A Study of British Surrealist Poetry: Dream-like Narration and Imagery in David Gascoyne’s “And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis”

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Karabulut T.

17th International IDEA Conference: Studies in English, Elazığ, Turkey, 7 - 09 May 2025, pp.32, (Summary Text)

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Elazığ
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.32
  • Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

A Study of British Surrealist Poetry: Dream-like Narration and Imagery in David Gascoyne’s “And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis” 

The year 2024 marks the centenary of Surrealism, one of the most influential literary and artistic movements of the 20thcentury, which began with the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto by poet and critic André Breton in 1924. David Gascoyne’s “And the Seventh Dream is the Dream of Isis” (1933) is considered the first surrealist poem written in English to employ the dream-like narration and imagery as textural devices, reflecting Surrealist ideas. The poem mirrors the erratic and disjointed flow of dreams, featuring surreal imagery that blurs the boundaries between the tangible and the intangible. Through its haunting and often contradictory images, Gascoyne creates a space where readers can explore the unconscious. This paper, drawing on surrealist and psychoanalytic theories as well as mythological practices, examines how Gascoyne’s surrealist narrator constructs a disorienting yet deeply symbolic narrative. The imagery blends mythology and dream, and through the titular "seventh dream," Gascoyne conjures a fragmented, phantasmagoric world where the visual and conceptual distortions of reality and dream collide. This fusion offers a path toward existential and spiritual awakening, inviting readers to navigate a realm of shifting images and hidden meanings. The central figure of Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess of healing and rebirth, not only symbolizes spiritual transformation, but also serves as a portal through which Gascoyne explores the unconscious mind. Thus, the poem positions the poet as a visionary, capable of uncovering hidden truths within the depths of the unconscious and offering readers a path to spiritual and existential awakening.

Key words: David Gascoyne, surrealist poetry, dream-like narration and imagery, the unconscious, existential awakening.