Dream  

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[[Judaism]] has a traditional ceremony called hatovat chalom – literally meaning making the dream a good one. Through this rite disturbing dreams can be transformed to give a positive interpretation by a rabbi or a rabbinic court. [[Judaism]] has a traditional ceremony called hatovat chalom – literally meaning making the dream a good one. Through this rite disturbing dreams can be transformed to give a positive interpretation by a rabbi or a rabbinic court.
-===Popular culture===+== Images and literature ==
-Modern [[popular culture]] often conceives of dreams, like Freud, as expressions of the dreamer's deepest fears and desires. In films such as ''[[Spellbound (1945 film)|Spellbound]]'' (1945) or ''[[The Manchurian Candidate]]'' (1962), the protagonists must extract vital clues from surreal dreams.+Graphic artists, writers and filmmakers all have found dreams to offer a rich vein for creative expression. In the West, artists' depictions of dreams in Renaissance and Baroque art often were related to Biblical narrative. Especially preferred by visual artists were the [[Jacob's Ladder]] dream in Genesis and [[St. Joseph's dreams]] in the [[Gospel of Matthew|Gospel according to Matthew]].
-Most dreams in popular culture are, however, not symbolic, but straightforward and realistic depictions of their dreamer's fears and desires. Dream scenes may be indistinguishable from those set in the dreamer's real world, a narrative device that undermines the dreamer's and the audience's sense of security and allows [[horror movie]] protagonists, such as those of ''[[Carrie]]'' (1976), ''[[Friday the 13th]]'' (1980) or ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' (1981) to be suddenly attacked by dark forces while resting in seemingly safe places. [[Ambrose Bierce]]'s short story ''[[An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge]]'' (1891) tells of a man sentenced to death escaping the execution and returning to safety, only to wake up and realise that he is in fact about to be hanged.+Many later graphic artists have depicted dreams, including Japanese [[Woodblock printing in Japan|woodblock]] artist [[The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife|Hokusai]] (1760–1849) and Western European painters [[The Dream (Rousseau painting)|Rousseau]] (1844–1910), [[Le Rêve (Picasso)|Picasso]] (1881–1973), and [[Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening|Dali]] (1904–1989).
 + 
 +In literature, dream frames were frequently used in medieval allegory to justify the narrative; ''[[The Book of the Duchess]]'' and ''The Vision Concerning [[Piers Plowman]]'' are two such [[dream vision]]s. Even before them, in antiquity, the same device had been used by [[Cicero]] and [[Lucian of Samosata]].
 + 
 +Dreams have also featured in [[fantasy]] and [[speculative fiction]] since the 19th century. One of the best-known dream worlds is [[Wonderland (fictional country)|Wonderland]] from [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'', as well as [[Looking-Glass Land]] from its sequel, ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]''. Unlike many dream worlds, Carroll's logic is like that of actual dreams, with transitions and flexible causality.
 + 
 +Other fictional dream worlds include the [[Dreamlands]] of [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s ''[[Dream Cycle]]'' and ''[[The Neverending Story]]''{{'}}s world of Fantastica, which includes places like the Desert of Lost Dreams, the Sea of Possibilities and the Swamps of Sadness. Dreamworlds, shared hallucinations and other alternate realities feature in a number of works by [[Philip K. Dick]], such as ''[[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch]]'' and ''[[Ubik]]''. Similar themes were explored by [[Jorge Luis Borges]], for instance in ''[[The Circular Ruins]]''.
 + 
 +Modern [[popular culture]] often conceives of dreams, as did Freud, as expressions of the dreamer's deepest fears and desires. In speculative fiction, the line between dreams and reality may be blurred even more in service to the story. Dreams may be psychically invaded or manipulated (''[[Dreamscape (1984 film)|Dreamscape]]'', 1984; the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' films, 1984–2010; ''[[Inception]]'', 2010) or even come literally true (as in ''[[The Lathe of Heaven]]'', 1971).
-In [[speculative fiction]], the line between dreams and reality may be [[blurred]] even more in the service of the story. Dreams may be psychically invaded or manipulated (the ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)|Nightmare on Elm Street]]'' films, 1984–1991) or even come literally true (as in ''[[The Lathe of Heaven]]'', 1971). Such stories play to audiences’ experiences with their own dreams, which feel as real to them as the real world that inspires them. 
== See also == == See also ==

Revision as of 12:45, 27 April 2024

Poem of the Soul, Nightmare (1854) by Louis Janmot
Enlarge
Poem of the Soul, Nightmare (1854) by Louis Janmot
Adspectus Incauti Dispendium (1601), woodblock title page from the Veridicus Christianus, Image from the book The Waking Dream.
Enlarge
Adspectus Incauti Dispendium (1601), woodblock title page from the Veridicus Christianus, Image from the book The Waking Dream.

"I mean those which are awake when the reasoning and human and ruling power is asleep; then the wild beast within us, gorged with meat or drink, starts up and having shaken off sleep, goes forth to satisfy his desires; and there is no conceivable folly or crime—not excepting incest or any other unnatural union, or parricide, or the eating of forbidden food—which at such a time, when he has parted company with all shame and sense, a man may not be ready to commit."--The Republic by Plato, referring to dreams

"Last night I dreamed about Freud. What does that mean?" --Stanisław Jerzy Lec

"Common sense tells us that the things of this earth hardly exist, and that true reality is only in dreams. To digest natural (or artificial) happiness takes first of all the courage to swallow it down. And perhaps those worthy of happiness are precisely those for whom felicity, as mortals conceive it, has ever the effect of an emetic." --Charles Baudelaire in Les Paradis artificiels

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A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. It occurs in humans, most mammals, and some birds. The events of dreams are often impossible or unlikely to occur in physical reality, and are usually outside the control of the dreamer. The exception is lucid dreaming, in which dreamers realize that they are dreaming, and are sometimes capable of changing their oneiric reality and controlling various aspects of the dream, in which the suspension of disbelief is often broken.

Frightening or upsetting dreams are referred to as nightmares.

Contents

Cultural history

Dreams have a long history both as a subject of conjecture and as a source of inspiration. Throughout their history, people have sought meaning in dreams or divination through dreams. They have been described physiologically as a response to neural processes during sleep, psychologically as reflections of the subconscious, and spiritually as messages from God or predictions of the future. Many cultures practiced dream incubation, with the intention of cultivating dreams that were prophetic or contained messages from the divine.

Judaism has a traditional ceremony called hatovat chalom – literally meaning making the dream a good one. Through this rite disturbing dreams can be transformed to give a positive interpretation by a rabbi or a rabbinic court.

Images and literature

Graphic artists, writers and filmmakers all have found dreams to offer a rich vein for creative expression. In the West, artists' depictions of dreams in Renaissance and Baroque art often were related to Biblical narrative. Especially preferred by visual artists were the Jacob's Ladder dream in Genesis and St. Joseph's dreams in the Gospel according to Matthew.

Many later graphic artists have depicted dreams, including Japanese woodblock artist Hokusai (1760–1849) and Western European painters Rousseau (1844–1910), Picasso (1881–1973), and Dali (1904–1989).

In literature, dream frames were frequently used in medieval allegory to justify the narrative; The Book of the Duchess and The Vision Concerning Piers Plowman are two such dream visions. Even before them, in antiquity, the same device had been used by Cicero and Lucian of Samosata.

Dreams have also featured in fantasy and speculative fiction since the 19th century. One of the best-known dream worlds is Wonderland from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as well as Looking-Glass Land from its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. Unlike many dream worlds, Carroll's logic is like that of actual dreams, with transitions and flexible causality.

Other fictional dream worlds include the Dreamlands of H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle and The Neverending StoryTemplate:'s world of Fantastica, which includes places like the Desert of Lost Dreams, the Sea of Possibilities and the Swamps of Sadness. Dreamworlds, shared hallucinations and other alternate realities feature in a number of works by Philip K. Dick, such as The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Ubik. Similar themes were explored by Jorge Luis Borges, for instance in The Circular Ruins.

Modern popular culture often conceives of dreams, as did Freud, as expressions of the dreamer's deepest fears and desires. In speculative fiction, the line between dreams and reality may be blurred even more in service to the story. Dreams may be psychically invaded or manipulated (Dreamscape, 1984; the Nightmare on Elm Street films, 1984–2010; Inception, 2010) or even come literally true (as in The Lathe of Heaven, 1971).


See also

Namesakes


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