babe who pleads with her mother to keep the baby, showing compassion and prophetic insight.

### Unknown

The narrator describing the scene of rejection and the sister's plea.

## Key lines

> A child was born in sin and shame, Wronged by his very birth, Without a home, without a name, One over in the earth.

An illegitimate child was born, rejected from the start, with no place or identity in the world.

_Sets up the theme of the child's unwantedness and social stigma._

> Mother! when shall we wake?

Mother, when will we awaken from this painful dream of life?

_The sister's prophetic cry for an end to earthly suffering._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters/a-dream-of-waking
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_8_se/chapters