The essay ‘Dream Children’ by Charles Lamb has an autobiographical influence, speaking at large about Lamb’s childhood and his relationship with the people so dear to him. The essay is written in the form of a narration wherein, Lamb is narrating his childhood tales to his ‘Dream Children.’ Lamb’s manner of opening his essay is…
There are numerous personal references stated by Lamb. Firstly, Lamb talks about the great grandmother of the Dream Children; Ms. Field. Lamb presents her as an ideal grandmother who was extremely pious, fearless, compassionate, high – spirited and the best dancer in her youth. The second reference is of his elder brother John L. Charles…
Charles Lamb, narrates to his Dream Children, about his vivid memories of his childhood. He begins to narrate about their great grandmother Ms. Field at large. He tells the children about how religious and respectable their great grandmother was. She remembered all the Psaltery by heart and also a great part of the Testament. She…
While narrating his childhood memories to his ‘Dream Children’, Lamb told them that in his boyhood, he loved to enjoy rambling in and around the great country house in Norfolk more than relishing the sweet fruits of the orchard. He would remain busy with this though he had no work to do, hence, suggesting the…
It is surprising that without ever having children, Lamb had an acute sense of how children react to the happenings in the world of adults. By referring to the meticulous reactions of his ‘Dream Children’, he succeeds in catching the reader’s attention as it enhances the aesthetic impact of the essay.
‘Dream Children’ is a personal essay. Lamb presents the characters and incidents from his own life, for instance, the sketches of his grandmother Ms. Field, his brother John Lamb, his sister Mary Lamb and his tragic love affair with Ann Simmons. But Lamb is always playing with facts and fictions and transforms the real into…
This essay is titled ‘Dream Children’ because Charles Lamb never married and naturally never became the father of any of the children. In the essay he created an imaginary picture of a happy conjugal life. The children he speaks of in the essay were actually the creation of his imagination or fancy; it’s a picture…
The chief features of the essay is the author’s mingling of pathos and humor. Lamb begins the essay in a somewhat deceptive manner, describing the incidents full of humor. But gradually towards the end, he expresses pathos by subscribing the various tragedies of his personal life. Eventually, the theme of the essay surfaces as ‘regret’…
The response of the children to Lamb’s narration makes the essay dramatic and explains the effect of the story on their mind. It also tends to make their characteristic features clear. Throughout the story telling, the children seem to be constantly influenced by their father’s description of various people and the memories associated with them….