# Oneiromancy explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator falls asleep and dreams of being cast from the sky like Vulcan, lamed not in leg but in heart. He wakes just in time to see his love hiding a letter in her glove, suggesting secrecy or betrayal.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Self-Deception

The beloved hides a letter, suggesting secrecy or deceit, while the narrator's dream hints at self-deception about the relationship.

### Love and Communication

The concealment of the letter represents a breakdown in honest communication between lovers.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator experiences a dream of being thrown from the sky and waking to a troubling sight.

### Estee

The narrator's love, seen concealing a letter in her glove upon his waking.

## Key lines

> I fell asleep and dreamed that I Was flung, like Vulcan, from the sky; Like him was lamed⁠—another part: His leg was crippled, and my heart.

I fell asleep and dreamed I was thrown from the heavens like the god Vulcan; I was crippled like him, but in my heart instead of my leg.

_The narrator compares his emotional wound to Vulcan's physical lameness._

> I woke in time to see my love Conceal a letter in her glove.

I awoke just as my beloved was hiding a letter inside her glove.

_The act of concealment suggests a secret or betrayal._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/oneiromancy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters